くコ:彡 Bio-lexical curiosities

¡Táxóñ!

くコ:彡 Σar>ellous!
くコ:彡 LaNarus taxa, El>is taxa, a<d Nombie taxa are used i< paleo<tology to describe species doi<g weird thi<gs i< the fossil record.

くコ:彡 LaNarus taxa are species which >a<ished from the fossil record, iΣplyi<g their exti<ctio<, but crop up agai< Σa<y Σillio<s of years dow< the track!
くコ:彡 They'll "reappear" i< more rece<tly-laid layers of the sediΣe<tary rock which best preser>es fossils, but this is presuΣably because they were<'t bei<g fossilised, <ot that there were <o<e arou<d to cast i<to the silt!
くコ:彡 The fossils we fi<d are a fractio< of a s<apshot of all the life that was arou<d at the tiΣe, so you ca< thi<k of LaNarus taxa likea sampli<g error!




くコ:彡 I< a few rare cases, the orga<ism reappears <ot as a fossil, but a livi<g breathi<g exaΣple of the o<ce-thought-exti<ct species! The coeloca<th is such a< exaΣple.

くコ:彡 El>is taxa are iΣperso<ators!
くコ:彡 If a species e>ol>es i<to a<other species, it's tough to claiΣ the original we<t exti<ct. Sure, they're different species because they ca<'t breed, but it's a co<ti<uuΣ, <ot a hard li<e.
くコ:彡 SoΣetiΣes, a species va<ishes from the fossil record beyo<d a certain poi<t i< tiΣe, a<d is presuΣed exti<ct.
くコ:彡 U<til! A siΣilar species is fou<d i< a fresher layer, a<d it's decreed the old o<e sur>i>ed a<d e>ol>ed i<to the <ewer.
くコ:彡 A<iΣals are<'t terribly origi<al, though, a<d e>olution is rather harsh o< those which try <ew a<d whacky survival strategies.
くコ:彡 too ofte<, orga<isms co<>erge o<a siΣilar body pla< because that's what happeNs to just work, y'dig?
くコ:彡 E>e< whe< they're totally u<related! The <ew species, after bei<g outed as soΣethi<g other tha< the i<itially-decreed desce<da<t of the lost taxa, is labelled a< El>is Taxa.


くコ:彡 Nombie taxa are a<other paleo<tological bug!
くコ:彡 If a fossil gets dislodged froΣ its origi<al strata, a<d is washed i<to fresher sediΣe<t which the< starts o< its Σillio<s-years-jour<ey to becoΣi<g sediΣe<tary rock proper, it'll show up i< Σuch you<ger rock whe< e>e<tually disco>ered!
くコ:彡 A Nombie taxa Σay trick scie<tists i<to thi<ki<g a speciΣe< was ali>e a<d kicki<g far later tha< it really was.

くコ:彡 tha<ks for readi<g! I'Σ out of ideas for <ow but will help guess if a<ybody else wa<ts to share cool a<imal <ames.