lazarus taxon in neontology

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Thomas - 23 Feb 2005 16:50 GMT

Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
it be designated as a lazarus taxon? If not, what is the correct
ecological term for disappearing and reappearing red list species?

I am writing a wikipedia article about living fossils and would like
some peer review (not that i'm a paleontologist), here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_fossil

please contribute to wikipedia;) It is the best the internet has
spawned so far

Reply to this Message

John Harshman - 23 Feb 2005 18:34 GMT

> Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
> organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
> it be designated as a lazarus taxon? If not, what is the correct
> ecological term for disappearing and reappearing red list species?

Since there's no official registry of Lazarus taxa, you make up your own
mind. I would say yes; it would fit all the requirements. The length of
the stratigraphic gap needed is surely proportional to the intensity of
the sampling.

If there are neontological Lazarus taxa, there actually are a couple of
birds that might qualify: Jerdon's courser and pink-headed duck, both
discovered alive after having been widely considered extinct for years.

> I am writing a wikipedia article about living fossils and would like
> some peer review (not that i'm a paleontologist), here:
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> please contribute to wikipedia;) It is the best the internet has
> spawned so far

Reply to this Message

Stewart Robert Hinsley - 23 Feb 2005 19:29 GMT

>> Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
>> organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>birds that might qualify: Jerdon's courser and pink-headed duck, both
>discovered alive after having been widely considered extinct for years.

Wasn't the Takahe thought to be extinct at one point?

The Wollemi Pine might well count as a neontological Lazarus taxa; the
pollen record runs out quite some time into the past.

Signature

Stewart R. Hinsley

Reply to this Message

John Harshman - 23 Feb 2005 21:06 GMT

>>>Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
>>>organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Wasn't the Takahe thought to be extinct at one point?

Quite possible. I'm sure there are other examples.

> The Wollemi Pine might well count as a neontological Lazarus taxa; the
> pollen record runs out quite some time into the past.

Reply to this Message

Thomas - 24 Feb 2005 23:11 GMT

> > Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
> > organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> the stratigraphic gap needed is surely proportional to the intensity of
> the sampling.

Could you please elaborate on that? How could one point observation
(one lazarus species-with its own sampling intensity and gap) be used
in a regression analysis to test proportionality? On a more intuitive
level (with neontological lazarus taxa), isn't the length of the gap
tiny, and the sampling scrutinous (and so inversely proportional)?

> If there are neontological Lazarus taxa, there actually are a couple of
> birds that might qualify: Jerdon's courser and pink-headed duck, both
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> > please contribute to wikipedia;) It is the best the internet has
> > spawned so far

Reply to this Message

John Harshman - 25 Feb 2005 00:31 GMT

>>>Hi, I was wondering if the term lazarus taxon may be used on extant
>>>organisms? For instance, if the quagga suddenly would reappear, would
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> level (with neontological lazarus taxa), isn't the length of the gap
> tiny, and the sampling scrutinous (and so inversely proportional)?

Not much to elaborate. Good luck on quantifying sampling intensity well
enough for a regression. Don't forget to factor in preservability too.
And yes, the length of gap that's surprising should be inversely
proportional to sampling intensity.

>>If there are neontological Lazarus taxa, there actually are a couple of
>>birds that might qualify: Jerdon's courser and pink-headed duck, both
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>>>please contribute to wikipedia;) It is the best the internet has
>>>spawned so far

Reply to this Message

Natural Science Forum / Biology / Paleontology / February 2005

lazarus taxon in neontology