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Re: Species name etymology
--- Steve Walsh <steve.w@c-point.com> wrote:
> Dear DMLers,
> I'm attempting to nail down the etymology of some species names. I'd
> really appreciate your collected wisdom on confirming, correcting and
> completing the below list. In anticipation, thanks.
I've tried to pull the answers from the original papers.
>
> AVIMIMUS portentosus - Possibly "portentous" = of monumental
> significance, because Avimimus was such an important find
>
> BACTROSAURUS johnsoni - Johnson?
presumably because the type materials came from Johnson's quarry
>
> CARNOTAURUS sastrei ?
>
> CHAMOSAURUS belli - In honor of John Bell Hatcher, a fossil collector
> of 19th century United States or in reference to the Belly River ?
>
> COELOPHYSIS bauri - In honor of Georg Herman Baur, who was at one
> time Marsh's collector, but later wrote articles on Marsh's
> inaccurate illustrations - correct?
sounds good, though i woudn't know.
>
> DRYOSAURUS altus - Altus (Latin) = "high" or "deep" - why?
>
> EDMONTONIA longiceps - Longus (Latin) = "long" and -ceps - why?
>
> EUOPLOCEPHALUS tutus - Tutus (Latin) = "safe" referring to the
> security afforded by its armour - (wild guess on my part)
>
> GALLIMIMUS bullatus - Bhel = "to inflate or swell", referring to the
> inflated braincase area of the skull - correct?
I think so, and for the same reason Bullatosauria that got its name.
>
> MAMENCHISAURUS constructus - Constrictus (Latin) = "compress" - why?
Not named for a construction company if i recall from my youth?
>
> ORNITHOLESTES hermanni - Herman?
Adam herman was the preparator working on the specimen, so probably yes.
>
> PROTOCERATOSAURUS bradleyi - In honor of Wilmot Hyde Bradley,
> distinguished geologist and Chief Geologist of the U.S. Geological
> Survey - correct?
Close, but Megalosaurus bradleyi (when named) was a European form, so that's a
hint.
Woodward named the species after its discoverer, F. Lewis Bradley
>
> RHOETOSAURUS brownie - In honor of Henry York Lyell Brown, a
> geologist responsible for many vertebrate fossils found in Australia -
> correct?
No, named for A. J. Browne, manager at the then Durham Downs Station. The
species name is brownei.
>
> SHUNOSAURUS lii ?
Named for Beng Lii, a hydrologist and governer of olden Sichuan province
>
> STRUTHIOMIMUS altus - Altus (Latin) = "high" or "deep" - why?
if you find the answer for Dryosaurus altus, then probably it is the same here.
>
> TROODON formosus - Forma (Latin) = "shape", perhaps referring to the
> form of the teeth - correct?
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