Re: Sauroniops, new thick-skulled carcharodontosaurid theropod from Upper Cretaceous of Morocco

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at> wrote:

> AFAIK, that's explained in the paper. Short answer: new data.

It's also nice to hear that _Sigilmassasaurus_ is getting another
look.  Although Cau &c are unenthusiastic about it being the same
theropod as _Sauroniops_.


>> _Sauroniops_? The name should surely be _Sauronops_.
>
> And doesn't _ops_ mean "face" rather than "eye"?


It can effectively mean both, and was used as such by the ancient
Greeks.  The word "opthalmos" is often used to denote "eye", as in the
ichthyosaur _Ophthalmosaurus_ or the one-eyed king Antigonus
Monophthalmus.  However, it's my understanding that "opthalmos" refers
specifically to the eye as an organ of perception, which (as the
ancient Greeks believed) entailed the emission of beams.  Hence
"opthalmos" is derived from the same "op-" root as "opsis" and "ops",
but incorporates "halmos" spring (= leap).


I still maintain the name should be _Sauronops_ rather than
_Sauroniops_; the "i" is completely redundant. Not only is _Sauronops_
correctly joined, it also sounds much cooler (IMHO).






Cheers

Tim