 A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group . This is especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross anatomy and mode of living from the ancestral group . These fossils serve as a reminder that taxonomic divisions are human constructs that have been imposed on nature, and that there are often gradual transitions between groups. everybody's favorite transitional fossil, the coelacanth, is a good example of a transitional fossil.
The coelacanth is a fish that was thought to be extinct for 65 million