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RE: Etymology of Ornithomimus sedens?



From: Ben Creisler
bscreisler@yahoo.com
You can read Marsh’s original description at Google Books online.  Note below 
that the most important feature for Marsh is the coossification of the the 
ilium, ischium, and pubis (made all caps here). I suspect the meaning he had in 
mind for “sedens” is “fixed, firm, immovable, “ a meaning derived from the 
original meaning “sit” for sedeo in Latin. In this case, it would refer to the 
fact that all the bones in the pelvis are fixed firmly together. Click on the 
highlighted link to Lewis and Short  to check the different meanings 
at:http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=sedens&la=la&prior=ut#lexicon
Marsh
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA451&dq=ornithomimus+sedens&id=0GkWAAAAYAAJ#v=onepage&q=ornithomimus%20sedens&f=false
The remarkable Dinosaurs described by the writer, and referred to the present 
genus, representing a distinct family, were mainly from fragmentary remains, 
but differed widely from all forms then known. Since then explorations in the 
same horizon further north have brought to light various other specimens, which 
prove the group to be of great interest, but make it probable that they should 
be referred, not to the Ornithopoda, but to the Theropoda. 
The present species is based upon the nearly complete pelvis, with various 
vertebrae, and some other parts of the skeleton. THE MOST STRIKING FEATURE OF 
THE PELVIS IS THE FACT, THAT THE ILIUM, ISCHIUM, AND PUBIS ARE FIRMLY 
COOSSIFIED WITH EACH OTHER, AS IN RECENT BIRDS. This character has been 
observed hitherto among Dinosaurs, only in the genus Ceratosaurus described by 
the writer from the Jurassic of Wyoming. The present pelvis resembles that of 
Ceratosaurus in its general features, but there is no foramen in the pubis.
There are five vertebra in the sacrum, firmly coossified with each other, as 
are also the sacral spines. The sacral vertebra' are grooved below, with the 
sides of the centra excavated. The caudals have the diplosphenal articulation, 
and the first caudal bears a chevron. All 
 some of them, at least, are apparently pneumatic. The sacrum measures fifteen 
inches in length, and the twelve caudals following occupy a space of thirty-one 
inches. The known remains indicate a reptile about eight or ten feet in length.
 
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This came up in a chatroom discussion earlier tonight.  In Latin the word 
"sedens" means "seated," and the holotype of O. sedens is just the pelvic 
region.  However, I guessed that "se" could also be the prefix meaning "apart" 
or "on one's own," while "dens" means "tooth": roughly, one apart from teeth.  
Did Marsh in 1892 know that ornithomimids were toothless, and could the double 
meaning be intentional?