'Living Fossels"?? Dinosaurs??

Question

Dinosaurs(we'll call 'em dinos) went extinct correct? Negative! Dinosaurs(small ones) have been spotted in Africa. So what do scientist call them? Living fossels, no? How can one justify that name?
A. it is a foolish name because 'living' and 'fossel' totally contradict each other
B. It's a cover up for the scientists own mistakes

So therefore, based upon the fact that not ALL kinds of dinosaurs have gone extinct, we can say that it was mistake to call the entire species of dinosaur extinct instead of simply referring to the mistake as a 'living fossil' which, as I said earlier, totally contradicts itself.
True, many dinosaurs have gone extinct however not ALL have. So would it not be more scientific to state the mistake instead of coming up with a name FOR the mistake?

Answer 1

Living fossil is indeed a misleading, often incorrect term. So called 'living fossils' such as the coelacanth, tuatara, horseshoe crabs, cockroaches and such are called that informally because they have characteristics which are similar to those of organisms which existed long in the past - they are successful critters which have survived into the modern era by virtue of their efficient ecological 'fitness'.

It's not a cover up by scientists of any kind. It's merely meant as a way of refering to a species that long ago found an evolutionary niche that allows it to be successful, even when in competition with more 'advanced' organisms that evolved after they first appeared.

Your assertion that dinosaurs are not extinct, however, is incorrect. There have been vague rumours of a critter that has been occasionally described as having features vaguely reminscent of a sauropod dinosaur - albeit a very small version of a sauropod, that is alleged to live in the Congo basin. Cryptozoologists usually refer to this critter as Mkele Mbembe, after the Mbutu name for the critter.

There has been absolutely no physical evidence ever found to confirm that this organism even exists, let alone to prove that it represents a living dinosaur species.

The Mkele Mbembe is in the same nebulous zoological realm that Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Nandi Bear exist in. Rumours, unsubstantiated and unreliable 'eyewitness' statements, and perhaps a handful of blurry pictures that are probably more the result of wishful thinking than real zoological evidence.

Even if Mkele Mbembe were shown to actually exist, and also be shown to be a surviving dinosaur, it would still be a misnomer to call it a living fossil - as the fact that this little sauropod would have undergone 65 million years of evolution just like every other critter in the swamps it is alleged to live in would mean that there is virtually no chance that it would actually represent an exact species known from fossil records.

Answer 2

Living fossil is an informal term for any living species (or clade) of organism which seems to be the same as a species otherwise only known from fossils and has no close living relatives. These species have all survived major extinction events, and generally retain low taxonomic diversities. A species which successfully radiates (forming many new species after a possible genetic bottleneck) has become too successful to be considered a "living fossil". The term is frequently misinterpreted. It does not necessarily mean living dinosaur.

Answer 3

You would believe unsubstantiated claims from nameless people who claim to have spotted a creature in Africa, claiming it to be a dinosaur, and then accuse scientists of fraud?

If there is a creature out there, big enough to be a (small) dinosaur, then it should be leaving conspicuous droppings in the area it was seen. There have been numerous expeditions to look for this "dinosaur", without success.
You need not worry about a cover up, as scientists are as prone to pride as anyone. Rest assured, there are some that would sell their grandmother for the chance to be the first to find a living dinosaur. They would then modestly name it after themselves, appear on the cover of every magazine on Earth, become very rich and be remembered forever.
Trust me, there is no cover up.

Answer 4

Yeah, living fossil isn't a technical term. It's just to imply a meaning. Alligators, Crocodiles and some other lizards have been called living fossils because it is thought that they have been around since, or at least close too, the time of the dinosaurs. They are not called dinosaurs though

Answer 5

I stay 80 miles from the advent Museum, which paradoxically sits top down the line from massive Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky. At massive Bone Lick they uncovered the remains of mastadons that had lived there in the process the Ice Age. The advent Museum replaced into typical for one reason and one reason on my own--it replaced into intentionally set up interior in line with threat 10 miles of massive Bone Lick State Park as a "rebuttal" to the chilly no longer straight forward information of organic historic previous. Dinosaurs are no longer reported interior the old testomony, which speaks volumes relating to the author(s) of Genesis. that they had adequate awareness in an unscientific age to no longer attempt to "contain" something relating to the dating between God and guy and the tale of advent that replaced into doubtful or ambiguous to them. in straight forward terms Creationists attempt to "fill interior the blanks" via examining extra into Genesis than is printed.

Answer 6

sure....whatever they said.......