Surviving Dinosaurs and Kin
Part One
by Willie Shughart and Matthew J. Eaton
As children many of us became fascinated with dinosaurs, the huge beasts that roamed the Earth a mere 65 million years ago. In recent times books like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World and the film Jurassic Park have given many a glimpse of what it would be like if the dinosaurs and their kin had lived alongside man. There are those within the cryptozoological field that believe they still do. Whether it be the world famous Loch Ness Monster or the little known Emela-Ntouka, could dinosaurs and kin be alive after 65 million years? Furthermore, would they still be the creatures they once were?
The Kasai Rex
Let us examine the case of the Kasai Rex. In 1932 John Johnson, a Swedish plantation owner, was walking through the Kasai Valley with his servant. During their walk they came across a grazing rhinoceros, which was then attacked and killed by a theropod-like creature, dubbed the Kasai Rex due to it's location and appearance. During the ordeal Johnson's servant fled the scene, while Johnson fainted due to fright. Upon awaking, Johnson described the animal as being around 40ft long, walking on two strong legs, and being a dark red in color.
Johnson's sighting would be the best sighting of the Kasai Rex, unfortunately evidence suggests John Johnson never existed in the first place. Furthermore, there are several different versions of the above story, one of which states a photo was taken of the Kasai Rex. It doesn't take a FBI photo analysis to see that it's no more then a lizard hunched over a toy rhino. With this evidence, not to mention the fact John Johnson never existed, and lack of any additional sightings it's safe to say the Kasai Rex simply doesn't exist.
The Loch Ness Monsters and Others
One of the most popular theories involving dinosaur relatives is a surviving member of the Plesiosauria as an explanation for the Loch Ness Monster and many more. Lake Monsters of the British Isles and to some extent those of the rest of the old world do bear some outward resemblance to the long-necked aquatic archosaurs of the Mesozoic. Both have long necks and an arched back, and some sightings indicate the diamond-shaped fins borne by the Plesiosaurs. That said, it has been heavily debated whether most plesiosaurs could even raise their necks in the way that most lake monsters do, and those of the New World (for whom, at least, the plesiosaur theory is proposed less often) do not bear fins at all by the vast majority of sightings.
Furthermore, the climate in which lake monsters tend to be sighted (generally fairly far north and south), would not be a hospitable climate for any reptile, and fully-aquatic reptiles, past and present, have clung almost exclusively to tropical waters. Calculations have also shown that in Loch Ness and some other lakes as well, there would not be enough fish to support a population of voracious piscivores such as the plesiosaurs.
All this aside, survival of plesiosaurs into the present remains highly unlikely. The fossil record shows that the Plesiosauria did not survive past the late Jurassic, long before the K/T Extinction during which most dinosaurs and their kin are thought to have died out. Even the idea of some plesiosaurs taking refuge in lakes is flawed, as most of the lakes thought to hold monsters were formed at the end of the Pleistocene period (only 10,000 years ago) by melting glaciers. So, with the myriad of other theories regarding lake monsters, the assumption that Nessie and others must be plesiosaurs is probably not a safe one.
The Kongamato, and other "Pterosaurs"
From the Things That Come Out of the Desert in Arizona and Big Bird in Texas to Africa’s Kongamato and the Camazotz in South America, various winged creatures around the world have been theorized to be surviving types of Pterosaurs, the flying relatives of the Dinosauria. They are all bare, membranous-winged flying ‘monsters,’ just like the pterosaurs of the Mesozoic era. Many have ‘hair’ as pterosaurs were thought to have had, as well as tails. Certainly in some cases their appearances are quite similar. But how much sense do these theories actually make?
The central problem with these theories is that they are based solely on appearances, not taking into account that these animals have no fossil record more recent than 65 million years old. This is an extremely long time to not only remain almost completely unnoticed, but also to remain more or less unchanged. Additionally, pterosaurs were oceanside-dwelling piscivores (fish-eaters), and quite a few “surviving pterosaurs” live a great distance from any ocean (some, in fact, are desert-dwellers), and more than likely, an inland lake would lack the volume of fish that would be required to support a viable population.
In conclusion, while a surviving species or multiple species of the Pterosauria may be an appealing idea, there are more evidences against than for such an idea, and for those cryptids who may superficially resemble Pterosaurs, no matter how closely, it is probably best to seek another explanation.
Mokele-mbembe: How Likely a Sauropod?
From the Likouala Swamp and Lake Tele, in the heart of Congo, there come reports of a massive, semiaquatic herbivorous animal with a long neck, crocodilian tail, which leaves behind huge three-toed tracks. It is called Mokele-mbembe, a name which is alternately translated as “one who stops the flow of rivers” and “rainbow.” Either way, it is seen by the natives of the region as a monstrous creature, which reputedly kills hippopotami on sight (though it feeds exclusively on the Malombo plant, and does not eat the hippos). Multiple expeditions have been launched with the intention of discovering the creature, but they have turned up little but its footprints.
Speculation has raged about the identity of this creature, but most have arrived at one conclusion: the animals are surviving members of that famous group of dinosaurs, the Sauropods. And why not? A huge, long-necked, thick-tailed animal which leaves tracks that do resemble those of some Sauropods. But wait: Sauropods reached their peak more than 65 million years ago, and went out with the rest of the dinosaurs, and the fossil record has no evidence to debate that. Furthermore, Mokele-mbembe has the ability not only to hold its neck upright (excluding all but the Camarasaurs, as recent research shows that almost all sauropods held their necks horizontally) but also to move its neck flexibly, something physically impossible for the sauropods to have done.
As for Mokele-mbembe’s habitat, this too is a blow to the sauropod theory. While early dinosaur films and texts depicted sauropods as sluggish, swamp-dwelling animals, because scientists at the time believed that they were so huge that they could only support their weight in water, it is now known that this is untrue, and that sauropods were probably full-time land-dwellers. In fact, the pressure of deep-enough water for the sauropod to submerge or mostly submerge itself would probably collapse the sauropod’s lungs, according to some researchers.
So, although the idea of a living sauropod is an attractive one for many, it, unlike some Mesozoic survival theories, does not even fit well superficially for the Mokele-mbembe.
Emela-ntouka: A Mystery of the Congo
Finally we come to the case of the Emela-Ntouka. Unlike the other dinosaurs and similar creatures mentioned in this article the Emela-Ntouka can't be written off so easily. When it comes to the Emela-Ntouka there are generally two theories on its true identity. One suggests that it is a surviving ceratopsian, while the other suggests it is an undiscovered semi-aquatic rhinoceros. It's true that the Emela-Ntouka's description, about the size of an elephant with a crocodile-like tail and possessing a single ivory horn on its nose, paints a wonderful picture of a surviving ceratopsian. While at the same time the fact that it has a large tail and an ivory nose goes against our common view of rhinoceroses (rhinos have horns of matted hair and not ivory). So is the Emela-Ntouka is a surviving ceratopsian? Perhaps not.
What may have happened is a case of convergent evolution. Convergent evolution is when two unrelated species develop similar traits and characteristics. In the case of Emela-Ntouka it may have developed its horn for the same reasons modern rhinoceroses and the ceratopsians did in the past. As for its other characteristics, like the long tail, it may be safe to assume that the Emela-Ntouka is indeed a large undiscovered species of reptile, perhaps a new form of monitor lizard. The fact is the Emela-Ntouka is indeed a unique case when compared to the other creatures mentioned in this list. Given the remoteness of its location and the little that is truly known about it we can't be certain if it isn't a dinosaur or if convergent evolution plays a part in its appearance.
As you can see it's simple to believe that certain cryptids are in fact surviving dinosaurs, but next to the Emela-Ntouka there is much more to each cryptid that suggests something else. While the idea of surviving dinosaurs is fun to think about, it's just not all that likely after 65 million years. The fact is that all the members of the Archosauria (the group which dinosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs etc. belonged to) are far from extinct. Birds are now considered to be part of this ancient group, which also includes Crocodylians, so you need to look no further than your own backyard to see modern day relatives of the dinosaurs. Perhaps one day we'll be proven wrong and a surviving dinosaur will be found in one of the remote jungles of the world, however unlikely it may seem.
Join us in our next installment when we take a look at the "surviving dinosaurs" of South America and Australia, the Ica Stones, Dragons, and Creationist theories.
