Re: [dinosaur] Babylong

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Mickey Mortimer <mickey_mortimer111@msn.com> wrote:

> After all the complaints about Bambiraptor's name, I'm surprised no one has
> brought up the newly described oviraptorosaur Beibeilong sinensis.  "The
> generic name is derived from Chinese Pinyin ‘beibei’ for baby and ‘long’ for
> dragon. The specific name is derived from Latin referring to its discovery
> in China."  So it's literally "baby dragon", and sinensis is just lazy.
> Wins the award for worst Mesozoic dinosaur name in my opinion.


It's not my favorite dinosaur name of all time; but I've seen worse.
As a purist, I wince every time I see a Greek- or Latin-derived name
that is oddly or improperly formed.  So _Aberratiodontus_ would go
down as the worst Mesozoic dinosaur name in my opinion.
_Eousdryosaurus_ and _Gigantspinosaurus_ are also contenders.

Based on what is known of it (juvenile skeleton), _Beibeilong_ does
seem quite similar to _Gigantoraptor_; and the two genera are
positioned very close on the oviraptorosaur tree.  So if you're lucky
Mickey, should a mature specimen be discovered, _Beibeilong_ might one
day be sunk into _Gigantoraptor_.

As for _Beibeilong_'s dimensions... as an adult, this "baby dragon"
would have been enormous - comparable to _Gigantoraptor_.  These giant
caenagnathids could have reached up to one-and-a-half to well over two
(or even three!) tonnes in weight.  That would seem to rule out the
possibility of an avian-style hindlimb posture in these
pennaraptorans, given the stresses on the femur.