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Re: Sauropodz r kewl WAS: silly conversation on 2012 US presidential race



 Its not like Latin had phylogenetics, I've always heard that "saur"
 can also refer to pretty much any reptile, I suspect if the Romans
 had knowledge of tuataras, they'd use the term "saur" too.

(That's Greek anyway, not Latin.)

 I'm not sure what the [Greeks] would have called
 salamanders/amphibians/crocodiles (would "saur" apply to any of
 those?

Not to salamanders, AFAIK; the word _salamandra_ is Latin, BTW. Crocodiles... I hear they were occasionally included; anyway, _krokodeilos_ is said to mean "pebble worm".

 However, I'm quite sure that nobody who spoke [Ancient Greek] as
 their native language would have used the term "saur" to describe
 Basilosaurus (if they saw a living one)

That's for sure, but *B.* was thought to be a giant snake when it was named, IIRC.