--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very few species have survived unchanged…" description: "\"Very few species have survived unchanged. There's one called lingula, which is a little shellfish, a little brachiopod about the size of my fingernail,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg" --- # Very few species have survived unchanged. There's one… ![“Very few species have survived unchanged. There's one called lingula, which is a little shellfish, a little brachiopod about the size of my fingernail, that has survived for 500 million years, but it's survived by being unobtrusive and doing nothing, and you can't accuse human beings of that.” quote by David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg) > “Very few species have survived unchanged. There's one called lingula, which is a little shellfish, a little brachiopod about the size of my fingernail, that has survived for 500 million years, but it's survived by being unobtrusive and doing nothing, and you can't accuse human beings of that.” [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some species survive by being inconspicuous, but humans cannot rely on passivity; we must act to preserve our future. **In simple terms:** Passivity won’t protect humanity. Key Takeaway Take active responsibility for change. Themes environment survival human agency Mood concerned inspirational Type environmental motivational When to use this quote - policy making - education - community activism - business strategy Key Concepts evolutionary biology conservation Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can you take for sustainability? - How can societies balance growth with ecological stewardship? A Different Perspective Inaction can be fatal for complex societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Doing nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) [Fingernails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingernails/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Million](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million/) [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Shellfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shellfish/) [Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-survived-2157804/) [Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived/) [Survived Unchanged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-unchanged-2157805/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-survived-2157806/) ## Related quotes > [For years, I survived as an artist on grants and touring as a dancer with dance companies, and I was living underground like so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/for-years-i-survived-as-an-artist-on-grants-and-touring-as-a-dancer/) [Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/) > [“Don't celebrate how old you are, celebrate the years you survived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/touaxia-vang/don-t-celebrate-how-old-you-are-celebrate-the-years-you-survived/) [Touaxia Vang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/touaxia-vang/) > [It is astonishing to realise that the human species survived hundreds of thousands of years, more than 99 percent of its time on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-hayflick/it-is-astonishing-to-realise-that-the-human-species-survived-hundreds/) [Leonard Hayflick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-hayflick/) > [I can't think of a greater legacy than, "Because you lived, another species survived."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/i-can-t-think-of-a-greater-legacy-than-because-you-lived-another/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [“On the one hand, our entire species survived because we stuck together and cooperated, but on the other hand we developed because the strongest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/on-the-one-hand-our-entire-species-survived-because-we-stuck-together/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [I find it far more awesome, wonderful, that creation; our appearance in the world; should be the culmination, or at least one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/i-find-it-far-more-awesome-wonderful-that-creation-our-appearance-in/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [“Oyster, n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/oyster-n-a-slimy-gobby-shellfish-which-civilization-gives-men-the-2/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Decay and disease are often beautiful, like the pearly tear of the shellfish and the hectic glow of consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-like-the-pearly-tear-of-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It took me years to eat a lot of shellfish. 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She curled inside herself like one of those black chimney brushes, the little shellfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/she-grew-more-and-more-silent-about-what-really-mattered-she-curled/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I'm not a believer, I call myself an atheist. It was man who invented God. I once wrote that there are 15 things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/i-m-not-a-believer-i-call-myself-an-atheist-it-was-man-who-invented/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [I've had no shellfish and no pork for quite some time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amar-e-stoudemire/i-ve-had-no-shellfish-and-no-pork-for-quite-some-time/) [Amar'e Stoudemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amar-e-stoudemire/) > [OYSTER, n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails! 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There's one called lingula, which is a little shellfish, a little brachiopod about the size of my fingernail, that has survived for 500 million years, but it's survived by being unobtrusive and doing nothing, and you can't accuse human beings of that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Attenborough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged-there-s-one-called-lingula/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged-there-s-one-called-lingula/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/david-attenborough-2396_being_very-few-species-have-survived-unchanged_1816342.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Very few species have survived unchanged. 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