Re: Lizard of Oz

["Sherry Michael" <MICHAELS@preit.com>]

While I'm a strong member of the "do what you want" club:

As mentioned before, I think everyone uses a few nicknames ("compy" is a common 
one). But these are more like abbreviations. When you start using things like 
"ruf"- who would figure that was a Stegosaurus if you heard it? (no offense). 

In reference to your class, students especially *need* to learn the real name 
of animals. I never let 6 year olds get away with "long neck". If we get lazy 
and use abbreviated names, that's our prerogative. It's no substitute for 
learning the real  names. I try to avoid using abbreviations when teaching, 
because students learn the names by verbal repetition.  

-Sherry
ANSP

>>> Jack <jconrad@lib.drury.edu> 06/09/98 11:57AM >>>

>>I recently was thinking about this when working on lesson plans for the 
>>Mesozoic Paleobiology course I'm co-teaching.  Of course we've got "dromie" 
>>for dromaeosaurs, "rex" for T.rex (we commonly call other tyrannosaurids 
>>"kings"), "trike" for chasmosaurines, "ruf" for roof (=stego) in stegosaurs.  
>>Some of these are pretty useless I guess and it
is unscientific to do, but it is simply easier and I like the idea of
trying to come up with these common names.

Jack 

P.S. Thanks to the list for inventing the common name "dromie," hope you
guys and gals haven't copyrighted it yet :)  !!