In paleontology, a zombie taxon [1] [2] (plural zombie taxa) or the zombie effect refers to a fossil that was washed out of sediments and re-deposited in rocks and/or sediments millions of years younger. [3] That basic mistake in the interpretation of the age of the fossil leads to its title, [4] in that the discovered fossil was at some point mobile (or "walking") despite the original organism having been long dead. When that occurs, the fossil is described as a " reworked fossil".
In paleontology, a zombie taxon [1] [2] (plural zombie taxa) or the zombie effect refers to a fossil that was washed out of sediments and re-deposited in rocks and/or sediments millions of years younger. [3] That basic mistake in the interpretation of the age of the fossil leads to its title, [4] in that the discovered fossil was at some point mobile (or "walking") despite the original organism having been long dead. When that occurs, the fossil is described as a " reworked fossil".