Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

elvis taxon

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.48 in modern English

Syllables
elvis -tax-on
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A taxon that has been misidentified as having re-emerged in the fossil record after a period of presumed extinction, but is not actually a descendant of the original taxon, instead having developed a similar morphology through convergent evolution.

Etymology

Coined in a 1993 paper by D. H. Erwin and M. L. Droser, with reference to the prevalence of impersonators of the singer Elvis Presley.

Inflected Forms

Elvis taxa (plural)

Phrases

Aldabra rail

Frequently Paired Words

Aldabra rail Lazarus taxon zombie taxon

Questions

What does elvis taxon mean?
A taxon that has been misidentified as having re-emerged in the fossil record after a period of presumed extinction, but is not actually a descendant of the original taxon, instead having developed a similar morphology through convergent evolution.
Where does elvis taxon come from?
Coined in a 1993 paper by D. H. Erwin and M. L. Droser, with reference to the prevalence of impersonators of the singer Elvis Presley.

How to pronounce elvis taxon

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