Ben Creisler
Some additional comments on the name Tarsomordeo...
First off, zoological names are considered scientific Neo-Latin, which developed starting during the Renaissance in the 16th century and has a long history in scientific nomenclature (for biology, medicine, anatomy, technology, etc.) beyond the meanings and the grammar rules of old classical Greek and Latin. Neo-Latin is essentially what usage makes it, with names that routinely combine words and elements from Greek and Latin, as well as other languages, in arbitrary or sometimes unorthodox ways, and with new and invented meanings.
"Etymology--'Tarso' and 'mordeo,' derived from the Latin terms for 'ankle biter' in reference to the small size of the type specimen."Â
I am going to guess that the name was put together cut-and-paste as Nick suggested (from mordeo the verb) and that the author probably didn't know about Latin nouns and names with the "o" ending used to create a mocking or an insulting term.
According to the "classical" academic rules, a name literally meaning "ankle biter" could be 'Talimordex' in Latin (as Nick noted, from talus "ankle" and mordex "biting, biter") or 'Tarsodectes' in Greek (from tarsos "ankle" and dektes "biter"). However, the term "ankle biter" in English is used as a humorous or mocking term for small children or small dogs. Similarly, the name Tarsomordeo was meant to mock the small size of the animal at the feet of dinosaurs.
Classical and later Latin did not have "mordeo" as a masculine noun to meaning something like "an annoying or constant biter" from the verb mordeo "I bite," but it did have a noun manduco "a glutton" from the verb manduco "I chew," as well as bibo "a drunkard" from the verb bibo "I drink" and congero "a thief" from the verb congero "I collect," etc., to create a mocking, humorous, derogatory, or insulting noun term for a person's negative behavior (or for an unflattering physical feature) with the masculine ending -o (-onis).
The name Tarsomordeo may be an example of a name that came out OK in terms of spelling under the ICZN rules (Latin -o can be a nominative singular ending, required for generic names) and in terms of possible meaning (with an "o" ending to mock the animal's small size), even if the name was not deliberately composed that way.ÂÂ