Re: Tsaagan mangas - new dromaeosaurid from Mongolia

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Mike Keesey wrote:

> Besides, it's descriptive of the animal. Beats "place-name-a-saurus" in my 
> book. (Although you could make a good defense of "place-name-a-saurus" 
> names by pointing out that they never turn
> out to be inaccurate--unless the animal turns out not to be reptilian, of 
> course.)

Occasionally fossils get named after the wrong geological place.  For 
example, _Naashoibitosaurus_ isn't actually from the Naashoibito Member.

And "place-name-a-saurus" can sometimes become out-of-date.  _Nipponosaurus_ 
is no longer from Japan, courtesy of a transfer of Siberian real estate that 
took place after the great dust-up of 1939-45.

David Krentz wrote:

>    If Jamie said he thought Bambiraptor was a goofy name, I'd 
> wholeheartedly agree with him.

Arguably the goofiest name of all for a fossil is _Montypythonoides_.  
Thankfully, it was later sunk into another species of snake.

> Naming a dinosaur after Stan Winston is also a bad idea, just ask anyone 
> who has survived working with him.

You can sleep soundly tonight, David.  Just like every other species named 
by the illustrious Stephan Pickering, "Tyrannosaurus stanwinstonorum" is a 
nomen nudum.  For nomenclatural and taxonomic purposes, the name just 
doesn't exist.

Cheers

Tim

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