Re: Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-06-12 03:02:41 EDT, znc14@TTACS.TTU.EDU writes:

<< As I understand it, if a name has gone unused for a
 long time (e.g. _Apatosaurus_), but is a senior synonym of a name (e.g.
 _Brontosaurus_) which has been used extensively, the ICZN may be petitioned
 to have the less common name supressed in favor of the more common name. Why
 this was not done is beyond me. _Brontosaurus_ appears to have been the
 perfect candidate. >>

_Apatosaurus_ has been used almost exclusively for the genus for most of the
twentieth century. It is not at all an "unused" name.