living fossil
noun
an organism that is a living example of an otherwise extinct group and that has remained virtually unchanged in structure and function over a long period of time, as the coelacanth and the horseshoe crab.
Origin of living fossil
First recorded in 1920–25
Words nearby living fossil
British Dictionary definitions for living fossil
living fossil
noun
an animal or plant, such as the coelacanth and ginkgo, belonging to a group most of whose members are extinct