cryptozoic

US: (krip′tə zō′ik)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cryp•to•zo•ic  (krip′tə zō′ik), adj. 

1. Geology (cap.) of or pertaining to that part of Precambrian time whose stratigraphic record yields only sparse, primitive fossils.
2. Zoology living in concealed or secluded places.

n. 

3. Geology (cap.) the part of Precambrian time whose stratigraphic record yields only sparse, primitive fossils.

• crypto- + zo- + -ic 1890–95