LIVING FOSSILS By: Angela Bae, Winnie Ng, Viana Tran

WHAT ARE LIVING FOSSILS?  A living fossil is a living animal that matches with fossils that are considered by evolutionists to be extremely old. In many cases these animals were thought to have been extinct for millions of years. The coelacanth fish is probably the most famous of all living fossils. Living fossils cast suspicion on the way fossils are dated as it could be possible that fossils considered to be 60 million years old are actually much younger than originally thought.

HOW IT SUPPORTS THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION  Although the existence of living fossils does not particularly support Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. It also does not refute it like many seem to believe. As indicated by the fossil evidence and Darwin's theory, most new species probably developed by rapidly branching from ancestral species followed by long periods of evolutionary balance. Darwin explains that living fossils have "endured to the present day, from having inhabited a confined area, and from having thus been exposed to less severe competition."

EXAMPLE- THE RED PANDA  Red pandas are members of the family 'Ailuridae', they exist in the temperate forests of the Himalayas and are the only surviving members of their family, making them living fossils. Despite the name, red pandas are not related to the giant panda, besides the similarity in their diets. They represent a breed that is more closely related to that of bears, skunks, weasels and raccoons.

 I HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT LIVING FOSSILS THROUGH OUR PRESENTATION  THANK YOU