Plesiosaurs

A reconstruction of Cryptoclidus oxonensis, a plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. (Dmitry Bogdanov, 2000). New research suggests that longnecks might, in fact, be extant plesiosaurs, closely resembling Mesozoic plesiosaurs such as this one.

Recently, my friend Jay Cooney has been talking to me about the possibility of relict plesiosaurs. According to him, researchers such as Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon have provided convincing arguments that extant post-Mesozoic plesiosaurs might be at the heart of longneck reports, both in the oceans and in freshwater lakes and rivers. After doing some more research on the topic, I have come to agree that the possibility of surviving plesiosaurs is a compelling one, and certainly deserves more attention than I have paid it thus far.

Many of the arguments provided by skeptics against the plesiosaur hypothesis fail if one examines them more closely. A common argument is that, since plesiosaurs were ectothermic reptiles, they would not be able to withstand living at lower temperatures, such as in temperate oceans and cold, deep Caledonian lochs. However, being ectothermic does not necessarily preclude an ability to tolerate lower temperatures. Indeed, many reptiles can tolerate colder environments very well. For example, leatherback turtles are famous for their ability to swim in freezing water, and this ability has captured the attention of marine biologists for many decades. Alligators have also been known to survive completely frozen in ice, with no apparent ill effects.

Besides, we don't know everything about plesiosaur physiology and metabolism yet. It is certainly possible that some plesiosaurs might have evolved some degree of endothermy, or something similar to it.

Another anti-plesiosaur assertion is that the reports do not match plesiosaur anatomy. This cookie also crumbles under closer examination. This is because the people who make this argument are usually assuming that all sea serpent and lake monster reports are referring to the same thing, and that is simply not true at all. The majority of sightings are probably just misidentifications of common animals and inanimate objects. The reports which specify "hair", "fur", or other mammalian characteristics are most likely referring to misidentified common mammals, such as moose or otters. It's also possible that there could be some kind of unknown mammal behind the reports, as well (such as a giant otter, or an atypical pinniped). However, it should be noted that, even if this is the case, these sightings would still be distinct from the long-necked, plesiosaur-like reports.
Many reports also describe "manes" on the animals. These manes are usually described as being floppy in appearance, and sometimes green in color. According to some researchers, including Jay Cooney and Dale Drinnon, this mane could simply represent seaweed, kelp, or algae that got stuck around the animals' necks. This might give the appearance of a mane.

Some critics also claim that the plesiosaur hypothesis is impossible because plesiosaur neck flexibility cannot be reconciled with the neck flexibility which is apparent in the reports. However, in my opinion, this cannot be considered a viable argument, simply because we do not know enough about the neck anatomy of all plesiosaur species to say for sure that this is the case (although there have been numerous detailed studies conducted on certain species of plesiosaurs). And not all of the studies have come to the same conclusions. In fact, according to some of the studies, there does appear to be some evidence that the necks of some plesiosaur species might have indeed been flexible enough to account for the degree of flexibility observed in the longneck sightings. So, while this argument is interesting, it cannot be used to completely rule out the plesiosaur hypothesis.

One additional common objection which I feel the need to address right now is that, if plesiosaurs had survived to the present-day, they would have left fossil evidence between the end of the Cretaceous and now. But, just like with the neck flexibility issue, we simply do not know enough about the situation yet to assert that this necessarily has to be the case. There are many factors and variables that affect whether or not fossilization can successfully occur. As an example, the coelocanth is another marine animal which was believed to have died out at the end of the Cretaceous, but has now been found to be extant. And, as far as I know, there aren't any coelocanth fossils left between the end of the Cretaceous and now. 

Scott Mardis has also provided another, very intriguing possibility. According to him, there have been numerous plesiosaur fossils found in geological formations dating to the Cenozoic Era. These range from the Paleocene all the way to the Pleistocene. Most paleontologists consider these to be reworked fossils. However, Scott has argued that they might actually represent genuine evidence of plesiosaur survival past the end of the Cretaceous.

Many sightings also describe the animals moving on land. Some plesiosaurs, such as the aforementioned Cryptoclidus, as well as Plesiosaurus itself, are also thought to have been capable of locomotion on land, like pinnipeds.
There is also some evidence that plesiosaurs might have occasionally lived in freshwater habitats, as well as marine ones. This would explain why sightings occur in freshwater lakes and rivers (such as Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, and Loch Morar in Scotland, Lake Champlain in the United States/Canada, and Nahuel Huapi Lake in Argentina), as well as in the oceans.

In conclusion, I feel that the plesiosaur hypothesis is definitely a very interesting and reasonable possibility, and I shall probably be writing more about it on this blog in the future. And, once again, if you are seeking more information on this topic, I highly recommend that you read some of the work by Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon.
Much of Scott's writing regarding relict plesiosaurs can be found here, on Jay's blog:
bizarrezoology.blogspot.com

Meanwhile, Dale's writing can be found here, on his own Frontiers of Zoology blog:
frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com

P.S. It is also worth noting that I am still open-minded about the whole situation, and I am not a dogmatic supporter of the plesiosaur hypothesis, by any means. There are still many other options. For example, they could also be mammals, such as long-necked pinnipeds or relict archaeocete whales. I still remain open-minded, and my thoughts and opinions on the identity of longnecks could change in the future.

Update: July 6, 2016 Since I wrote this article, I have found out that coelacanth fossils dating from between the end of the Cretaceous and the present-day have, indeed, been found. So the survival to the present-day of the coelacanth can no longer be used to corroborate the possibility of surviving plesiosaurs. However, it should be noted that numerous other examples of ghost lineages (gaps in the fossil record), including sizable ones lasting many million years, are known to exist. An obscure example that probably has the most relevance to this article is the 66-million-year-long gap between the Early Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous that exists for the ichthyosaur family Ichthyosauridae, exemplified by the discovery of the ichthyosaurid genus Malawania, which dates from the Early Cretaceous period, in Iraq in 2013. This particular gap is significant due to the fact that it is the exact same length of time as that which exists between the end of the Cretaceous (which has recently been recalibrated to 66 million years ago, after previously thought to be 65 or 64 million years ago) and now. So I now know my use of the coelacanth as an example of a gap in the fossil record to corroborate the possible existence of plesiosaurs is erroneous. It is also worth noting that it has been pointed out by paleontologist Darren Naish that coelacanth bones are fragile and rarely-fossilized, while bones of substantially-sized marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs are dense and resistant to erosion, and therefore, gaps in the fossil record are less likely. However, the gap in the fossil record of the family Ichthyosauridae, demonstrated in a 2013 paper co-authored by Naish himself, demonstrates that it is, indeed, possible. So no, coelacanths can no longer be used to corroborate the possibility that plesiosaurs could have left a 66-million-year-long gap in the fossil record between the end of the Cretaceous and now. But ichthyosaurids can.

Surviving Descendants of Troodontids: A Possible Explanation for Bipedal Dinosaur Sightings?

A reconstruction of what a modern, featherless descendant of a Troodon might look like.

After thinking some more about the topic, I have come up with a new hypothesis about sightings of bipedal dinosaur-like creatures in the United States. I now think it's possible that they might actually be surviving descendants of troodontid or dromaeosaurid-like dinosaurs. I will now explain what led me to this conclusion.

First of all, after reading this fantastic article by Scott Mardis, I have become much more open-minded about the Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm (PSP).

As Scott pointed out in his excellent article, there are many examples of Lazarus taxa (creatures which disappear in the fossil record, only to appear again much later) and ghost lineages (the missing fossils that are in between the Lazarus taxa). A good example from Scott's article was the megachasmids (a group of sharks which includes the modern Megamouth Shark). Fossils of megachasmids are found in the mid-Cretaceous, but then they disappear. They do not appear again until the Miocene, 70 million years later. So there's no reason why dromaeosaurids or troodontids also could not have left a 66-million-year ghost lineage from the end of the Cretaceous until now.

And actually, according to this article, a fossil tooth of a Velociraptor-like dinosaur was, indeed, discovered in Miocene deposits in Louisiana. It is possible that it was just reworked from older sediments; however, there still remains a distinct possibility that it actually was native to the Miocene, and that it is evidence of the survival of small theropod dinosaurs beyond the end of the Cretaceous.
(By the way, it is worth noting that there are actually a lot of plesiosaur remains from the Cenozoic that are supposedly "reworked". These remains range from the Paleocene to the Pleistocene, and according to some researchers, such as Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that they are not really reworked, and that they are actually native to the Cenozoic.)

For the most part, the creatures described in the sightings very much resemble a Troodon-like dinosaur, except for one major difference: they lack feathers. It is now believed that troodontids, dromaeosaurids, and their relatives had feathers, like modern birds. And almost all sightings of these bipedal dinosaur-like animals describe them as having scaly, featherless skin.

However, I have found that even this difference is still reconcilable with a troodontid identity. Many birds alive today have lost their feathers and replaced them with scales, so there is no reason why troodontids also couldn't have done the same. There could be many possible reasons for the loss of feathers.

One hypothesis, which I think is the most likely, is that they lost their feathers due to adaptations to a semi-aquatic lifestyle. These creatures are said to live around bodies of water, and are said to be somewhat semi-aquatic. This is why they are often referred to as "River Dino" and such.

When animals start to live in the water more, they often lose their fur or feathers. For example, whales are descended from furry ancestors, but they have now lost almost all of their fur. Penguins are an example of modern birds which are semi-aquatic, and they already have shorter feathers than other birds.

And it's possible that not all of the feathers have been lost, and some of them still remain.
Perhaps they still have some feathers left on their backs, for example. This could explain why so many witnesses claim that they have spine-like structures on their backs.

So this is my hypothesis. I would very much appreciate any constructive critiques or suggestions.

P.S.: I am not completely in support of this hypothesis. It's just a possibility that I'm throwing out there.

New Bipedal Lizard Sighting From Utah

I have recently been informed of a new bipedal lizard sighting. It happened in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah in the Summer of 2011. A man saw several bipedal lizards in a pack. They were about 4 feet tall. He then drew a sketch of the animal that he had seen. It was lightly-built, with long legs and a long neck.

Here is the sketch:

Using this sketch and the information from this sighting, I have been able to come up with a new hypothesis about these lizards. I have modified the ideas that I previously had about them.

I now think that they are closely-related to the Collared Lizard. They are around 4 feet tall, 10 feet long, and weighing around 32 pounds (possibly up to 40 pounds or so in the largest specimens). They are lightly-built, with long legs, a long neck, and a long tail. They are capable of running very quickly on their hind legs.

They are vicious predators who hunt in packs, and there are stories of them killing humans. Both the predatory behavior and the pack-hunting behavior leads me to believe that these lizards might possibly be related to the Collared Lizard, which also lives in the Southwestern United States. Collared Lizards are also vicious predators, and they have also been observed using pack-hunting tactics to flush out their prey.
This lizard would pretty much be a gigantic and more strongly-bipedal version of the Collared Lizard.

This is probably the best sighting report I have ever heard of. I am looking forward to receiving more sighting reports of these fascinating animals in the near future.

New Tapir Species Discovered In South America

A new species of tapir, the Kobomani Tapir (Tapirus kabomani), has been discovered in Brazil and Colombia. This is a very significant discovery. It is the first new tapir species discovered since 1865, the first new perissodactyl species discovered in over 100 years, and the largest new species of terrestrial mammal discovered since the Saola (Vu Quang Ox) in 1992.

What I find ironic about this discovery is that it came at a time when the fate of cryptozoology is in rather uncertain hands. We have lost many great people, such as Roy Mackal, and the field of cryptozoology is now mostly in the hands of unscientific people who just want to attract attention and earn money. Therefore, the field of cryptozoology is not doing so well right now.

I remember another time in history when cryptozoology wasn't doing so well. It was back in 1812, when the revered French biologist Baron Georges Cuvier made what cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans called his Rash Dictum: That no species of large animals remained undiscovered. However, just seven years later, in 1819, a new species of tapir was discovered in South America. This heralded the beginning of an era in which several new species of large animals were discovered all over the world, including the mountain gorilla, the okapi, and the Komodo dragon.

So I find it ironic that, in both cases, a new tapir was discovered.

Let's hope that the new tapir of 2013 ends up heralding the beginning of a new era of discovery, just like the new tapir of 1819 did.

RIP Dr. Roy P. Mackal (1925–2013)

According to an article on Loren Coleman's CryptoZooNews Blog, cryptozoologist Roy P. Mackal, who was famous for going on expeditions in search of the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland and the Mokele-Mbembe of Central Africa, died in September 2013, according to an online obituary at a funeral home website. He was born on August 1, 1925, and was 88 years old at the time of his death.

In early 2012, I began to be interested in lake monsters. I purchased Mackal's book, The Monsters of Loch Ness, from a bookstore and began to read it. I was immediately amazed at how scientific and logical Mackal's writing was. He was not some crazy lunatic who believed that every single sighting and photo/video was true - he was a very intelligent and down-to-Earth individual who truly succeeded in bringing cryptozoology out of the domain of the true believers and lunatics and into the domain of science (at least in my opinion).

I also read his book about mokele-mbembe. While the book is outdated now (due to recent discoveries in paleontology that have contradicted many of the theories about dinosaurs that Mackal had back then), I still found it to be a very good book, as well. I was especially impressed by this quote from Mackal:

"I admit that my own views are tinged with some romanticism, but certainly not to the extent that I would endure extreme hardship, even risk my life, to pursue a dream with no basis in reality."

I was very sad to learn that Roy Mackal has passed away. His passing also marks the end of an era, as he was the last surviving founder of the International Society of Cryptozoology. Now there are no longer any founders of the ISC who are still living.

Rest in peace, Roy Mackal. You will always be one of the true legends in the field of cryptozoology.

Large, Flightless Dinosaur-Like Birds

I have already written about sightings of large bipedal creatures in North and South America which resemble theropod dinosaurs. I concluded that those sightings are probably of large, unknown bipedal lizards. However, there are also some reports which describe features that appear to be characteristic of theropod dinosaurs. For example, there are some sighting reports which state that the animals had three toes, and appeared to be covered with fur-like structures on their bodies. Both of these characteristics are not really compatible with the lizard identity. 

Therefore, I have come up with a new hypothesis to explain these odd sightings. I feel that there is a species of large flightless bird living in the Americas which has evolved tooth-like serrations in its beak and a long, bony tail. This may sound unlikely, but in reality, it isn't. There are many birds alive today with tooth-like structures in their beaks; one example is the merganser. And there are already many birds which have claws on their wings, such as the ostrich. And finally, there was an extinct flightless bird called Sylviornis which had long, bony tails, just like their non-avian theropod relatives did.

These birds are probably around 5 feet tall and 9 feet long. They have a beak with tooth-like structures in it, which they use to help catch their prey. They are omnivorous, feeding on nuts, seeds, and insects, and occasionally taking larger prey, too. They most likely belong to the order Galliformes, which includes chicken and turkeys, as well as Sylviornis. In fact, they might actually be birds in the same family as Sylviornis that evolved tooth-like structures in their beaks, wing claws, and even longer tails. 

So, this is my hypothesis. I would appreciate any feedback or constructive critiques of it. Cheers! 

Lake Monsters

One of the most well-known categories of cryptids to the general public are the lake monsters. There is no good definition of a lake monster, but I will try my best to define them. Lake monsters are large aquatic cryptids that are sighted in lakes. The term 'lake monster' covers a very wide variety of different types of cryptids, so it's really not very possible to discuss all of them in one blog post. Therefore, in this post, I will only discuss some basic information about these creatures.

Lake monsters are reported from all over the world; reports have come from every continent other than Antarctica.

Without a doubt, the most famous lake monster in the world has got to be the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. Strange animals have been sighted at Loch Ness for centuries. However, it was not until 1933 that these cryptids became very popular. In that year, there was a new road that was built right next to the loch. This may have been at least partially responsible for the dramatic increase in sightings that year.

Another famous lake monster is Champ of Lake Champlain in the United States. Native Americans living next to the lake have long had legends about a strange creature or 'dragon' living in the lake. The Abenaki called these creatures Tataskok. Sightings of these creatures increased greatly in the late 19th century. In 1873, it was even alleged that one of these creatures swam into a ship on the lake, nearly sinking it in the process.

According to the eyewitness descriptions and photos that have been taken of them, Nessie and Champ look very similar to each other. Although descriptions vary widely, most eyewitnesses describe a large, aquatic creature with a long neck and four flippers; in other words, a very plesiosaur-like animal. 

Numerous ideas and hypotheses have been developed over the years to attempt to explain these anomalous freshwater cryptids. Obviously, one of the most likely candidates at first glance appears to be a surviving plesiosaur. They match the body shape and anatomy very well, and are very reminiscent of some of the eyewitness descriptions and photographs.

Some other hypotheses include: a large amphibian, like a giant salamander; a giant, long-necked pinniped; and a giant eel.

However, despite all of the ideas that have been proposed, we still have no idea what these cryptids actually are. Hopefully, in the future, they will be discovered and scientifically-named. Then, we will finally have solved one of the greatest mysteries in the history of mankind: the mystery of the lake monsters.