Lazarus Taxon
Updated 2026-08-08
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A Lazarus taxon is a species or group that vanishes from the fossil record for a long interval and later reappears, as the coelacanth did when a living specimen was caught after an absence of tens of millions of years. The gap usually reflects sampling failure, small population size or an inaccessible habitat rather than genuine extinction followed by reappearance. The concept therefore warns against reading absence from the record as evidence that a group no longer exists.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Check the record: ask whether an absence reflects extinction or simply a gap in sampling. - Look for refuges: consider whether the group could persist in habitats you cannot observe. - Time the revival: recognize that styles return once nostalgia replaces boredom.
Anchor fast decisions
The fossil record samples only organisms that lived where sediments accumulated and that were later exposed and found. Small populations in poorly sampled habitats can leave no record for long stretches even while they persist, so their absence is a property of the sampling process rather than of the organism. Rediscovery happens when sampling finally reaches the refuge.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxonverified
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