Re: The problem of informal names (was RE: "Ichabodcraniosaurus")

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@lycos.com>]

On Thu, 17 Jan 2002 17:18:18  
 Jaime A. Headden wrote:
>Mickey Mortimer (Mickey_Mortimer11@email.msn.com) wrote:
>
><Indeed.  If "Gadolosaurus" (an incorrect translation of the cyrillic word
>for hadrosaur) and "Elvisaurus" (an early, suggested name for
>Cryolophosaurus) are included, "Ichabodcraniosaurus" sounds like fair
>game.>
>
>  The word, translated roughly as "gadolozavr" or "-zavra" does not refer
>to a generic title, I have seen this only used in lower case and where it
>is in a genitive sense, as in "hadrosaur." Thus, it doesn't count as a
>possible genus name.
>
>  Elvisaurus was used as a joke for the specimen, as much as "Sue" and
>"Stan" are, and "Willo", which has appeared in print by Pennisi (2000),
>for a specimen. Similarly, the name "Ichabodcraniosaurus" is a nickname
>for a specimen, not an informal taxon, and does not apply to any taxon at
>all, just the one GI specimen in Norell's curatorship.

I may be dead wrong here, but I actually thought that William Hammer was 
seriously considering naming _Cryolophosaurus_ "Elvisaurus" at one point (IIRC, 
the name "Elvisaurus" appeared in a children's book as a nickname).  I, 
therefore, would separate "Elvisaurus" from a strict nickname like "Stan," 
"Sue," or "Willo."  

Steve  

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