zombie taxon

noun

A taxon that falsely appears to persist until, or reappear at, a time in the fossil record later than the taxon's actual point of extinction, due to fossils of organisms belonging to the taxon having been eroded from their original strata and redeposited in the source sediments for younger strata.

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Meanings

nounzombie taxon (plural zombie taxa)

plural zombie taxa

  1. biologyA taxon that falsely appears to persist until, or reappear at, a time in the fossil record later than the taxon's actual point of extinction, due to fossils of organisms belonging to the taxon having been eroded from their original strata and redeposited in the source sediments for younger strata.

Origin

Referring to the fossil having been mobile, or "walking", long after the death of the original organism.

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Cite this entry
APA

zombie taxon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zombie%20taxon

MLA

“zombie taxon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zombie%20taxon. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zombie taxon,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zombie%20taxon.

Source: zombie taxon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.