An Update about Prehistoric Survival

On February 11, I wrote a post about the possibility of certain cryptids being surviving representatives of long-extinct taxa. Well, I have now reversed my opinion on this matter. You see, after much thought and cosideration, I have now concluded that it is unlikely that most cryptids are "Lazarus taxa" (survivors from a past age). As paleontologist Darren Naish has pointed out on his blog, the phenomenon known as convergent evolution can produce creatures which look very similar to certain extinct creatures from the fossil record. Therefore, it is now my opinion that most of the similarities to extinct animals which are observed in a select few cryptids are most-likely the result of convergent evolution, rather than true prehistoric survival.