Giganotosaurus carolinii

[Amado Narvaez <anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu>]

I'm still not entirely certain about the cadence to the pronunciation of 
Giganotosaurus. Of course, it may be like Parasaurolophus, which seems to 
be pronounced two different ways depending on the paleontologist 
speaking. If I'm way off base, someone let me know and I'll go back to 
the drawing board/rhyming dictionary.

For the record, the name derives from the Latin "gigan" for giant, the 
Greek "notos" for austral (or southern) and of course the greek "sauros" 
for reptile. (It surprises me a little that two different languages are 
used to give a name to one creature, but I suppose that's not really 
rare. Lends an educational, multicultural aspect to dinosaur study, 
especially since this is a dinosaur found in a Spanish-speaking country ;-).

This is the song I've written to introduce Giganotosaurus carolinii to 
the children at my school. Lyrics remain copyright Amado Narvaez, but 
feel free to use it in non-profit performances, singing in the rain, etc.

             Giganotosaurus carolinii
    (to the tune of the French folk song "Alouette")
(The first line is kind of tricky, so I'll juxtapose it with the French 
folksong; I don't speak French, so I'm probably way off on the 
pronunciation/spelling since I'm remembering the way it goes from just 
hearing it.)

     a    lou    et    te,    gen   tile   a     lou    et    te
     JEE  gah    NAHT  oh     sore  us     kare  o      lee   nye
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Giganotosaurus carolinii:
"Giant southern reptile" is his name!
Giganotosaurus carolinii--
'Cause from South America he came!

        He's a new discovery,
        Something of a mystery.
        Carnivore? That's for sure!
        Biggest? Well, Time will tell!

Giganotosaurus carolinii!
"Giant southern reptile" is his name!

Giganotosaurus carolinii--
Argentina's giant theropod!
Giganotosaurus carolinii--
In the record book he gets the nod!

        There are those who now suspect,
        He was bigger than T. rex!
        Maybe so... We don't know.
        We await the debate.

Giganotosaurus carolinii--
Argentina's giant theropod!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I tried to preserve the ambiguity over whether G. is or is not 
bigger/longer/heavier than T. rex.
    (These lyrics were first posted to AOL's Scholastic Network during 
their "Digging for Dinosaurs" month last October.)

----- Amado Narvaez
      anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu