Rarity, a relic of a bygone era, a residual phenomenon of the distant past, persistence, isolate - with these words you can define this concept. Simply put, a relic is a thing, phenomenon or organism that has significantly outlived its time. No wonder the word itself comes from the Latin relictum, which means "remnant."
Classification
In biology, a relic is first and foremost a living organism that has preserved its existence in the modern ecosystem, previously more widespread in the past geological era. So, scientists call phylogenetic relics plants and animals that became extinct many millions of years ago, and their individual representatives have survived to this day. And geographic relics are called organisms that have survived in this particular region. So, for example, in Colchis, a relic is a chestnut, boxwood, rhododendron. Great scientific value of such plants. Scientists believe that they are real treasures of information about previous eras.
Relic plants
Not all rare plants are relics. Many of them have a limited habitat in which to meet such a plant is a common thing. Belonging to relic plants is determined according to paleobotanical data. Many of them were widespread in the fauna of the past. So, the ginkgo plant is now the only representative of gymnosperms that once existed on Earth in abundance. And the well-known plane tree is found in the Mediterranean, and in Asia, and in North America. Another vast, but spatially torn area is another relic plant - lotus. According to the time scale, relic plants are classified into preglacial, glacial and postglacial. The most ancient of the living plants can be attributed to ginkgo (silver apricot), whose age, according to scientists, exceeds 200 million years. These peers of dinosaurs include the metasequoia found in China. All relic plants need to be saved and protected as valuable living “exhibits” of past days. Many countries have organized special reserves where the flora of the past is under state protection.
Relic animals
The most ancient relics are bacteria (they are secreted into a special kingdom, different from animals and plants). Discovered archaebacteria that existed on the planet 2.5-4 billion years ago. Truly advanced age!
In the underwater depths, some creatures have been discovered that survived their era for many millennia. These relics include cysterae fish or another, no less ancient, - the sea line. Glipidia crabs existed in ocean waters about 70 million years ago and were considered extinct. Only recently, scientists have discovered living representatives of an ancient species.
Among terrestrial animals relict species are also found. One of them, a relic, is the Komodo dragon , a monitor lizard that reaches 7 meters in length. The hatteria living in New Zealand is also comparable in age to dinosaurs. Amkuru, the transitional step from fish to amphibians, existed 400 million years ago. There are ancient representatives among beetles and among ants.
Trio "Relic"
And music has its own “relics.” So, the famous trio of the same name in Russia performs Russian romances of past years and has gained great popularity among the thoughtful public who loves such works.
The trio "Relic" is a bright representative of the so-called Russian style of singing romance to the accompaniment of a classical guitar.