Re: when is a Lazarus Taxon not a Lazarus Taxon?

[tholtz@geol.umd.edu]

> Is an Elvis taxon a taxon that is really extinct, but thought by some
> to be still alive (like the Loch Ness plesiosaur)?

An Elvis taxon is when a new species assumes the same form as a previously
existing, but extinct, species. I.e., it is an impersonator of an extinct
form.

There is also the Zombie Effect (when a fossil is reworked and redeposited
in younger sediment).

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
        Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
        Mailing Address:
                Building 237, Room 1117
                College Park, MD  20742

http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
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