To find such living fossils from as far back as the Cretaceous is extraordinary.

能发现白垩纪的活化石是非同了不起的。

It was the largest shark that ever existed. A living fossil. Thought to have been extinct for over two million years.

这是有史以来最大的鲨鱼。活化石啊。它应该在两百万年前就已经灭绝了。

Instead of finding a " living fossil" identical to an ancient beast, they have found a real fossil identical to a modern one.

他们不是找到了一个与古兽相同的" 活化石" ，而是找到了一个跟现代兽类相同的真正化石。

Some people call the fish a “living fossil.”

有人称这种鱼为“活化石”。

Because of its ancient pedigree, the tuatara is often called a " living fossil" Oh man I'm a living fossil!

由于其古老的血统，大蜥蜴通常被称为“活化石”哦，伙计，我是活化石！

And ... we'd be living fossils, too!

而且… … 我们也会成为活化石！

Today, the term " living fossil" is sometimes taken to mean that some organisms evolve, while others don't.

今天，“活化石” 一词有时被用来表示某些生物会进化，而另一些则不会。

So, as a descriptive term, " living fossil" doesn't seem very useful, at least on smaller geologic time scales.

因此，作为一个描述性术语， “活化石” 似乎并不是很有用，至少在较小的地质时间尺度上是这样。

Just take a look at one of the most famous so-called living fossils -- the crocodylians, like alligators, crocodiles, and gharials.

看看最著名的所谓活化石之一——鳄鱼，如短吻鳄、鳄鱼和食肉动物。

People call them " living fossils." But, at the risk of being " that guy, " the idea of a " living fossil" is kind of problematic.

人们称它们为“活化石” 。但是，冒着成为“那个人” 的风险，“活化石” 的想法有点问题。

If the definition of a living fossil is an organism that's basically unchanged over long periods of time, then we got a whole world of living fossils around us!

如果活化石的定义是长时间基本不变的生物体，那么我们身边就有了一个活化石的世界！

Species and groups of species which are called aberrant, and which may fancifully be called living fossils, will aid us in forming a picture of the ancient forms of life.

被称为畸变的物种和物种群， 可以幻想地称为活化石， 将帮助我们形成一幅古代生命形式的图画。

But just one of the problems with the idea of " living fossils" is that there are actually many plants and animals that look a lot like their distant ancestors.

但“活化石”这一概念的问题之一是，实际上有许多植物和动物看起来很像它们的远祖。

These anomalous forms may be called living fossils; they have endured to the present day, from having inhabited a confined area, and from having been exposed to less varied, and therefore less severe, competition.

这些异常形式可以称为活化石；他们一直忍受到今天， 因为他们居住在一个狭窄的区域，并且接触到的竞争较少， 因此竞争也不那么激烈。