Living Fossils - History

History

The term was coined by Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species, when discussing Ornithorhynchus (the platypus) and Lepidosiren (the South American lungfish):

“ ... All fresh-water basins, taken together, make a small area compared with that of the sea or of the land; and, consequently, the competition between fresh-water productions will have been less severe than elsewhere; new forms will have been more slowly formed, and old forms more slowly exterminated. And it is in fresh water that we find seven genera of Ganoid fishes, remnants of a once preponderant order: and in fresh water we find some of the most anomalous forms now known in the world, as the Ornithorhynchus and Lepidosiren, which, like fossils, connect to a certain extent orders now widely separated in the natural scale. These anomalous forms may almost be called living fossils; they have endured to the present day, from having inhabited a confined area, and from having thus been exposed to less severe competition. ”
— Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, p49

Read more about this topic:  Living Fossils

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “The history of this country was made largely by people who wanted to be left alone. Those who could not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America.”
    —Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)

    “Spain is an overflow of sombreness ... a strong and threatening tide of history meets you at the frontier.”
    —Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)