relict (redirected from Relict distribution)

relict

1. Ecology

a. a group of animals or plants that exists as a remnant of a formerly widely distributed group in an environment different from that in which it originated

b. (as modifier): a relict fauna

2. Geology

a. a mountain, lake, glacier, etc., that is a remnant of a pre-existing formation after a destructive process has occurred

b. a mineral that remains unaltered after metamorphism of the rock in which it occurs

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relict [′rel·ikt]

(biology)

A persistent, isolated remnant of a once-abundant species.

(geology)

Referring to a topographic feature that remains after other parts of the feature have been removed or have disappeared.

Pertaining to a mineral, structure, or feature of a rock which represents features of an earlier rock and which persists in spite of processes tending to destroy it, such as metamorphism.