Re: "Lazarus" Dinosaurs in the Paleocene!!?

["Ken Kinman" <kinman@hotmail.com>]

    First, it would probably be best to continue calling them "Lazarus" 
dinosaurs, and not abbreviated as "Lazarosaurs".  Otherwise it may generate 
confusion with the non-dinosaurian genus Lazarussaurus (which were primitive 
choristoderes or choristodere relatives).
     As for Buckaroo's suggestion (below) that Paleocene dinosaur survivors 
might be "the end of the impact hypothesis", I don't think it would even 
begin to threaten he impact hypothesis unless we found that the great 
majority of dinosaur species continued into the early Paleocene (along with 
ammonites, etc.).
    This does not appear to be the case at all.  If there were dinosaur 
survivors of KT, it was probably just a few species whose eggs managed to 
hatch many months after the impact.  Fassett himself suggests that all the 
adult dinosaurs probably died in the devastation caused by the impact, and I 
agree fully.
     From the abstract, it appears that his talk tomorrow will deal with 
how long he thinks the Lazarus dinosaur species survived (some almost a 
million years in New Mexico?).   Whether he will be discussing new evidence 
that the hadrosaur femur was not reworked remains to be seen.  We might have 
to wait until early 2002 for that evidence.
    He apparently has no grant money for this research, and works on it in 
his spare time (which must make progress on this research slow and 
difficult).   I just hope he is right about "Lazarus" dinosaurs, and that 
his new evidence will be pretty convincing (although it won't be like having 
some articulated specimens).
    By the way, does anyone know how close together the two "Paleocene" 
theropod vertebrae were found?  I assume they were not found articulated.
                   -----Ken
********************************************
> From: Buckaroobwana@aol.com
> Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001

> Greetings,
> If this hadrosaur femur turns out to be Paleocene, wouldn't it be the end 
> of
> the impact hypothesis for all intents and purposes? What are the thoughts 
> of
> the on-list professional paleontologists about this?                        
>                      Thanks,                                             
> Brian Buck


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