A New Year and New Zoological Musings

The Etendeka round-eared sengi, a new species of elephant shrew which posed a surprise to mammalogists in 2014. (Source)

With the occurrence of this New Year's Day, yet another year of my writing on this blog has transpired. I hope to deliver fresh material throughout this coming year, with an increased focus on non-cryptozoological topics. I feel that time constraints and my own personal favoritism for the study of unverified animal species have caused me to neglect other zoological matters and even miss opportunities to write on recent discoveries. Also, I have since come to a significant turning point of sorts in regard to my views on this controversial field and its more popular mystery animal elements.
Having taken alternate hypotheses and data interpretations into account from recent skeptical literature such as Abominable Science and The Cryptozoologicon, with consideration of the continued lack of substantiated data (even with the Oxford-Lausanne Collateral Hominid Project having occurred), I have grown to adopt a more critical stance towards the idea of an undiscovered species of North American primate. As an effort of self-correction (the lacking of which in cryptozoological literature has formerly constituted a point of criticism towards the field), I will be reverting the pro-sasquatch articles on this blog back into a draft format. It is my opinion that this action does not reflect poorly on my reputation but rather shows that I am willing to adapt my own hypotheses when met with contrasting data. I will continue to examine any alleged evidence which comes my way with an impartial mind, but until more telling signs such as skeletal remains arise, I will withhold published commentary. While it may sound like my current views towards cryptozoology are predominantly negative, I have one especially exciting piece of information to share. Today, a revised edition of Peter Costello's In Search of Lake Monsters has been released by Anomalist Books. Additions to this cryptozoological classic include a new cover, an afterword by Peter Costello, an introduction by Loren Coleman, and a preface by Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans. This work has been considered a pioneering review of globally observed "lake monsters", with researcher Scott Mardis describing it as a sort of freshwater-oriented sequel to Heuvelmans' In The Wake of The Sea-Serpents. It also stands as an old guard for the long-necked pinniped hypothesis in explanation of certain freshwater mystery animals, the line of thinking which I was once a strong proponent of. I have already preordered a copy of this promising revision, but the webpage containing information and purchasing details can be found here. As Discovering Cadborosaurus and an updated republication of In Search of Prehistoric Survivors are also set for printing during this upcoming year, it may very well prove to be a newfound time of cryptozoological advancements with fresh literature.



The cover of the revised In Search of Lake Monsters. (Source)

With discoveries such as a new species of fossil basking shark, the splitting of the American snapping turtle into three distinct species, well preserved skeletons of the "terrible hands" Deinocheirus, a new cold stream-dwelling lizard species, and what may be the largest new terrestrial mammal species since the Vu Quang Ox, 2014 was a goldmine of bizarre zoological findings. Let's hope that 2015 holds the same thrilling potential.