Giant Japanese monsters and taxonomy

[Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)]

Not actually a dinosaur posting, but it has to do with fossil reptiles:

Among the various new taxa proposed in the first results of the
Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Expedition is a turtle with an interesting trivial
nomen:

Sinemys gamera

Yes, indeed, it is named after the giant Japanese movie monster.  This
mid-Cretaceous turtle has "winglike" projections from its shell, so naming
it after a flying turtle isn't a bad idea.

To my knowledge, this is the first official taxonomic name based on a movie
monster.  Of course, Leigh Van Valen named a great number of early mammals
with Sindaran and Quenya (Grey and High Elvish) names out of Tolkien.  The
date of the paper was late 1977 (I think), so I imagine he had taken a copy
of _The Silmarillion_ (which had just come out) out into the field with him.

Thomas R. HOLTZ
Vertebrate Paleontologist, Dept. of Geology
Email:Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)
Phone:301-405-4084