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Re: Raptorex, the new tiny tyrant



Quoting "T. Michael Keesey" <keesey@gmail.com>:

"Raptorex" seems a very odd way to combine the root words, kind of
like "crooking" ("crook" + "king").

Very true, especially given that Latin is not generally given to haplology the way Greek is (the famous example being "amphi-phora" 'carried on both sides, two-handled' becoming "amphora").

Interestingly, though, the authors have actually stumbled on a better name than the one they were going for. A "raptorex" would be a "rex" that is "raptus", that is, a 'seized' or 'plundered king'--quite appropriate for a fossil that was apparently smuggled out of China.

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Nicholas J. Pharris