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Neontology is that part of biology which—in contrast to paleontology—deals with living (or, more generally, ''recent'') organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon). This means taxa (such as species, genera and families) some of whose members are still alive as opposed to (all) being extinct. For example: * The moose is an extant species, while the dodo is an extinct species. * In the group of molluscs known as the cephalopods, there were approximately 600 extant species and 7,500 extinct species. A taxon can be classified as extinct if it is broadly agreed or certified that no members of the group are still alive. Conversely, an extinct taxon can be re-classified as extant if there are new discoveries of extant species, or if previously-known extant species are re-classified as members of the taxon. The term neontologist is used largely by paleontologists referring to non-paleontologists. Stephen Jay Gould said of neontology:
== References == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Neontology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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