Relict (biology)

So, first let's define what a "relict" is. In biology, a relict is basically something that's left over from a long time ago.

Think about it like playing a game of hide-and-seek with your friends. At the end of the game, you might find something that one of your friends left behind, like a toy or a piece of candy. That thing is a relict of the game because it's leftover from when you were playing.

In biology, a relict can be something like a species of plant or animal that used to be found in a lot of places, but now is only in a few specific areas. It's like the plant or animal was playing hide-and-seek with the rest of the world and then got left behind in just a few places.

This can happen for a few reasons. Maybe the climate or environment changed and the plant or animal couldn't adapt to the new conditions. Or maybe humans started living in the area and destroyed a lot of the habitat, making it harder for the plant or animal to survive.

So, when scientists talk about a relict in biology, they're really talking about something that's leftover from a time when things were different. It's like finding a toy or a piece of candy after playing a game, but in this case it's a living thing that's managed to survive despite changes to the world around it.