• UGI USER
  • Feb 15, 2024
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‘SCIENTISTS SEEK MORE PROTECTIONS FOR ‘LIVING FOSSIL’

Why in the news?

Environmental groups are urging the U.S. government to protect the American horseshoe crab, a “living fossil,” due to threats from commercial harvests, habitat loss, and climate change.

source:lotusrise

Understanding Living Fossils:

  • Coined by English naturalist Charles Darwin in“The Origin of Species,” the concept highlights organisms that have retained ancestral traits through evolutionary time.
  • Examples include the horseshoe crab, a marine chelicerate arthropod, which has maintained its basic body plan for millions of years.
About Fossil parks in India

·    The Geological Survey of India (GSI) currently maintains two protected areas bearing rich fossil deposits.

·    Shivalik Fossil Park, near Saketi, Himachal Pradesh

·    Mandla Plant Fossils National Park, near Dindori, Madhya Pradesh