Dinosaurs

[nemomi...@yahoo.com]

This is alot of things that I did for my science report at school as a
kid.
Dinosaurs

What is a dinosaur?

Dinosaurs belonged to a group of animals called reptiles. They lived
between 240 and 65 million years ago, long before people existed, in a
time called the Mesozoic. All animals that lived before people are
called prehistoric animals.

What were the different kinds of dinosaurs?

Well, there were well over 300 different dinosaurs. You can't ever
name them all. But, these are some of them:
1. Acanthopholis
2. Acrocanthosaurus
3. Albertosaurus
4. Allosaurus
5. Amargasaurus
6. Ammonite
7. Anatotitan
8. Ankylosaurus
9. Apatosaurus
10. Archaeopteryx
11. Archelon
12. Avimimus
13. Baryonyx
14. Brachiosaurus
15. Brontosaurus
16. Camarasaurus
17. Camptosaurus
18. Carcharodontosaurus
19. Caudipteryx
20. Ceratosaurus
21. Chasmosaurus
22. Coelophysis
23. Compsognathus
24. Corythosaurus
25. Deinonychus
26. Dilophosaurus
27. Diplodocus
28. Dimetrodon
29. Dimorphodon
30. Dryosaurus
31. Dsungaripterus
32. Edmontosaurus
33. Elasmosaurus
34. Eoraptor
35. Eryops
36. Euoplocephalus
37. Gallimimus
38. Gargoyleosaurus
39. Giganotosaurus
40. Heterodontosaurus
41. Homalocephale
42. Hypacrosaurus
43. Hylaeosaurus
44. Hypsilophodon
45. Ichthyosaurs
46. Iguanodon
47. Janenschia
48. Kentrosaurus
49. Kronosaurus
50. Lambeosaurus
51. Lesothosaurus
52. Maiasaura
53. Majungatholis
54. Mamenchisaurus
55. Massospondylus
56. Megalosaurus
57. Megaraptor
58. Microvenator
59. Minmi
60. Monoclonius
61. Montanoceratops
62. Mosasaurs
63. Mussaurus
64. Nothosaurs
65. Notoceratops
66. Ornitholestes
67. Ornithomimus
68. Othnielia
69. Ouranosaurus
70. Oviraptor
71. Pachycephalosaurus
72. Pachyrhinosaurus
73. Parasaurolophus
74. Pentaceratops
75. Plateosaurus
76. Plesiosaurs
77. Protarchaeopteryx
78. Protoceratops
79. Protohadros
80. Psittacosaurus
81. Pteranodon
82. Pterodactyloids
83. Pterodactylus
84. Pterosaurs
85. Quaesitosaurus
86. Quetzalcoatlus
87. Rhamphorhynchus
88. Riojasaurus
89. Saltopus
90. Saurolophus
91. Sauropelta
92. Scelidosaurus
93. Scipionyx
94. Seismosaurus
95. Sinornithosaurus
96. Sinosauropteryx
97. Spinosaurus
98. Stegoceras
99. Stegosaurus
100. Styracosaurus
101. Suchomimus
102. Supersaurus
103. Syntarsus
104. Thecodontosaurus
105. Torvosaurus
106. Triceratops
107. Trilobite
108. Tröodon
109. Tyrannosaurus rex
110. Ultrasauros
111. Unenlagia
112. Utahraptor
113. Variraptor
114. Velociraptor
115. Vulcanodon
116. Wannanosaurus
117. Xiaosaurus
118. Yangchuanosaurus
119. Zigongosaurus Others are: Acanthopholis (meaning "spiny scales")
was an armored, quadrupedal (walked on four legs), plant-eating
dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Its armor was rows of oval
plates set into its skin, plus it had spikes jutting out of its neck
and shoulder area along the spine. It was about 15 feet long (4 m) and
weighed roughly 380 kg.
120. HADROCODIUM
Hadrocodium (meaning "heavy or full head") was a tiny mammalian
ancestor about the size of a paperclip. It is the earliest-known animal
with such mammal-like features. This shrew-like quadruped had a long
tail, a long snout, delicate teeth, three middle ear bones, a powerful
jaw hinge, matching upper and lower teeth, a large brain case, and
five-toed feet. Hadrocodium was an insectivore (insect-eater) that may
have been nocturnal (most active at night). It lived about 195 million
years ago. A skull (half an inch (12 millimeters) long) was found in
the Lufeng Basin in Yunnan, China, in 1985 (it was only recently
determined that it was a new species).
121. HADROSAURIDAE
Hadrosaurids, or duck-billed dinosaurs, were the biggest ornithopods (a
type of ornithischian or bird-hipped dinosaurs). They could walk on two
or four legs. These plant-eaters lived during the late Cretaceous
period. Hadrosaur means 'big or bulky lizard.' Hadrosaurs had a wide,
flat, toothless beak, hundreds of cheek teeth and powerful jaws. Their
hind legs were large and each limb had four digits. Maiasaura,
Edmontosaurus, Hadrosaurus, etc. were hadrosaurs. The hadrosaurs
evolved from the iguanodontids.
122. HADROSAURUS
(Pronounced HAD-roh-SAWR-us) Hadrosaurus (meaning "bulky lizard" ) was
a duck-billed dinosaur, a 23 to 32 feet (7 to 10 m) long ornithischian
from the late Cretaceous period. Hadrosaurus was discovered by W. P.
Foulke and excavated and named by anatomist J. Leidy in 1858 from a
skull-less skeleton and hundreds of teeth found in New Jersey. It was
the first American dinosaur to be described and the first
nearly-complete dinosaur skeleton. Although the Hadrosaurids are named
for this genus, Hadrosaurus is a doubtful genus because there is so
little fossil information about it (including no skull). The type
species is H. foulkii; it was named by paleontologist J. Leidy in 1858.
123. HAINOSAURUS
Hainosaurus (meaning "Haine (River) lizard") was a huge Mosasaurs that
was about 50 feet (15 m) long. The skull is about 1.5 m long. This is
the largest Mosasaur yet found. They had sharp teeth and ate fish,
turtles, and other marine organisms. Fossils have been found in Europe.
Hainosaurus was named by Dollo in 1885.
124. HALLUCIGENIA
Hallucigenia was a strange, spiked animal that lived during the
Cambrian Period, roughly 500 million years ago (found in Canada's
Burgess Shale and in China). Hallucigenia as an onychophoran (a "velvet
worm") that had 7 tentacles on its top side which it used to grasp
food; it used 7 pairs of spines on the underside for walking. Forty
fossils of Hallucigenia have been found.
125. HALTICOSAURUS
(Pronounced HALL-tik-oh-SAWR-us) Halticosaurus (meaning "leaping
lizard") was a late Triassic dinosaur from about 222 million years ago.
It was a very early dinosaur and its classification is unsure (it is
perhaps a theropod). It was a speedy bipedal dinosaur about 17 feet (5
m) long. It had a short neck, very long feet, and a long, large head
with many sharp teeth. Its feet suggest that it was a theropod (a meat
eater) but its hip and vertebrae are more like those of plant eaters.
An incomplete skeleton was found in Wuerttemberg, Germany in 1906 and
named by paleontologist von Huene.
126. HYPSILOPHODONTID
Hypsilophodontids were small, fast, plant-eating dinosaurs that lived
from the late Triassic to the Cretaceous period.
127. HYPSIBEMA
(Pronounced HIP-seh-BEE-muh) Hypsibema (Meaning "high platform,"
referring to its feet) is a doubtful genus of plant-eating dinosaur; it
may be a duck-billed dinosaur (hadrosaur). It is only known from a few
bones, some tail vertebrae, a humerus (upper arm bone), a tibia (a
lower leg bone), and a metatarsal (ankle bone). Hypsibema was found in
North Carolina, USA. This ornithopod lived during the late Cretaceous
period, about 83-73 million years ago. Hypsibema was named by
paleontologist E.D. Cope in 1869. The type species is H. crassicauda.
Hypsibema may be the same as Parrosaurus.

128. HYPSILOPHODON
(Pronounced hip-seh-LOFF-oh-don) Hypsilophodon was a small, bipedal,
plant-eating dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period, about 125 to
115 million years ago. It was an ornithischian dinosaur about 7. 5 feet
(2.3 m) long. It was one of the first dinosaur fossils found. The type
species is H. foxii. Hypsilophodon was named by Thomas Huxley in 1869.
129. HYPACROSAURUS
(Pronounced hi-PACK-roh-SAWR-us) Hypacrosaurus (meaning "under the top
lizard") was a large, plant-eating, hollow-crested duck-billed dinosaur
(a hadrosaur) similar to Corythosaurus. It was about 30 feet (9 m)
long, had almost 40 rows of cheek teeth, a short toothless beak, and a
row of short spines coming out of its vertebrae, forming a small fin
along its back. It lived in humid forests during the late Cretaceous
period, about 72 to 70 million years ago. Fossils (mostly skulls) have
been found in Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA. It was found and named
by fossil hunter Barnum Brown.
130. HYPSELOSAURUS
(Pronounced HIP-sel-oh-SAWR-us) Hypselosaurus (meaning "high ridge
lizard") was a long-tailed, long-necked plant-eater from the late
Cretaceous period, about 73 to 65 million years ago. This Titanosaurid
was about 27 feet (8 m) long, weighing about 10 tons, small for a
sauropod. Its fossils, including bones from 10 individuals and many
eggs have been found in France and Spain. The eggs were the first
dinosaur eggs found. Many of these eggs have been found in France; they
are half-gallon (2-liter) in volume and about 1 foot (30 cm) long. Some
eggs were found in groups of 5. Hypselosaurus was named by Matheron in
1869. The type species is H. priscus.
131. HYLAEOSAURUS
(Pronounced hie-LEE-oh-SAWR-us) Hylaeosaurus (meaning "Wealden
lizard")Hylaeosaurus was an armored, quadrupedal, plant-eating
dinosaur, an Ankylosaur. It lived during the early Cretaceous period in
what is now Europe. Hylaeosaurus was named by paleontologist Gideon
Mantell in 1833.
132. HYLONOMUS
(Pronounced high-LON-oh-mus) Hylonomus is one of the earliest-known
reptiles; it was NOT a dinosaur. Hylonomus was about 8-12 inches (20-30
cm) long and looked much like a modern-day lizard. It had a long tail,
a short neck, and a deep skull with conical teeth (the front teeth were
longer than the back teeth). It has a typical reptilian sprawling leg
stance; each of the four legs went out to the side instead of under the
body (unlike dinosaur legs which went directly under the body).
Hylonomus had five long toes on each of its four feet. Hylonomus ate
insects and other small invertebrates. Hylonomus evolved from
amphibians, which layed their egg and lived part of their lives in the
water - Hylonomus lived entirely on land and laid its eggs on land.
Hylonomus was the ancestor of lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and birds.
It may have been preyed upon by Pelycosaurs like Archaeothyris. It
lived during the late Carboniferous period, about 300 million years
ago. Fossils of Hylonomus were found in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Classification: Subclass Anapsida, Order Captorhinida, Family
Protorothyrididae, Genus Hylonomus.
133. HYDROTHEROSAURUS
Hydrotherosaurus (meaning "water beast lizard") was an Elasmosaurid
plesiosaur (not a dinosaur, but an extinct marine reptile from the late
Cretaceous period (roughly 65 million years ago) that lived in the open
oceans and breathed air). It had a long neck (with 60 vertebrae), a
long snout, long, sharp teeth, a short, pointed tail, a streamlined
body, and four flippers. This reptile was about 42 feet (12.75 m) long;
its skull was about 12 inches (33 cm) long. It was found with fish and
gastroliths (indicating that it ate fish and used stomach stones to aid
digestion). Fossils have been found in California, USA, and North
America. The type species, Hydrotherosaurus Alexandrae (named by Welles
in 1943 to honor Annie Montague Alexander (1867-1950), a fossil
collector). Hydrotherosaurus is known from a complete skeleton (with
the skull).
134. HUAYANGOSAURUS
(pronounced hwah-YANG-oh-SAWR-us) Huayangosaurus was a Stegosaurid, a
dinosaur with a double row of spiky triangular plates and spikes
running along its back. It was a quadrupedal herbivore (a plant-eater)
13 feet (4 m) long that lived during the mid-Jurassic period (about 170
million years ago). It was found in China and was named in 1982 by
Zhiming Dong.
135. HOPLOSUCHUS
(pronounced hop-loh-SOOK-us) Hoplosuchus (meaning "armored crocodile")
was a small, primitive crocodilian from the Jurassic period. This marsh
dweller was an evolutionary dead-end. This carnivorous reptile was
found in 1909 by paleontologist Earl Douglass, in what is now Dinosaur
National Monument, Utah, USA.
136. HOPLOPHONEUS
(Pronounced hop-loh-PHONE-ee-us) Hoplophoneus was a relatively small
saber-toothed cat (About 1 1/2 to 2 times the size of a housecat) that
lived during the Oligocene period (From about 40 million to 20 million
years ago). Fossils have been found in Wyoming, USA. This cat's skull
was 6 inches (15 cm) long. This predator had long, saber-like upper
canine teeth that fit into a socket in its lower jaw. Hoplophoneus was
Plantigrade (flat-footed, unlike modern-day cats, which are
Digitigrade). Its large jaws could open about 90 degrees, allowing it
to stab its victims with its incisors. Classification: Superfamily
Feloidea (cats, mongooses), Family Felidae, Subfamily Machairodontinae,
Genus Hoplophoneus.
137. HOPLITOSAURUS
(pronounced huh-PLEE-toh-SAWR-us) Hoplitosaurus (meaning "Hoplite
lizard;" a hoplite was an armed soldier) was an Ankylosaur, an armored
dinosaur. It had rows of flattened horny plates running along its back.
Hoplitosaurus was an herbivore (a plant-eater) that walked on four legs
and lived during the early Cretaceous period (135-119 million years
ago). An incomplete fossil was found in South Dakota, USA in 1901 and
named in 1902 by F. A. Lucas.
138. HOMALOCEPHALE
(Pronounced HOMM-ah-low-SEF-ah-lee) Homalocephale (Meaning "Level
head") was a Pachycephalosaurid, a thick-skulled dinosaur. Its skull
was relatively flat and had bony knobs along the edges. It was an
herbivore (a plant-eater) about 5 feet (1.5 m) long and weighed about
43 kg. It walked on two legs and lived during the late Cretaceous
period (80-70 million years ago). An almost complete skeleton was found
in Mongolia in 1901 and named by paleontologists Maryánska & Osmólska
in 1974.
139. HISTRIASAURUS
(Pronounced HIS-tree-ah-SAWR-us) Histriasaurus (Meaning "Istrian
lizard," for the Istrian peninsula of northwest Croatia, on the
Adriatic Coast) was a large plant-eating dinosaur that lived during the
early Cretaceous period (From the late Hauterivian to early Barremian,
about 126-125 million years ago). Histriasaurus was a Diplodocimorpha,
a long-necked, whip-tailed giant that walked on four columnar legs. It
had peg-like teeth and high vertebral spines. It may have had a sail on
its back. Fossils of this sauropod were found in Croatia. The type
species is H. Boscarollii, named for Dario Boscarolli, who discovered
the fossil site. Histriasaurus was named by Dalla Vecchia in 1998. It
is probably closely related to, but more primitive than Rebbachisaurus.
140. HIRONOSAURUS
(Pronounced hi-RON-oh-SAWR-us) Hironosaurus was large, duck-billed
dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, about 97.5-65 million years
ago. Very little is known about this hadrosaur since only fragmentary
fossils have been found. This plant-eater was found in Japan.
Hironosaurus is an unofficial name due to a sparsity of fossils.
141. HETEROTROPH
(Pronounced HET-er-oh-TROFE) A Heterotroph (Or consumer) is a living
thing that eats other living things to survive. It cannot make its own
food (unlike plants, which are Autotrophs). Animals are Heterotrophs.
142. HETERODONTOSAURUS
(pronounced HET-er-oh-DON-toh-SAWR-us) Heterodontosaurus (meaning
"different-tooth lizard") was an early ornithischian dinosaur. It was
an herbivore with three different types of teeth. This lightly-built
plant-eater was up to 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weighed perhaps 10 kg. It
lived during the early Jurassic period, about 208-200 million years
ago. The type species is H. Tucki. Heterodontosaurus was named by
Crompton and Charis in 1962.
143. HETEROCHRONY
(Pronounced HET-er-oh-CROW-knee) Heterochrony (Meaning "differeny
time") is a evolutionary (Genetically determined) change in the timing
of developmental events or a change in the growth rate, as compared to
the same events in ancestors. For example, the time it takes to grow to
adulthood may change over time.
144.
HESPEROSAURUS
(Pronounced hes-PARE-uh-SAWR-us) Hesperosaurus (Meaning "western
lizard," and originally called Hesperisaurus) was a primitive
Stegosaurid dinosaur that had a single row of rounded plates running
down its back; it also had four bony spikes (Thagomizers) at the end of
the tail. This plant-eating dinosaur lived during the late Jurassic
period, roughly 150 million years ago. Fossils have been found in the
Morrison Formation, Jackson County, Wyoming, USA, and North America.
The type species is Hesperisaurus Mjosi; it was named by
paleontologists K. Carpenter et al. in 2001.
145. HESPERORNIS
(Pronounced HES-per-OR-nis) Hesperornis (Meaning "western bird") was an
early, flightless bird that lived during the late Cretaceous period.
This diving bird was about 3 feet (1 m) long and had webbed feet, a
long, toothed beak, and strong legs. Although it couldn't fly, it was
probably a strong swimmer and likely lived near coastlines and ate
fish. Fossils have been found in North America. Hesperornis was named
by paleontologist O. Marsh in 1872 from fossils found near the Smoky
Hill River in Kansas, USA.
146. HERRERASAURUS
(Pronounced huh-RARE-ah-SAWR-us) Herrerasaurus (Meaning "Herrera's
lizard;" Victorino Herrera was a rancher who discovered the fossil) was
a late Triassic Archosaur (A reptile that was almost a dinosaur) from
about 230 million years ago. It used to be thought to be a very early
dinosaur and a primitive prosauropod. It was a speedy bipedal carnivore
about 17 feet (5 m) long, weighing roughly 440-780 pounds (200-350 kg).
It had a short neck and a large head. Three partial skeletons were
found in Argentina, South America. This genus was named in 1963 by O.
A. Reig from a specimen found in 1958. The type species is H.
Ischigualastensis (The species name is from the Ischigualasto Formation
of northwestern Argentina, where the fossil was found).
147.
HENDRICKSON, SUE
Sue Hendrickson (December 2, 1949 - ) is a self-taught fossil hunter
(specializing in fossil inclusions in amber), marine archaeologist,
adventurer and explorer. In South Dakota in 1990, Hendrickson found the
remarkable T. rex fossil that is now known as Sue. This T. Rex Fossil
is the largest and most complete T. rex found to date. Sue (the fossil)
is now displayed at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
148.
HAPLOCANTHOSAURUS
(Pronounced hap-lo-KAN-tho-SAWR-us) Haplocanthosaurus (Meaning "single
spine lizard") was a Sauropod dinosaur from the late Jurassic period,
about 156-145 million years ago. This plant-eater had a long neck, a
long tail, a bulky body and a small head. It was about 70 ft (21 m)
long. Partial fossils have been found in Colorado and Wyoming, USA. The
type species is H. priscus. It was found by paleontologist John Bell
Hatcher in 1901, and named by him in 1903.
149.
HARPYMIMUS
(Pronounced HAR-pee-MIME-us) Harpymimus ("Harpy [a Greek bird-woman
monster] mimic") was a Theropod dinosaur, a Bipedal meat-eater that
lived during the Cretaceous period, about 119- 97.5 million years ago.
It had a beak and 10 - 11 conical teeth in its lower jaw. Its diet is
uncertain. It had tapered, three-fingered hands. This extremely
fast-running dinosaur had thin, long-shinned legs and a light-weight
body. It was about 6.5 feet (2 m) long and may have weighed about 275
pounds (125 kg). This bird-like dinosaur is known from a skull and a
few bones found in Mongolia. Harpymimus was named by Barsbold & Perle
in 1984. The type species is H. Okladnikovi.
150. DEUTEROSAUROPODOPUS
(pronounced DOOT-er-oh-sawr-oh-POD-oh-pus) Deuterosauropodopus (meaning
"Second sauropod foot") was a sauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic
period known only from fossilized footprints. It was a long-necked,
long-tailed plant-eater. It had nail-like claws on its feet and an
enlarged claw on each big toe. The fossil footprints were found near
Lesotho, South Africa may belong to the sauropod Vulcanodon.
151.

DESMATOSUCHUS
(Pronounced des-mat-oh-SUE-kus) Desmatosuchus (Meaning "link
crocodile") was a ancient armored Aetosaur (It was a reptile but not a
dinosaur) that had spines running along its body. The spines were up to
18 inches (45 cm) long (the longest spines were on the shoulders). It
superficially resembled a crocodile with spikes, but had a much
shorter, beak-like snout. It was about 16 feet (5 meters) long. This
armadillo-like animal had a bulky body, four short legs, a long tail,
and bony armor on its back, tail, and part of its belly. It was an
herbivore (plant-eater) that had weak, peg-shaped teeth. Desmatosuchus
lived during the late Triassic period (roughly 230 million years ago).
Fossils have been found in Texas, USA. Desmatosuchus was named by Case
in 1920. Classification: Class Reptilia (reptiles), Infraclass
Archosauromorpha, family Stagenolepididae, Genus Desmatosuchus, type
species D. Haploceros.
152. DERMODACTYLUS
(Pronounced DER-mo-DAK-til-us) Dermodactylus (Meaning "skin finger")
was a Pterodactyloid Pterosaur, a flying reptile from the late Jurassic
period, about 153 to 144 million years ago. Dermodactylus was about 3
feet (1m) long. Dermodactylus was named by Othniel Marsh in 1881; the
type species is D. Montanus. Dermodactylus is a dubious genus.
Fragmentary fossils, only wing metacarpal (finger) fragments, have been
found in Wyoming, USA.
153. DENVERSAURUS
(Pronounced DEN-ver-SAWR-us) Denversaurus (Meaning "Denver lizard") is
a doubtful Genus; this plated, Quadrupedal plant-eater (An Ankylosaur)
is probably Edmontonia. Denver refers to the Denver Museum of Natural
History, where the fossil specimen was stored before it was identified.
It was named by Robert Bakker in 1988.
154. DELTATHERIDIUM
(Pronounced DEL-tah-ther-ID-ee-um) Deltatheridium was an early mammal
from the late Cretaceous period, about 80 million years ago. This
opossum-like quadruped was about 6 inches (15 cm) long and had a long
tail. It had sharp canine teeth and its cheek teeth were wide with
triangular crowns. Deltatheridium was an insectivore that may have also
eaten small reptiles and perhaps scavenged. Deltatheridium had
characteristics of a very early marsupial (pouched mammal), and was a
possible kangaroo ancestor. Fossils have been found in Mongolia.
155. DELTASAURUS
(Pronounced DEL-tah-SAWR-us) Deltasaurus (Meaning "river delta lizard")
was an early amphibian (NOT a dinosaur). This extinct quadrupedal
carnivore had very good hearing in the air. Deltasaurus was named by
Cosgriff in 1965. Fossils have been found in Australia. Classification:
Order Temnospondyli, Superfamily Rhytidosteoidea, Family
Rhytidosteidae.
156. DELTADROMEUS
(Pronounced DEL-ta-DROME-ee-us) Deltadromeus (Meaning "delta runner" )
was a speedy, Bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur (An early Coelurosaur).
This theropod was about 26 feet (8 m) long and dates from the late
Cretaceous period. A partial skeleton was found in the Kem Kem region
of Morocco, North Africa, by Gabrielle Lyon in 1995. It was named by
paleontologists Sereno, Duthiel, Iarochene, Larsson, Lyon, Magwene,
Sidor, Varicchio, and Wilson in 1996. The type species is Deltadromeus
agilis.
157.

IGUANODON
(Pronounced ig-WAHN-oh-don) Iguanodon was a plant-eating dinosaur with
thumb spikes. It was about 33 feet (10 m) long and lived during the
early Cretaceous period, roughly 130 million to 110 million years ago.
The type species is I. Anglicum. Iguanodon was named by Holl in 1829.
158.
IGUANODONTIDS
(Pronounced ig-WAHN-oh-DON-tids) Iguanodontids (Family Iguanodontidae,
also called Iguanodonts) were large, plant-eating, Ornithischian
Ornithopods who lived from the late Jurassic to the late Cretaceous
periods. These dinosaurs had a thumb spike, a toothless beak, a long
snout, long toes, and a bulky tail. Altirhinus, Iguanodon,
Camptosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Probactrosaurus, Tenontosaurus (Perhaps a
Hypsilophodontid), and Valdosaurus were Iguanodontids. The
Iguanodontids led to the Hadrosaurids (Duckbills).
159. INDOSUCHUS
(Pronounced in-doh-SOOk-us) Indosuchus (Meaning "Indian Crocodile")was
a theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, roughly 70 to 65
million years ago. This bipedal meat-eater had many serrated teeth and
a narrow, crested skull with a flattened roof. It may have been up to
20 feet (6 m) long. It is known from a fragmentary skull found in India
by Charles Matley. It was related to, but smaller and more primitive
than, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex. Indosuchus was named by
paleontologists von Huene and Matley in 1933. The type species is I.
Raptorius.
160. INDOSAURUS
(Pronounced in-doh-SAWR-us) Indosaurus (Meaning "Indian lizard")was a
Theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, roughly 70 to 65
million years ago. This bipedal meat-eater had a thick braincase and a
wide skull; it may have had two horns on its head. It is known from a
partial skull found in Jabalpur, India, by Charles Matley. Indosuchus
was named by paleontologists von Huene & Matley in 1933. The type
species is I. Matleyi.
161. IRRITATOR
(pronounced IRR-eh-tay-ter) Irritator was a Theropod dinosaur, a
Spinosaurid from the early Cretaceous period. It is known from a nearly
complete skull (about 80 cm long) found in Brazil. Irritator
challengeri was named by paleontologists Martill, Cruikshank, Frey,
Small & Clarke in 1996. The people who found the snout-less skull added
plaster to it in order to make it look it more impressive. This
nonsense didn't fool the paleontologists, but it did irritate them,
hence the name.
162. ISANOSAURUS
(pronounced ee-sahn-o-SAWR-us) Isanosaurus (meaning "Isan lizard" -
Isan is the local name for the northeastern of Thailand) was a Sauropod
dinosaur from the late Triassic period (It is the earliest-known
Sauropod). Fossils were found in the Nam Phong Formation, Thailand.
Ischisaurus was named by paleontologists Buffetaut, Suteethorn, Cuny,
Tong, Le Loeuff, Khansubha, and Jongautchariyakul in 2000. The type
species is I. attavipachi.
163. ISCHISAURUS
(pronounced is-chee-SAWR-us) Ischisaurus (named for Ischigualasto, the
valley in NW Argentina where it was found) was a small, very early
Theropod dinosaur from the late Triassic period, about 225 million
years ago. Ischisaurus had a skull only 9.5 inches (25 cm) long with
15-16 teeth on each side of the mouth plus four longer teeth in the
front. This bipedal meat-eater had short arms, and may be the same as
Herrerasaurus. Fossils were found in Argentina. Ischisaurus was named
by paleontologist Reig in 1963. The type species is I. cattoi.
164. ITEMIRUS
(pronounced EYE-te-MEER-us) Itemirus (named for Itemir, the region of
Mongolia where it was found) was a small, theropod dinosaur from the
late Cretaceous period, about 90 million years ago. This bipedal
meat-eater may have been a dromaeosaurid. A fossilized braincase (the
part of the skull that contains the brain) was found in Mongolia; very
little is known about this dinosaur since so little fossil material is
known. Itemirus was named by paleontologist Kurzanov in 1976. The type
species is I. medullaris.
165. CAENAGNATHUS
(pronounced SEE-nag-NAY-thus) Caenagnathus (meaning "recent jaw") was a
light-weight, bipedal, meat-eating theropod dinosaur. This coelurosaur
dates from the late Cretaceous, about 75 million years ago. This
predator was about 6.5 ft (2 m) long and weighed roughly 35 kg. Only a
fossilized lower jaw was found in western North America. This genus was
named by paleontologist R. Sternberg in 1940. The type species is C.
collinsi. It was originally thought to be a bird.
166. CALAMOSPONDYLUS
(pronounced KAL-uh-moe-SPON-dill-us) Calamospondylus (meaning "reed
vertebra") was a bipedal, meat-eating theropod dinosaur with large hand
claws. This coelurosaur dates from the early Cretaceous, about 125
million years ago. This predator was about 6.5 ft (2 m) long, weighing
about 65 pounds (30 kg). It is known from fossils found in England.
This (dubious) genus was named by paleontologist Lydekker in 1889. The
type species is C. foxi.
167. CALIFORNOSAURUS
Californosaurus, meaning "California lizard" was an Ichthyosaur, an
extinct water-dwelling reptile that lived during the time of the
dinosars. Californosaurus (also called Toretocnemus, Delphinosaurus)
was 10 feet (3 m) long. It had four paddle-shaped flippers and sharp
teeth in long, pointed jaws (looking a bit like a dolphin). This
fish-eater lived during the late Triassic period in seas that covered
what is now California. Californosaurus was named by Kuhn in 1934. It
was not a dinosaur, but another type of extinct reptile.
168. CALLOVOSAURUS
Callovosaurus (meaning "Callovian [the name of a mid-Jurassic period]
lizard") was an Iguanodontid, an ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaur
dating from the middle Jurassic period, about 166 million years ago.
This plant-eater was about 11.5 ft (3.5 m) long, weighing about 550
pounds (250 kg). Callovosaurus is known from fragmentary fossils found
in Oxford, England. This (dubious) genus was named by paleontologist
Galton in 1980. The type species is C. leedsi.
169.
CAMARASAURUS
(pronounced KAM-ah-rah-SAWR-us) Camarasaurus (meaning "chamber
vertebra") was a large, long-necked plant-eating dinosaur that lived
during the late Jurassic period, about 156-145 million years ago. This
sauropod was about 60 ft (18 m) long and weighed roughly 28000 kg. The
type species is C. supremus.
170. CAMELOTIA
(pronounced kam-eh-LOH-tee-ah) Camelotia (named for legendary Camelot)
was a prosauropod dinosaur. This plant-eater had a small head, a bulky
body, and dates from the late Triassic period, about 219-213 million
years ago. Camelotia was about 30 ft (9 m) long and weighed roughly
3270 kg. Its femur (thigh bone) was 95 cm long. A partial fossil was
found in England. This genus was named by paleontologist Galton in
1985. The type species is C. borealis.
171.
CAMPTONOTUS
(pronounced KAMP-toe-NOTE-us) Camptonotus (meaning "flexible back") is
an invalid name for Camptosaurus. It was named by Marsh in 1879.
172.
CAMPTOSAURUS
(pronounced KAMP-toe-SAWR-us) Camptosaurus (meaning "bent lizard") was
a plant-eater from the late Jurassic period (about 156 to 145 million
years ago) that looked a lot like Iguanodon. It was a heavy
ornithischian dinosaur that was about 16-23 feet (5-7 m) long, weighing
roughly 1000 kg. It had a long snout, hundreds of teeth and a horny
beak, and longer legs than arms. It could walk on two or four legs. The
type species is C. dispar. Camptosaurus was named by Marsh in 1885.
173. CAMPYLODONISCUS
(pronounced cam-PIL-o-do-NIS-kus) Campylodoniscus (meaning "little bent
tooth") was a long-necked, quadrupedal, sauropod dinosaur. This
plant-eating titanosaur dates from the late Cretaceous, about 70
million years ago. Campylodoniscus was about 65 ft (20 m) long and
weighed about 15,000 kg. It is known from scanty fossils found in
Argentina, South America. Campylodoniscus was named by paleontologist
Kuhn in 1961 (and replaces von Huene's Campylodon). The type species is
C. ameghinoi.
174. CAMPYLOGNATHOIDES
Campylognathoides was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, from the early
Jurassic period. This carnivore was not a dinosaur, but was a closely
related reptile. Campylognathoides had a wingspan of 20 feet (6 m). It
had a long tail with a diamond-shaped flap at the end and long jaws
with many sharp teeth. Campylognathoides was named by Strand in 1928.
Fossils have been found in Germany and India. (Classification: Order
Pterosauria, Suborder Phamphorhynchoidea)

175. CAPTORHINIDS
Captorhinids (or Cotylosaurs) are "stem reptiles," primitive anapsids
that led to the reptiles (including dinosaurs and turtles), birds, and
mammals. They evolved from amphibians during the Early Carboniferous
period, about 340 million years ago and went extinct at the end of the
Triassic period, about 250 million years ago. They had four sprawling
legs and a long tail. Class Sauropsida, subclass Anapsida, Infraclass
Captorhinida.
176. CARBONIFEROUS
The Carboniferous was a geological time period (lasting from 360 to 280
million years ago) during which there were wide-spread coal swamps on
Earth, foraminiferans, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, blastoids, seed
ferns, lycopsids, and other plants. Amphibians become more common. The
Carboniferous was during the middle-to-late Paleozoic Era and is
divided into the Pennsylvanian Period (325 to 280 million years ago)
and the Mississippian Period (360 to 325 million years ago).
177.
CARCHARODONTOSAURUS
(pronounced kahr-KAR-o-DONT-o-SAWR-us) Carcharodontosaurus (meaning
"shark-tooth lizard") was a huge meat eater (45 feet or 14 m long,
weighing roughly 4000 kg) from the Cretaceous period, 110-90 million
years ago. This African carnosaur was larger than T. rex. The type
species is C. saharicus.
178.
CARCHARODON MEGALODON
Carcharodon/Carcharocles megalodon was an ancient shark, living between
5-1.6 million years ago; it is extinct. It may have been up to 40 feet
(12 m) long.
179. CARDIODON
(pronounced CAR-dee-oh-don) Cardiodon (meaning "heart tooth") is
doubtful genus if dinosaur known from a single, heart-shaped tooth
found in England. The tooth dates from the middle Jurassic period,
about 170 million years ago. Cardiodon, a large plant eater, was a
cetiosaurid sauropod, was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1841.
The type species is C. rugulosus. Cardiodon may be the same as
Cetiosaurus.
180. CARDIOCEPHALUS
(pronounced CAR-dee-oh-CEFF-ah-lus) Cardiocephalus (meaning "heart
head") was an early lesospondyl amphibian from the middle Permian
period. This microsaur had a heart-shaped head, four short legs, a long
tail, a long body, and a lizard-like appearance.
181. CARMELOPODUS
Carmelopodus is a theropod dinosaur known only from its fossilized
trackways. This bipedal, meat-eating ichnogenus lived in during the
middle Jurassic period in what is now the Carmel formation in eastern
Utah, USA and England (supporting the theory of continental drift).
182. CARNOSAURUS
(pronounced KAR-no-SAWR-us) Carnosaurus (meaning "flesh lizard") is a
misspelling of Carnotaurus. Carnosaurus was named by paleontologist von
Huene in 1929, from fragmentary fossil remains of a large theropod
dinosaur. Carnosaurus is a nomen nudum (published without a proper or
complete description); Carnosaurus is not a recognized dinosaur genus.
183.
CARNOSAUR
(pronounced KAR-no-SAWR) Carnosaurs (meaning "flesh lizards") were
large theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs) that lived during the Jurassic
and Cretaceous periods. Allosaurus and Sinraptor were carnosaurs. These
saurischians are a groups of dinosaurs that are part of the group
tetanurae, defined as closer to allosaur than to birds.
184.
Carnosaurus
(pronounced KAR-no-TAWR-us) Carnotaurus (meaning "flesh-eating bull")
was an unusual-looking theropod dinosaur that was about 25 feet (7.5 m)
long, weighing about 1 ton (1000 kg). This meat-eater had brow-horns
(hence its name), extremely tiny arms (even smaller than those of
Tyrannosaurids), and a long, thin tail. It may have had partial
binocular vision (unlike most other dinosaurs) since the eyes were set
facing slightly forwards. Carnotaurus lived during the Cretaceous
period, about 113 to 91 million years ago. Its almost complete
fossilized skeleton, together with skin impressions (that reveal rows
of bumps on rough skin), have been found in Patagonia, South America.
It was named by paleontologist J. Bonaparte in 1985. The type species
is C. sastrei.
185. CASEA
Casea was a small, sail-less pelycosaur that lived during the early
Permian period. It looked like a fat lizard; it had 4 short, sprawling
legs, a long tail, a small head, a bulky body, a huge rib cage, and a
large gut (needed to digest its food). This plant-eater ate tough
plants, horsetails and ferns. It had no teeth in its lower jaw, but had
thick, peg-like teeth in the upper jaw. It also had small teeth on the
palate itself (the roof of the mouth). Casea was about 4 feet (1.2 m)
and may have weighed over 1,300 pounds (600 kg). Fossils of this
synapsid have been found in France and the USA (Texas).
186.

CATHETOSAURUS
(pronounced ca-THEE-toh-SAWR-us) Cathetosaurus (meaning "upright
lizard") was a large, long-necked, quadrupedal, plant-eating dinosaur.
This sauropod dates from the late Jurassic period, about 156-145
million years ago. Its pelvic structure perhaps indicates that it could
rear on its hind legs to eat leaves high in the trees (hence its name).
This pelvis also has huge teeth marks in it (probably a theropod
dinosaur that scavenged the carcass). Cathetosaurus is known only from
scanty fossils found in Colorado, USA. It was named by paleontologist
Jenson in 1988. The type species is C. lewisi. Cathetosaurus is a
doubtful genus and may be the same as Camarasaurus.
187. Cearadactylus
Cearadactylus was a pterosaur with a 13 feet (4 m) wide wingspan with
protruding, interlocking teeth. It was not a dinosaur, but type of
extinct, flying reptile from Brazil during the early Cretaceous period.
188. CEDAROSAURUS
(pronounced SEED-er-oh-SAWR-us) Cedarosaurus (meaning "Cedar Mountain
Formation lizard") was a sauropod dinosaur that lived during the early
late Cretaceous period. It had a long neck, a long tail, and a small
head. Fossils were found in Utah, USA. It was named by paleontologist
Tidwell, Carpenter and Brooks in 1999. The type species is Cedarosaurus
weiskopfae.
189.

CENTROSAURINES
(pronounced SEN-tro-sawr-INES) Centrosaurines (meaning "pointed
lizards") were a group of rhinoceros-like ceratopsian dinosaurs - most
had large horns (or bony growths ) on the short snout and a relatively
short neck frill. Some centrosaurines included Centrosaurus,
Styracosaurus, Brachyceratops, Monoclonius, Einiosaurus, Achelousaurus,
and Pachyrhinosaurus.
190. CENTROSAURUS
(pronounced SEN-tro-SAWR-us) Centrosaurus (meaning "pointed lizard")
was a ceratopsian dinosaur, about 20 feet (6 m) long that lived during
the late Cretaceous period. This plant-eater had a large,
forward-pointing snout horn 18 inches (46 cm) long. The skull was over
3 ft (1 m) long. Its scalloped frill had two hooked spikes near the
center. Many skulls and skeletons (and a fossilized skin impression) of
this ornithischian dinosaur have been found in bonebeds in Alberta,
Canada. Centrosaurus was named by Canadian paleontologist L. Lambe in
1904. The type species is C. apertus.
191. CEPHALASPIS
Cephalaspis (meaning "head shield") was a genus of primitive, jawless,
armored, fresh-water fish that lived during the Silurian-Devonian
periods (over 340 million years ago). Cephalaspis is the oldest known
animal vertebrate (an animal having a backbone). This extinct group of
fish were less than an foot long and had a large, flattened head shield
that ended in two points (it looked a bit like it had a boomerang in
its head). Classification: Chordata, Vertebrata, Agnatha
(Cyclostomata=jawless fish), Osteostraci (Cephalaspidiformes), family
Cephalaspida, genus Cephalaspis, many species, includng Cephalaspis
tenuicornis (found in Norway).
192. CEPHALOPOD
Cephalopods (meaning "head foot") are mollusks with tentacles and a
large head. These soft-bodied invertebrates include animals like squid,
octopuses, cuttlefish, and the ammonites (extinct). They are
fast-moving carnivores that catch prey with their tentacles and poison
it with a bite from beak-like jaws. They move with by squirting water
through a siphon, a type of jet propulsion. Many also squirt ink to
help escape predators.
193.

CERATOPS
(pronounced SER-uh-TOPS) Ceratops (meaning "horned face") was a
ceratopsian dinosaur, a plant-eater about 23 to 26 feet (7-8 m) long
that lived during the late Cretaceous period, roughly 80 to 73 million
years ago. It is known from two horn cores and a single bone from
around the eye, that were found in Montana, USA. Ceratops was named by
paleontologist Othniel Marsh in 1888. The type species of this dubious
genus is C. montanus. When Ceratops was found, it was thought to be a
stegosaurid dinosaur (no other ceratopsians had been found yet). It may
belong to the genus Chasmosaurus.
194. CERATOPSIANS
(pronounced SER-uh-TOP-see-in) Ceratopsians were group (sub-order) of
plant-eating, quadrupedal ornithischian dinosaurs with beaks, and bony
head frills along the back of the skull. They lived during the
Cretaceous period. Ceratopsians are divided into the family
Protoceratopsidae (which includes: Montanoceratops, Bagaceratops,
Protoceratops Leptoceratops, Microceratops, and Notoceratops) and the
family Ceratopsidae (which includes: Pentaceratops, Styracosaurus,
Anchiceratops, Triceratops, Monoclonius, Ceratops and others).
195. CERATOSAURIA
(pronounced se-RAT-uh-SAWR-ee-ah) Ceratosauria is a major division of
theropod dinosaurs; those whose three hip bones (the pubis, ilium and
ischium) are fused. Ceratosauria is divided into the Coelophysoidea
(early Ceratosaurs with a notch in the upper jaw, including
Dilophosaurus, Coelophysis, Syntarsus, Liliensternus) and the
Neoceratosauria (Ceratosaurus, Elaphrosaurus, and the abelisaurids).
196. CERATOSAURUS
(pronounced ser-RAT-uh-SAWR-us) Ceratosaurus (meaning "horned lizard")
was a dinosaur that was about 20 feet (6 m) long, weighing roughly 524
kg. This meat-eater had a small horn on its snout, 2 smaller brow
horns, a long, thin tail, 4-fingered hands (which is a primitive
feature for a theropod), and large eyes (and probably had very good
eyesight). The femur (thigh bone) was 2.45 ft (62 cm) long. It was a
common predator that lived during the late Jurassic period, about 156
to 145 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Colorado &
Utah, USA and Tanzania, Africa. It was named by O. C. Marsh in 1884,
who theorized that Ceratosaurus was a good swimmer, like the
crocodilians (since it had a long, thin tail). The type species is C.
nasicornis.
197. CETIOSAURUS
(pronounced see-TIE-o-SAWR-us) Cetiosaurus (meaning "whale lizard") was
a primitive sauropod dinosaur. It was a four-legged, long-necked,
small-headed plant-eater with a relatively short tail. Cetiosaurus'
back vertebrae had a coarse texture (like that of whales, hence its
name, meaning "whale lizard"). It dates from the mid-Jurassic period,
about 181-169 million years ago. It was over 50-53 feet (15-16 m) long
and weighed roughly 24800 kg. It belongs to the family Cetiosauridae
and is a saurischian dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in England
and Morocco in deposits that were watery during the mid-Jurassic. This
indicates that although terrestrial, Cetiosaurus probably lived near
the water. Cetiosaurus was the first 4-legged sauropod found. It was
named by the English anatomist Sir Richard Owen in 1841. The type
species is C. medius.
198. CETIOSAURISCUS
(pronounced SEE-tee-oh-saw-RIS-kus) Cetiosauriscus (meaning whale-like
lizard) was a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur. It was a large,
four-legged, long-necked, small-headed, whip-tailed plant-eater.
Cetiosauriscus dates from the mid-Jurassic period, about 181-169
million years ago. It was about 50 feet (15 m) long and weighed roughly
17000 kg. Fossils have been found in England and Switzerland.
Cetiosauriscus was named by the paleontologist von Huene in 1927. The
type species is C. stewarti.
199. CHALICOTHERIUM
Chalicotherium was an early, herbivorous mammal from the Miocene. This
forest browser was an ungulate with large, clawed feet (instead of
hooves). It may have been able to rear up on its hind legs to eat
leaves high up in trees. Fossils have been found in Europe
(Kazakhstan). Classification: Suborder Ancylopoda, Family
Chalicotheriidae.
200. CHAMPSOSAUR
(pronounced CHAMP-so-SAWRS) Champsosaurs were early lizard-like
reptiles that lived in water. (Subclass Diapsida, Order Choristodera)
201.
CHAMPSOSAURUS
(pronounced CHAMP-so-SAWR-us) Champsosaurus was a long-jawed early
reptile, a Champsosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period
through the Eocene period. This fish-eater was about 5 feet (1.5 m)
long, and lived in rivers and swamps. It had powerful jaws in a very
long, thin, toothed snout, four short legs, and a long tail which it
used to propel itself in the water. Fossils have been found in Europe
and North America. It was not a dinosaur. (Subclass Diapsida, Order
Choristodera)

202.CHANGTUSAURUS
Changtusaurus (CHAHN-Guh-SAWR-us) (also called Changdusaurus
(CHAHN-dah-SAWR-us), Chendusaurus(CHEHN-dah-SAWR-us), and
Chengdusaurus(CHEHN-dah-SAWR-us)) was a stegosaurid dinosaur that lived
during the late Jurassic period. This plant-eater walked on four
columnar legs. It had plates running along its back, spikes on its tail
and no tail club. Fossils were found in the Changdu(chahng-do) basin in
China. The type species is C.
laminaplacodus(LAHM-ihn-ahpl-ah-COH-duhs). Changtusaurus was named by
Zhao (Zah-ho) in 1983 Very little is known about this genus.

203.CHANARESUCHUS
Chanaresuchus(CHAHN-ahr-suhch-uhs) (meaning "Chañares [the formation
in Argentina in which it was found] crocodile") was a small archosaur
that lived during the mid Triassic Period, toughly 225 million years
ago. This quadruped diapsid was about 3.5 feet (1 m) long, had teeth
set into sockets, a pointed snout, and a very long tail. Chanaresuchus
was not a dinosaur, but another type of archosaur.
Albertosaurus
"Lizard from Alberta"
Albertosaurus was a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex; Albertosaurus was
smaller than T. rex and lived a few million years earlier.
Albertosaurus walked on two legs and had a large head with sharp,
saw-toothed teeth. It had two-fingered hands on short arms. Its long
tail provided balance and quick turning. It had powerful back legs with
clawed, three-toed feet.
Albertosaurus was about 30 feet (9 m) long, about 11 feet (3.4 m) tall
at the hips, and up to 3 tons in weight (averaging roughly 2500 kg).
The lower jaw of Albertosaurus had from 14 and 16 teeth; the upper jaw
had 17-19 teeth. It had one row of teeth in each jaw but had at least
one replacement tooth growing up from under each tooth./
SPINOSAURUS
"Spiny Lizard"
Spinosaurus was a huge meat-eating dinosaur that had a series of spines
on its back. This enormous dinosaur lived during the late Cretaceous
period, about 98 to 95 million years ago, in what is now Africa.
Spinosaurus is called "spiny lizard" because it had a series of large
neural spines up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long coming out of its back
vertebrae, probably forming a sail-like fin that may have helped in
thermoregulation, mating rituals and/or intraspecies rivalry.
Spinosaurus had a relatively flexible upper spine (these vertebrae had
modified ball-and-socket-joints) so it could arch its back somewhat,
perhaps being able to spread the sail (like opening the ribs of a fan).
Spinosaurus was bipedal (it walked on two legs). It was about 40-50
feet long (12-15 m) and weighed 4 tons or more (some paleontologists
estimate it weighed up to perhaps 8 tons); it is the largest known
Spinosaurid (a type of large, meat-eating dinosaur). It had a large
head with sharp, straight, non-serrated teeth in powerful,
crocodile-like jaws. Its arms were smaller than its legs but were
larger than the arms of most other theropods. It may have gone on all
fours at times. Spinosaurus lived during the middle Cretaceous period,
about 95 million years ago in the tropics near sea level. At the same
time and place, there was another sail-backed dinosaur, Ouranosaurus, a
large, bipedal plant-eater. Spinosaurus' huge sail may have been used
for regulating its temperature. It could collect warmth from the sun
and also disperse excess body heat when in the shade. The presence of
this sail as a thermo-regulatory device is evidence that Spinosaurus
may have been a cold-blooded animal. The sail may also have been used
for mating rituals, attracting mates. The sail may have been brightly
colored, like the fins of some modern-day reptiles. Spinosaurus was a
carnivore, a meat eater with huge teeth and powerful jaws. It ate
dinosaurs and large fish. The teeth were long and sharp but had little
or no serrations. It was a large, fierce predator that could perhaps
even kill large sauropods. Spinosaurus may also have been a scavenger.
Spinosaurus was an advanced theropod, whose intelligence (as measured
by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was high among the
dinosaurs.
Tyrannosaurus rex
the "Tyrant lizard king"
Tyrannosaurus rex was a fierce predator that walked on two powerful
legs. This meat-eater had a huge head with large, pointed, replaceable
teeth and well-developed jaw muscles. It had tiny arms, each with two
fingers. Each bird-like foot had three large toes, all equipped with
claws (plus a little dewclaw on a tiny, vestigial fourth toe). T. rex
had a slim, stiff, pointed tail that provided balance and allowed quick
turns while running. T. rex's neck was short and muscular. Its body was
solidly built but its bones were hollow. Tyrannosaurus rex was up to 40
feet (12.4 m) long, about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 m) tall. The arms
were only about 3 feet (1 m) long. Tyrannosaurus rex was roughly 5 to 7
tons in weight. The enormous skull was about 5 feet (1.5 m) long. The
eye sockets in the skull are 4 inches (10.2 cm) across; the eyeballs
would have been about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter. T. rex left
footprints 1.55 feet (46 cm) long (although its feet were much longer,
about 3.3 feet (1 m) long; T. rex, like other dinosaurs, walked on its
toes). It had a stride length of up to 12 to 15 feet (3.7-4.6 m). T.
rex may have run at up to 15 mph (24 kph). T. rex's jaws were up to 4
feet (1.2 m) long and had 50 to 60 thick, conical, bone-crunching teeth
that ranged in size from very small to over 9 inches (23 cm) long.
Adult had a variety of sizes of teeth in their jaws at one time, as
teeth were broken and new (smaller) ones grew in to replace them. One
T. rex was found with some teeth up to 13 inch (33 cm) long. T. rex
could eat up to 500 pounds (230 kg) of meat and bones in one bite!
Tyrannosaurus rex had a wrap-around overbite; when T. rex closed its
mouth, the upper parts of the lower jaw's teeth fit inside the upper
teeth. Fossilized specimens of T. rex's rough, scaly skin have been
found. It was bumpy, like an alligator's skin, and has been described
as a "lightly pebbled skin." Tyrannosaurus rex probably lived in
forests, where its prey (plant-eating dinosaurs) could find plenty of
food. T. Rex Fossils have been found in western North America and
Mongolia. Sight: T. rex had large visual lobes in its brain that
processed visual information. T. rex also had depth perception (since
both eyes faced forwards on the front of its skull, and not placed on
the sides), but it was not the only dinosaur that had depth perception.
In general, predators (hunters) often have depth perception to help
them hunt their prey. Animals that are hunted (like the plant-eating
dinosaurs) usually have eyes located on the sides of their head (having
no depth perception); this lets them see predators approaching from
both sides. Smell: T. rex's brain had a very large area in the brain
for processing odors. Tyrannosaurus had a stiff, pointed tail (like
other Tetanurans [meaning "stiff tail"]). The tail was used as a
counterbalance for its enormous head, for agility and for making quick
turns. The rear part of the tail was stiffened by interlocking
vertebral zygopophyses (interlocking bony structures projecting
forwards and backwards from the neural arches, interlocking one
vertebra into another).
OURANOSAURUS
"Brave Lizard"
Ouranosaurus was a sail-backed, plant-eating, Iguanodontid dinosaur
from the early Cretaceous period. It was about 24 feet (7 m) long and
may have weighed about 4 tons. Ouranosaurus' sail was formed by
long-spined vertebrae in the backbone. The spines stuck out from its
back and tail; the spines were covered with skin. The sail was probably
used for temperature regulation in the hot, African environment. It
would help the animal cool down in the heat of day, by dispersing extra
heat when the sail was turned away from the sun. It would also help
Ouranosaurus collect heat early in the morning when the sail faced the
sun. The sail may also have been used for mating displays, intraspecies
rivalry, or to make it look larger when confronting predators.
Ouranosaurus had few defenses. Ouranosaurus' skull was longer than
other Iguanodontid skulls. It had a bit of a crest on its snout, two
bony bumps. Ouranosaurus had a flat, wide, toothless beak, and many
cheek teeth for grinding plant material. The neck was short and
flexible. There were five short fingers on each hand. The second and
third fingers had hoof-like nails that Ouranosaurus probably used when
it went on all four limbs to graze low-lying plants. Each thumb had a
small conical spike like Iguanodon. WHEN OURANOSAURUS LIVED
Ouranosaurus lived in the early Cretaceous period, about 115-110
million years ago. Spinosaurus, a large, sail-backed meat-eater, was
one of its contemporaries in the hot, Cretaceous environment of North
Africa. INTELLIGENCE
Ouranosaurus was an ornithopod, whose intelligence (as measured by its
relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was midway among the dinosaurs.
DIET
Ouranosaurus was an herbivore, a plant eater. It probably ate leaves,
fruit, seeds, and other plant material with its tough beak. It had no
teeth in its beak, but had many cheek teeth that it used for grinding
up tough plant material.
LOCOMOTION. Ouranosaurus could run on two legs or walk on four; it was
a relatively slow, bulky dinosaur. Dinosaur speeds are estimated using
their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body
mass) and fossilized trackways. Two almost complete Ouranosaurus
fossils were found in the southern Sahara Desert, in northeast Niger,
Africa, in 1966. Ouranosaurus was named by the French paleontologist
Phillippe Taquet in 1976.
CHASMOSAURUS
(pronounced KAS-mo-SAWR-us) Chasmosaurus was a rhinoceros-like dinosaur
that was 16-26 feet (5-8 m) long and weighed about 3.5 tons (3220 kg).
Its femur (thigh bone) was 75 cm long. It was a three horned,
plant-eating, frilled ceratopsian dinosaur that lived late in the late
Cretaceous period, about 76 to 70 million years ago. The type species
is C. belli.
What were the periods?

There were many periods for the different times that the different
dinosaurs. There was the Jurassic period, there was the Cretaceous
period, there was the Triassic period, Silurian period, there was the
Devonian period, there was the Permian period, there was the Mesozoic
period, there was the

What plants the Herbivores ate.
(Organized by eras/periods)
Mesozoic Era's plants.
The Mesozoic landscape was very different that the modern-day
landscapes. First of all, most of the plants around us today are
flowering plants, and these did not evolve until relatively late in the
Mesozoic (about 140 million years ago). Second, the Mesozoic Era was
much sparser than today in both plant and animal life. There was much
less diversity in life forms and fewer individual organisms, although
the diversity increased throughout the Mesozoic Era. This Era ended in
a huge mass extinction about 65 million years ago. During the Mesozoic
Era, when the dinosaurs lived, conifers dominated the landscape. These
slow-growing evergreen trees and shrubs probably constituted the
majority of the herbivorous dinosaurs' diets. Conifers were probably
important food for dinosaurs, including the large sauropods.
Mesozoic Era conifers included redwoods, yews, pines, the monkey puzzle
tree (Araucaria), cypress, Pseudofrenelopsis (a Cheirolepidiacean).
Towards the end of the Jurassic period, flowering plants evolved and
began to overtake conifers as the dominant flora. Cycadophytes included
the Cycads and Cycadeoids (Bennettitales), plants with woody stems
(some erect, some spherical) and very tough leaves. These two groups
differ mainly in the way they reproduce: Cycads have separate male and
female plants; Cycadeoids do not always. Cycadeoids are now extinct but
there are still a few cycads. Some Mesozoic Era Cycads included:
Leptocycas, Cycas, Zamia, Dioon, Bowenia, Stangeria, and Microcyas.
Some Mesozoic Cycadeoids included: Cycadeoidea, Vardekloeftia,
Williamsonia, Williamsoniella, Westersheimia, and Leguminanthus.
Pteridophytes are a group of primitive vascular plants that include
Lycopods (club mosses), Sphenopsids (horsetails, shown left), and ferns
(shown, right). These plants reproduce with spores that germinate only
in moist areas; they also reproduce using rhizomes (underground stems).
Pteridophytes evolved during the Devonian period and were mostly
low-growing during the Mesozoic Era. These fast-growing, resilient
plants were a source of food for plant-eating dinosaurs that lived in
moist areas.

Triassic era's plants
Cycadophytes dominated southern areas during the Triassic period and
thrived during the Jurassic, but began to decline in the mid-Cretaceous
period. Cycadeoids went extinct. Seed ferns (Pteridosperms) had
fern-like leaves but bore seeds and not spores. This group included
Glossopteris, Dicroidium, Caytonia, Denkania, and Lidgettonia.
Seed ferns dominated southern Pangaea during the Triassic period. Seed
ferns went extinct during early in the Cretaceous period. Glossopterids
went extinct at the end of the Triassic period. Flowering plants
(angiosperms) evolved about 140 million years ago, during the late
Jurassic period and dramatically changed the Earth's landscape, quickly
taking over most of the ecological niches. These fast-growing,
adaptable plants also gave rise to a HUGE boom in the dinosaur world.
Most of the dinosaurs that have been found date from the late
Cretaceous period, when flowering plants were supplying plant-eating
dinosaurs (like hadrosaurs) with plentiful and nutritious food. Some
Mesozoic Era angiosperms included magnolias, laurel, barberry, early
sycamores, and palms. Grasses may have evolved later.
Cretaceous era's plants
Gingkos (the maidenhair tree, family Gingkoaceae) are deciduous (losing
their soft leaves in cold weather) gymnosperms that were common at
higher altitudes. Gingkos peaked during the Jurassic and Cretaceous
periods. Gingkos are still around today. Seed ferns (Pteridosperms) had
fern-like leaves but bore seeds and not spores. This group included
Glossopteris, Dicroidium, Caytonia, Denkania, and Lidgettonia.
Seed ferns dominated southern Pangaea during the Triassic period. Seed
ferns went extinct during early in the Cretaceous period. Glossopterids
went extinct at the end of the Triassic period. Flowering plants
(angiosperms) evolved about 140 million years ago, during the late
Jurassic period and dramatically changed the Earth's landscape, quickly
taking over most of the ecological niches. These fast-growing,
adaptable plants also gave rise to a HUGE boom in the dinosaur world.
Most of the dinosaurs that have been found date from the late
Cretaceous period, when flowering plants were supplying plant-eating
dinosaurs (like hadrosaurs) with plentiful and nutritious food. Some
Mesozoic Era angiosperms included magnolias, laurel, barberry, early
sycamores, and palms. Grasses may have evolved later.
Jurassic era's plants
Gingkos (the maidenhair tree, family Gingkoaceae) are deciduous (losing
their soft leaves in cold weather) gymnosperms that were common at
higher altitudes. Gingkos peaked during the Jurassic and Cretaceous
periods. Gingkos are still around today. Flowering plants (angiosperms)
evolved about 140 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period
and dramatically changed the Earth's landscape, quickly taking over
most of the ecological niches. These fast-growing, adaptable plants
also gave rise to a HUGE boom in the dinosaur world. Most of the
dinosaurs that have been found date from the late Cretaceous period,
when flowering plants were supplying plant-eating dinosaurs (like
hadrosaurs) with plentiful and nutritious food. Some Mesozoic Era
angiosperms included magnolias, laurel, barberry, early sycamores, and
palms. Grasses may have evolved later.
Devonian era's plants
Pteridophytes are a group of primitive vascular plants that include
Lycopods (club mosses), Sphenopsids (horsetails, shown left), and ferns
(shown, right). These plants reproduce with spores that germinate only
in moist areas; they also reproduce using rhizomes (underground stems).
Pteridophytes evolved during the Devonian and were mostly low-growing
during the Mesozoic Era. These fast-growing, resilient plants were a
source of food for plant-eating dinosaurs that lived in moist areas.

What killed the dinosaurs?
What Killed The Dinosaurs?
EXTINCTION THEORIES
Two main camps exist in paleontology today, each having a different
view of what killed the dinosaurs and other organisms at the K-T
boundary. Controversy has surrounded the topic since 1980; it has
become difficult for the public (and the scientific world at large) to
understand the issue due to the tangled assemblage of data which seems
to point in many different directions. Luckily, the controversy has not
harmed the study of mass extinction causation, but rather has made it a
dynamic and interesting area. Every groundbreaking new hypothesis makes
new headlines in the media, and excites researchers to delve further
into the mystery.
The major sides of the schism can be broken down (greatly simplifying
the issue, but making it more accessible) into "intrinsic gradualists"
and "extrinsic catastrophists." We'll describe each generalized group
in turn, and then try to synthesize the available information so you
can form your own opinion. But first, let's outline what scientists
generally agree that we know about the K-T boundary.
The common ground
1. There was global climatic change; the environment changed from a
warm, mild one in the Mesozoic to a cooler, more varied one in the
Cenozoic. The cause of this climate change, and the speed at which it
proceeded, are the major concerns of both schools of thought.
2. As well as a permanent global climatic change, there is evidence
that there were less lasting changes at the end of the Cretaceous
period. These changes may have been the result of a massive terrestrial
disturbance, which threw up soot into the air, causing short term acid
rain, emission of poisonous gases, and cooling (similar to a nuclear
winter). Long term consequences would have been a global greenhouse
effect (warming and reduced sunlight).
3. As discussed before, many organisms; both marine and terrestrial,
vertebrate and invertebrate; went extinct. The reason for this
extinction was probably this climate change.
4. At or near the K-T boundary in several places around the globe, we
have a thin layer of clay with an unusually high iridium (a rare metal
similar to platinum) content. This may be evidence for the dust cloud
in #2 above.
The "intrinsic gradualists"
Those scientists falling into this category believe that the ultimate
cause of the K-T extinction was intrinsic; meaning of an Earthly
nature; and gradual, taking some time to occur (several million years).
Two main hypotheses exist today:
1. Volcanism: We are quite certain that the end of the Cretaceous
period that there was increased volcanic activity. Over a period of
several million years, this increased volcanism could have created
enough dust and soot to block out sunlight; producing the climatic
change. In India during the Late Cretaceous, huge volcanic eruptions
were spewing forth floods of lava which can be seen today at the K-T
boundary (these ruptures in the Earth's surface are called the Deccan
traps). Since the Earth's molten mantle is relatively rich in iridium,
this would explain the iridium layer.
2. Plate Tectonics: Major changes in the organization of the
continental plates (continental drift) were occurring at the K-T
boundary. The oceans (especially the Interior Seaway in North America)
were experiencing a regression; they were receding from the land. A
less mild climate would have been the result, and this would have taken
a long time. Large scale tectonic events did occur in the Mesozoic
several times, and no extinction events have been conclusively
associated with them yet.
Note that these two above hypotheses are inextricably tied together;
volcanism cannot occur without the action of plate tectonics, and vice
versa. If the extinction was intrinsic and gradual, both processes
probably played a role. Also note that the basic theory here is an
elaboration of the 'dinosaurs faded away' hypothesis from the invalid
hypotheses section; it adds a factor of causation that is quite
convincing.
The "extrinsic catastrophists"
This side of the controversy holds that the ultimate cause of the K-T
extinction was extrinsic, meaning of an extraterrestrial nature, and
catastrophic, meaning fairly sudden and punctuated. The main hypothesis
was proposed in 1980 by (among others) Luis and Walter Alvarez of the
University of California at Berkeley.
The Alvarez Hypothesis: The original hypothesis is the basis for
several subsequent variations on the theme that a large
extraterrestrial object collided with the Earth, its impact throwing up
enough dust to cause the climatic change. The iridium layer is what
prompted the Alvarez team to blame an asteroid impact for the
extinction - asteroids and similar extraterrestrial bodies are higher
in iridium content than the Earth's crust, so they figured that the
iridium layer must be composed of the dust from the vaporized meteor.
No crater was found, but it was assumed that one existed that was about
65 million years old and 100 kilometers (about 65 miles) in diameter.
Later research found a likely candidate for the crater at Chicxulub, on
the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Other evidence was also reported: the
presence of shocked quartz in the rocks of the K-T boundary (indicating
a violent tremor that cracked the quartz grains), glassy spheres that
looked like impact ejecta (molten rock that solidified into droplets
when cooled), and a soot layer was found in many areas (evidence for
widespread forest fires). The likelihood that massive hurricanes and
firestorms would have raged across the Earth was also hypothesized,
adding to the destructive power of the catastrophe.
To reconcile the hypothesis with gradual data, it was suggested that
rather than one impact, several impacts (of comets or meteors) could
have occurred over a period of many years. Some evidence supported this
- a hint of periodicity of mass extinctions in the fossil record was
reported; mass extinctions seemed to occur roughly every 26 million
years. Astronomers theorized that the Oort cloud of comets could cross
the path of our solar system every 26 million years, and would possibly
rain comets on our planet for a few million years. The existence of a
tenth, as-yet unseen planet - or Nemesis, the twin star to our sun
- both with large orbits were also contemplated. To date, no reliable
evidence for periodicity or Nemesis-type celestial bodies has been
found, but this does not render the hypothesis obsolete; it is accepted
that any large extraterrestrial body impacting the Earth's surface
could and would produce climatic changes similar to those thought to
have occurred around the K-T boundary. Conclusions?
There has been no settlement to the issue so far, and no clear one is
foreseeable. Both sides claim to hold the majority of proponents in
science; it seems that (greatly over-generalizing) many paleontologists
lean towards the intrinsic side, while many astronomers and physicists
favor the extrinsic side, and geologists are probably evenly split
between the two.
All of the evidence cited for the extrinsic catastrophist side is
claimed as evidence by the intrinsic gradualists for their side or
against the opposite side - volcanoes could create the iridium layer,
shocked quartz, soot, and impact ejecta; the makeup of the iridium
layer is not uniform in all areas, so it could be meaningless; and so
on.
The main problem with both hypotheses is the issue of the selectivity
of the mass extinction; as you saw before in the background section,
some organisms were wiped out, while others were unaffected. Can
climate change really explain the differential selectivity of the K-T
event? Our lack of understanding of the physiology of dinosaurs makes
the issue more complex; if they were endothermic, why did they not
survive like birds and mammals? If they were ectothermic, why did small
dinosaurs not survive like small reptiles?
Also, many studies have focused on the extinction of dinosaurs alone,
and have forgotten about the more substantial marine ecosystem
collapse. The fossil record suggests that some marine reptiles died out
several million years prior to the K-T boundary.
Other major problems with the issue are that it is not easy to prove
(test) causation (as noted before), and that most of the ages of the
rocks that different evidence comes from are questionable. It is not
certain whether there is a gradual decline in the global fossil record,
or if there was a sudden catastrophe; some studies in some areas show
evidence pointing to different answers.
Ultimately, we just don't know yet for sure. The two main schools of
thought are split fairly evenly among scientists familiar with them.
Either an intrinsic or extrinsic cause for the extinction would have
complex biotic effects on ecosystems which would look confusing in the
fossil record. There could well have been different, even separate
extinctions in the oceans and on land; the marine fossil record does
support a slightly rapid decline, while the terrestrial record
(especially in North America) strongly suggests a more gradual decline
(but again, has a fragmentary fossil record). If an extraterrestrial
impact occurred during a gradual decline, that might explain the
seemingly contradictory evidence. If you are looking for an opinion
here from a paleontologist's point of view, it seems that the simplest
explanation is that the climatic changes induced by the shifting
continents and the regression of the continental seaways were the
ultimate cause (at least in North America), but this has not been (and
may not ever be) proven. There is much work to be done, and much value
to this work - understanding the K-T extinction would help us to
understand mass extinctions in general, and might provide a glimpse
into the fleeting, evanescent nature of our own mortality.

ah-BEL-i-SAWR-us (Abel + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to honor
Roberto Abel, director of the Museo de Cipolletti, Cipolletti,
Argentina, who found the specimen. Theropoda Abelisauridae L. Cret. SA
________________________________________
Abrictosaurus Hopson 1975 "awake lizard"
a-BRIK-to-SAWR-us (Gr. abriktos "awake" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) The
name expresses J. A. Hopson's "disagreement with [R. A.] Thulborn's
suggestion that heterodontosaurids underwent aestivation (or
hibernation) during the yearly dry season," based on the supposed
replacement pattern of their teeth. Abrictosaurus was active year-round
in Hopson's view. Ornithopoda Heterodontosauridae E. Jur. SAfr.
________________________________________
Abrosaurus Ouyang 1989 "delicate (skull) lizard" [xiulong]*
AB-ro-SAWR-us (for Gr. habros "delicate, light" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) referring to the very light construction of the skull,
characterized by extremely large openings (elliptical-shaped external
nares, triangular-shaped antorbital fenestrae, orbits, lateral temporal
fenestrae) separated by very narrow bone structures. Abrosaurus is a
relatively modest-sized camarasaurid-type sauropod (probably about 7-9
m (25-30 ft) long); with a relatively short neck consisting of 13
cervical vertebrae with centra about 1.3 times the length of the dorsal
centra. Neural spines simple and relatively low on cervicals, but
slightly forked on anterior and posterior dorsals; dorsal centra
platycoelous or weakly amphicoelous. Skull is about 46 cm long; the
mandible is long and thin; teeth are comparatively small and spatulate
in shape. Forelimbs 3/4 the length of hindlimbs. Known from a nearly
complete skull (Holotype: ZDM 5038 (Zigong Dinosaur Museum)), parts of
a skeleton, and a second skull, found in the Middle Jurassic Lower
Shaximiao Formation, Dashanpu, Zigong County, Sichuan Province,
southern China.
Type Species: Abrosaurus dongpoensis [doong-paw-EN-sis] Ouyang 1989:
"for Dongpo": named for Su Dongpo, pen name of Su Shi (1036-1101 AD),
famous Song Dynasty writer and poet born in Sichuan Province where the
fossils were found. NOTE: a description of Abrosaurus published in 1996
(Zhang & Chen 1996) gave the type species as Abrosaurus gigantorhinus
["giant snout"], based on an unpublished dissertation by Ouyang in
1986; the Ouyang's official description of Abrosaurus published in 1989
in the Zigong Dinosaur Museum Newsletter (1989 (2)) made the type
species A. dongpoensis. Sauropoda ?Camarasauridae Middle Jurassic China
[added 8/2000]
________________________________________
Acanthopholis Huxley 1867 "spine-scutes"
a-kan-THOF-o-lis (Gr. akantha "spine, thorn" + Gr. pholis "scute") (f)
referring to the "large scutes and spines entering into the dermal
armor of....a large reptile allied to Scelidosaurus, Hylaeosaurus and
Polacanthus." Ankylosauria Nodosauridae E. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Achelousaurus Sampson 1995 "Achelous lizard"
ak-e-LOH-uh-SAWR-us (Achelous (Gr. Akheloos), a mythical river god +
Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Achelous, a river god in Greek and
Roman mythology who could change shape at will. He transformed himself
into a bull to fight Hercules, who defeated Achelous by tearing off one
of his horns. The name alludes to the way a large hornless dinosaur
evolved from earlier horned ancestors, and the way the animal appears
to be a kind of shape changer, since it combines the frill of
Einiosaurus with the nasal bosses of Pachyrhinosaurus, two closely
related genera. Ceratopsia Ceratopsidae Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Achillobator Perle, Norell & Clark 1999 "Achilles (tendon) hero"
a-KIL-o-BAH-tor (Gr. Akhilles (mythical Greek hero whose only
vulnerable spot was his heel; his name is associated with the tendon
that runs along the heel bone) + Mongolian bator "hero") (m) alluding
to the powerful Achilles tendon [tendo calcaneus] that must have
existed along the "heel" on the second phalanx of dromaeosaurs, for
attachment of the large flexor muscle that permitted slashing blows
from the huge claw on the second toe: "The penultimate phalange of the
second digit [in Achillobator] is massive with a hypertrophied
postero-ventral heel, which probably served as the insertion area of
the flexor of the digit tendon." Achillobator is known from a
fragmentary partial associated skeleton (Holotype: FR.MNUFR-15
(Mongolian National University, Ulaan Baatar)), consisting of a left
maxilla, left femur and tibia, left metatarsals III and IV, right
ilium, pubis, and ischium, isolated phalanges from the feet and hands,
tooth fragments, isolated caudal vertebrae, and fragments of ribs;
collected in 1989 at Burkhant, southwest of the village of Dzun Bayan,
near Khongli Tsav, Southeast Gobi Desert, Mongolia, in the Late
Cretaceous (Late Santonian/Early Campanian) Bayan Shire Formation. The
fragmentary maxilla (upper jaw) bone indicates Achillobator had a large
skull "similar in proportion to carnosaurs." The pubis is long and
robust, with a foot-like distal expansion similar to "carnosaurs"; the
pubis is also oriented much more forward than in typical dromaeosaurs,
which have an opisthopubic, or backward-pointing pubic bone. The
surprising combination of a primitive "carnosaur"-like pelvis with a
raptor-like toe-claw sets Achillobator apart from other known
dromaeosaurs. The formal description of Achillobator was published by
the National Museum of Mongolia based on an extremely preliminary
manuscript without the knowledge of the junior authors (Mark Norell and
James Clark). This incomplete scholarly process poses problems for some
details and conclusions found in the original paper. Burnham, Derstler,
Currie, Bakker, Zhou and Ostrom (2000), in their description of
Bambiraptor, suggest that the taxon may be based on "upon of mixture of
bones from two or more actual species," with only the pedal unguals
being identifiable as dromaeosaurid material, while "the ilium,
ischium, maxilla, and caudal vertebrae share no unique features with
the Dromaeosauridae."
Type Species: Achillobator giganticus [ji-GAN-ti-kuhs] Perle, Norell &
Clark 1999 "gigantic," to indicate its very large size for a
dromaeosaurid--the proportions of its femur (50.5 cm long compared to
around 30 cm in Deinonychus) and other bones suggest it was likely at
least a third to twice as large as Deinonychus, perhaps up to 6 m (20
ft.) long with a 13 cm long slashing claw. The original description
suggests Achillobator was "three times as large as Deinonychus," but
this estimate appears to be an error.
Theropoda Maniraptora Dromaeosauridae Late Cretaceous
(Santonian/Campanian) Mongolia [added 5/2000]
________________________________________
Acrocanthosaurus Stovall & Langston 1950 "high-spined lizard"
ak-ro-KAN-tho-SAWR-us (Gr. akros "high" + Gr. akantha "spine, thorn" +
Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the raised ridge of neural spines
along its back. Theropoda Carnosauria Allosauridae E. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Adasaurus Barsbold 1983 "Ada's lizard"
AH-dah-SAWR-us (Ada + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Ada, an evil
spirit in Mongolian mythology. Theropoda Dromaeosauridae E. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Aegyptosaurus Stromer 1932 "Egyptian lizard"
ee-JIP-to-SAWR-us (Gr. Aigyptos "Egypt" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
referring to Marsa Matruh, Egypt, where the fossil was found. Sauropoda
Titanosauridae E. Cret. NAf.
________________________________________
Aeolosaurus Powell 1988 "Aeolus's lizard"
EE-o-lo-SAWR-us (Lat. Aeolus, god of the winds in Greek and Roman
mythology + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) alluding to the windy Patagonian
region of southern Argentina where the fossil was found. Sauropoda
Titanosauridae L. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Aepisaurus Gervais 1852 "high lizard"
EE-pi-SAWR-us (for Gr. aipys "high, lofty" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
named to indicate a "great saurian... whose humerus, with a size
approaching that of an elephant, notably recalls, in its shape, that of
a Varanus." Sauropoda i.s. E. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Aetonyx Broom 1911 "eagle claw"
ay-EE-to-niks (Gr. aetos "eagle" + Gr. onyx "claw") (m) probably
alluding to a large toe claw on the second digit with a "combing or
scraping edge such as is seen in many birds" and which Broom thought
might be used in grooming the animal's supposedly long scales. [=
Massospondylus]
________________________________________
Afrovenator Sereno, Wilson, Larsson, Dutheil & Sues 1994 "African
hunter"
AF-ro-vee-NAY-tor (Lat. Afr- (Afer), inhabitant of Africa + Lat.
venator "hunter") (m) named to indicate a large, allosaur-like
carnivore found near In Abaka, Niger, in the southern Sahara region of
Africa, thus A. abakensis ah-bah-KEN-sis "hunter from In Abaka,
Africa." Theropoda Tetanurae Torvosauroidea E. Cret. NAfr.
________________________________________
Agathaumas Cope 1872 "great wonder"
ag-a-THAW-mas (Gr. agan "much, very" + Gr. thauma "wonder, prodigy,
monster" + -as [Gr. masculine noun suffix]) (m) alluding to its great
size. Cope says: "the forests [of the Cretaceous]...were inhabited by
these huge monsters." The type specimen lacked a skull, and does not
appear to be diagnostic, although it seems probable that it is a
skeleton of Triceratops. Cope originally classified the form as a
hadrosaur and did not recognize the genus as a horned dinosaur until
Marsh described Triceratops in 1889. Cope later proposed that both
Triceratops and Monoclonius were junior synonyms of Agathaumas. Charles
R. Knight's fanciful 1897 painting of Agathaumas, done under Cope's
guidance, combined Marsh's skeletal reconstruction of Triceratops
prorsus with a long straight nasal horn that Cope previously had
identified as Monoclonius sphenocerus (the spectacular horn may come
from a Styracosaurus). Knight also depicted the supposed "dermal armor"
that Marsh mistakenly attributed to Triceratops, material now
identified as spikes from the skull of the pachycephalosaur Stygimoloch
and scutes from an unidentified ankylosaur. (See additional comments at
Monoclonius and Triceratops.) Ceratopsia Ceratopidae. L. Cret. NA.
[nomen dubium (?Triceratops or ?Torosaurus)]
________________________________________
Agilisaurus Peng 1990 "agile lizard"
AJ-i-li-SAWR-us (Lat. agilis "agile, nimble" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
"meaning an agile biped animal as indicated by the light structure of
the skeleton and the ratios of the limbs." Ornithopoda
Hypsilophodontidae M. Jur. China
________________________________________
Agnosphitys Fraser, Padian, Walkden & Davis 2002 "unknown begetter"
ag-noh-SFIE-tis (Gr. agnos "unknown" + Gr. phitys "begetter") (m) named
"with reference to the position of the new form relative to the
Dinosauria"--depending on how the group Dinosauria is defined,
Agnosphitys is either a small primitive meat-eating dinosaur, or a
dinosauriform more advanced than herrarasaurs but not a true dinosaur.
Agnosphitys was probably around 70 cm (28 in) long and is based on a
left ilium (Holotype: VMNH 1745 (Virginia Museum of Natural History,
Martinsville, Virginia)), plus referred material (left maxilla with
serrated teeth, left and right astragaluses, right humerus, 2 sacral
vertebrae, isolated tooth), found in the Late Triassic Cromhall Quarry,
Avon, southwest England. In common with true dinosaurs, it has a brevis
fossa on the ilium, a semi-perforate acetabulum under the ilium, and a
reduced astragulus with an ascending process in its ankle bones;
however, it appears to have only 2 sacral vertebrae (true dinosaurs
have at least 3 sacral vertebrae). Agnosphitys has more dinosaurian
features than Herrarasaurus, a form that also has only 2 sacral
vertebrae and that many researchers consider a true dinosaur. However,
other researchers dispute definitions of the Dinosauria that would
include Herrarasaurus, which they classify as a dinosauriform rather
than a true dinosaur--whether Agnosphitys should be a classified a true
dinosaur or as a dinosauriform remains a point of debate.
Type Species: Agnosphitys cromhallensis [krom-haw-LEN-sis] Fraser,
Padian, Walkden & Davis 2002: "from Cromhall (Quarry)" in England.
Dinosauromorpha Dinosauria(?) Late Triassic Europe [added 6-2002]
________________________________________
Agrosaurus Seeley 1891 "wild country lizard" or "hunting lizard"
AG-ro-SAWR-us (Gr. agro- "rural, wild" (from agros "open country, rural
land") or "hunting" (from agra "hunting"); both derivations for agro-
are found in Greek: agrostes "country dweller" or "hunter"; syagros
"wild boar" or "hunter of boars") + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) for
remains of a dinosaur H. Seeley mistakenly thought came from Australia.
Seeley did not provide a derivation for the name, which may allude to
the then unsettled region of northern Queensland, Australia, where the
type specimen supposedly was found in 1844 by members of the HMS Fly
expedition, or to the dinosaur's supposed meat-eating habits, indicated
by "two laterally compressed claw-phalanges...of the type usual in
carnivorous reptiles." Seeley described Agrosaurus as a "theropod"
related to Massospondylus--prosauropods were still thought to be
carnivores at the time. Recent research (Vickers-Rich, Rich, McNamara &
Milner 1999; Benton, Juul, Storrs & Galton 2000) indicates that the
type material was in fact found in Durdham Down, Bristol, England, was
mislabeled, and actually belongs to the British dinosaur
Thecodontosaurus antiquus [= Thecodontosaurus] [revised 5/2000]
________________________________________
Agustinia Bonaparte 1999 "for Agustin (Martinelli)"
ah-goo-STEE-nee-uh (Agustin + -ia) (f) named "to honor the young
student Agustin Martinelli, a member of the paleontological team [from
the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales of Buenos Aires] and
discoverer of the specimen" (early mention of the dinosaur used the
name "Augustia," a preoccupied name); for a moderately large armored
sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Lohan Cura Formation, Cerro
El Leon, near Picun Leufu, southern Neuquen Province, Argentina. Known
from a fragmentary skeleton consisting of weathered, incomplete or
distorted bones(Holotype: MCF-PVPH-110 (Museum of Plaza Huincul,
Neuquen Province)), including 3 dorsal, 6 sacral and 10 caudal
vertebrae, right tibia and femur, 5 left metatarsals and 9 dermal
ossifications. Agustinia is remarkable for its dorsal armor, somewhat
similar to the plates of stegosaurs, but with the flat surfaces of the
plates oriented crosswise over the crest of the backbone rather than
parallel to the backbone. The armor is complex, with plates consisting
of a large body and one or two smaller thicker pieces connected by soft
tissue to the main body of the plate and to the expanded top of the
vertebrae--Agustinia evidently could move its dorsal armor using
muscles under the skin, perhaps for display. At least four types of
osteoderms are present, articulating along the top of the transversely
expanded neural spines. However, the series of armor plates is
incomplete, and the precise arrangement and appearance of these bones
is not completely clear at present. Documented elements include: 1)
unpaired, narrow leaf-shaped plates (tranverse width 21 cm) that appear
to form a single median row along the frontmost section of the
vertebral column; 2) unpaired, thin, broad and rectangular plate-like
bones with wide triangular projections (possibly the cores of spikes),
total transverse length 64 cm, apparently forming a single row over the
anterior half of the dorsal vertebrae; 3) paired, elongated, flat or
cylindrical spike-like plates that project out to the sides, forming
two parallel rows over the posterior dorsal, sacral and possibly
anterior caudal vertebrae; 4) elongated osteoderms (up to 80 cm long),
bifucated at the proximal end, that projected dorsolaterally.
Given the fragmentary nature of the specimen, the precise
classification of Agustinia is difficult to determine. It appears to be
sauropod, based on the morphology of the metatarsals, tibia, fibula,
and vertebrae--the shape of the neural spines suggests it may be
related to the Rebacchisauridae. Type Species: Agustinia ligabuei
[lee-gah-BOO-ay-ie] Bonaparte 1999: to honor Dr. Giancarlo Ligabue
(from Venice, Italy) "an active philanthropist, who supported the 1997
expedition to Patagonia." Sauropoda Augustiniidae Early Cretaceous
(Aptian) SA. [added 12/99]
________________________________________
Alamosaurus Gilmore 1922 "Ojo Alamo (New Mexico) lizard"
AL-a-mo-SAWR-us (Alamo (from Spanish alamo "poplar tree") + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) named for Ojo Alamo, New Mexico, near where the fossils
were first found. Originally described as from the "Ojo Alamo
Sandstone," strata now assigned to the Kirtland Shale (Late
Cretaceous)--the term "Ojo Alamo Formation" is currently used for
Paleocene deposits. Sauropoda Titanosauridae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Albertosaurus Osborn 1905 "Alberta (Canada) lizard"
al-BUHR-to-SAWR-us (Alberta (for Prince Albert, consort of Queen
Victoria) + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Alberta Province,
Canada, where the fossils were found. Theropoda Coelurosauria
Tyrannosauridae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Alectrosaurus Gilmore 1933 "mateless lizard"
a-LEK-tro-SAWR-us (Gr. alektros "unbedded, unmarried" [by extension,
"alone, unrelated"] + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) referring to the
supposed complete taxonomic distinctness of a new theropod dinosaur
from "deinodonts" [tyrannosaurs], the typical large carnivorous
dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous. Gilmore (1933) says: "The unusually
large size of the humerus and the enormously long claws are so unlike
any known Upper Cretaceous deinodont as to at once set the animal off
as a new type of theropod dinosaur. The name Alectrosaurus olseni is
therefore proposed for its reception." While most of the incomplete
skeletal material originally described by Gilmore (hindlimb, pubis)
belongs to a small to medium-sized (5-6 meters (16-20 ft.))
tyrannosaurid, the large clawed forelimbs that inspired the name are
now thought (Perle, 1977; Mader and Bradley, 1989) to come from an
unidentified segnosaur, a type of plant-eating theropod with very large
clawed forelimbs. Perle attributed additional material to the genus in
1977; Alectrosaurus would have had relatively small forelimbs like
typical tyrannosaurids. (The unusual name Alectrosaurus is NOT derived
from Greek alektor "rooster" and does NOT mean "rooster lizard" or
"eagle lizard" as stated in some sources.) Type species: Alectrosaurus
olseni [OL-sen-ie], for George Olsen of the American Museum of Natural
History, who collected the original specimens at Iren Dabasu, Inner
Mongolia. Theropoda Coelurosauria Tyrannosauridae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Aletopelta Ford & Kirkland 2001 "wandering shield"
a-LEE-to-PEL-tuh (Gr. aletes "wandering" + Gr. pelte "shield") (f)
named to indicate an armored dinosaur from southern California:
"because originally, the [geologic] plate containing the Peninsular
Ranges Terrane, where Carlsbad and San Diego, California, are today,
was somewhere opposite the middle of Mexico...this plate had thus been
wandering northward, carrying the specimen with it." Aletopelta is
medium-size (est. around 6 m (20 ft) long) ankylosaurid, known from a
partial skeleton (Holotype: SDNHM 33909 (San Diego Natural History
Museum, San Diego, California)), including femora, tibiae, fibulae and
incomplete parts of a scapula, humerus, ulna, left and right ischium,
vertebrae, ribs, partial armor over the pelvic girdle plus at least 60
detached armor plates and 8 teeth, found in the Late Cretaceous (Upper
Campanian) marine Point Loma Formation, near Carlsbad, California.
Apparently the bloated carcass floated out to sea and formed a
miniature reef environment after it sunk to the bottom. Aletopelta is
diagnosed as an ankylosaurid mainly based on the shape and arrangement
of its osteoderm armor, which is closer in form to ankylosaurids than
to nodosaurids. Ben Creisler suggested the name Aletopelta.
Type Species: Aletopelta coombsi [KOHM-zie] Ford & Kirkland 2001: to
honor the vertebrate paleontologist Walter P. Coombs, Jr., "for his
ground-breaking work on ankylosaurs and his years of research, which
have inspired many an enthusiast as well as professional
paleontologist." Ankylosauria Ankylosauridae Late Cretaceous
(Campanian) NA [added 6-2002]
________________________________________
Algoasaurus Broom 1904 "Algoa Bay (South Africa) lizard"
al-GOH-a-SAWR-us (Algoa (from Portuguese alagoa "lagoon") + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) named for Algoa Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, near where
the fossil was found; Sauropoda E. Cret. SAfr. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Alioramus Kurzanov 1985 "other (evolutionary) branch"
AL-ee-o-RAY-mus (Lat. alius "other + Lat. ramus "branch") (m) so-named
because it represents a distinct branch of tyrannosaur evolution,
retaining some primitive features (a long snout and more teeth).
Theropoda Coelurosauria Tyrannosauridae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Aliwalia Galton 1985 "for Aliwal North"
ahl-i-WAHL-ee-a (Aliwal + -ia) (f) named for Aliwal North, South
Africa, near where the fossil was found; the town itself was named to
commemorate the British victory at Aliwal, India in 1846. Theropoda
?Herrerasauridae L. Trias. SAf.
________________________________________
Allosaurus Marsh 1877 "strange (vertebra) lizard"
AL-o-SAWR-us (Gr. allos "strange" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named for
its vertebrae. Marsh (1877) says: "distinguished from any known
Dinosaurs by the vertebrae which are peculiarly modified to ensure
lightness. Although apparently not pneumatic, they have the weight of
the centra greatly reduced by deep excavations in the sides," resulting
in a constricted shape. The two vertebrae in the fragmentary type
specimen were somewhat crushed, however, and later, more complete
specimens of Allosaurus showed the centra of the vertebrae had internal
cavities typical of other dinosaurs, contrary to Marsh's first
impression, although the cavities were probably filled with
blood-producing tissue rather than air. The Latin type species name
fragilis [FRAJ-i-lis] "fragile" reflects Marsh's observation that the
vertebrae "have the centra hour-glass in form, the middle part being so
diminished as to greatly reduce the strength." (Allosaurus does not
mean "leaping lizard.") Theropoda Carnosauria Allosauridae L. Jur. NA.
(?E. Cret. Aus.)
________________________________________
Alocodon Thulborn 1973 "furrowed tooth"
a-LOK-o-don (Gr. alok- (alox) "furrow" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) named
for small ornithopod teeth with vertical grooves. Ornithopoda i.s. L.
Jur. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Altirhinus Norman 1998 "high snout"
al-ti-RIEN-us (Lat. altus "high" + Gr. rhin-(rhis) "nose, snout" + -us)
(m) named "in recognition of the highly arched nasal bones of the skull
which give the snout of this animal a distinctively elevated profile";
for a large (7-8 m. (23-26 ft.)) iguanodont from Khuren Dukh, Dornogov
(East Gobi Province), south-central Mongolia, notable for the unusual
expanded shape of its snout. The type skull for Altirhinus (PIN 3386/8)
has been displayed, referred to and widely illustrated as a dinosaur
called "Iguanodon orientalis" Rozhdestvensky 1952. However, the name
"Iguanodon orientalis" was originally proposed based on another very
incomplete specimen (jaw fragments) from Mongolia that appear to belong
to an animal distinct from the new "high-snouted" iguanodont; Norman
(1996) considered Rozhdestvensky's type material inadequate to diagnose
"Iguanodon orientalis" in a scientifically useful way.
Altirhinus is known from a fairly complete skull, parts of another
skull and jaw, and various parts of the skeleton from three adult
individuals and two possible juveniles. Some features in Altirhinus
parallel those found in later hadrosaurids, such as a large diastema
between the beak and the grinding cheek teeth, and extra replacement
teeth. The expansion of its nasal cavity may be an adaptation to a
seasonally dry climate to help retain moisture using a turbinal system.
However, Altirhinus evolved such characters independently, perhaps in
response to a dry climate with tough vegetation, and is not considered
a direct ancestor to hadrosaurs. In other ways it is a typical
iguanodont, with a manus very similar to Iguanodon's, including a
"spike" thumb and a prehensile fifth digit.
Type species: Altirhinus kurzanovi [koor-zuh-NOH-vie] "for the
collector of this new species, Dr. Sergei M. Kurzanov of the
Paleontology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, who
is renowned for his collecting prowess, and his work on a wide variety
of Mongolian fossil vertebrates." Ornithopoda Iguanodontidae E. Cret.
(Late Aptian/Albian) Mongolia
________________________________________
Altispinax von Huene 1923 "high spine"
AL-ti-SPIEN-aks (Lat. altus "high" + Lat. spina "spine" + Gr. -ax
[animal name suffix]) (m) genus now restricted to a tooth; von Huene
proposed the name for both the tooth and a group of "Megalosaurus"
vertebrae with high back spines, thus the name. The Greek animal-name
ending suffix -ax (as in Platax, Labrax, Scolopax, etc.) is probably by
analogy with Cuvier's shark genus Spinax. (See Becklespinax). Theropoda
i.s. E. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Alvarezsaurus Bonparte 1991 "Alvarez's lizard"
AHL-vahr-ez-SAWR-us (D. G. Alvarez + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to
honor Don Gregorio Alvarez, noted historian of Neuquén Province,
Argentina, where the fossil was found; some researchers (Novas 1994)
now classify the genus along with Mononykus as a flightless bird with
large hooked forelimbs. Theropoda Alvarezsauria Alvarezsauridae E.
Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Alwalkeria Chatterjee & Creisler 1994 "for Alick Walker"
al-wah-KEER-ee-a (Al(ick) + Walker + -ia) (f) named to honor Alick D.
Walker, British vertebrate paleontologist, for his valuable
contributions to Mesozoic vertebrates. (To replace preoccupied Walkeria
Chatterjee). Theropoda i.s. L. Trias. India
________________________________________
Alxasaurus Russell & Dong 1993 "Alxa (Inner Mongolia) lizard"
AHL-shah-SAWR-us (Alxa + Gr. sauros "lizard") named for the Alxa
("Alashan") Desert of Inner Mongolia, China, where the type specimen
was found; a primitive "segnosaur." Theropoda Therizinosauroidea
Alxasauridae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Amargasaurus Salgado & Bonaparte 1990 "La Amarga Creek (Argentina)
lizard"
ah-MAHR-gah-SAWR-us (Amarga + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for La
Amarga Creek, near where the fossil was found in Neuquén Province,
Argentina; a form with remarkably long spines on its neck. Sauropoda
Dicraeosauridae E. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Ammosaurus Marsh 1891 "sandstone lizard"
AM-o-SAWR-us (Gr. ammos "sand" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) alluding to
the Connecticut River Valley sandstones, where the fossil was found.
The original specimen was almost complete, but Marsh was only able to
save the posterior portion--the anterior part was in a sandstone block
used in constructing the South Manchester Bridge in Connecticut. The
bridge was demolished in 1969, and researchers at Yale were able to
retrieve some additional fossil material. Prosauropoda Plateosauridae
E. Jur. NA.
________________________________________
Ampelosaurus Le Loeuff 1995 "vineyard lizard"*
AM-pel-o-SAWR-us (Gr. ampelos "vine" + Gr. sauros "lizard") alluding to
the site where the fossils were found: a bone-bed located at the
southern end of the Blanquette de Limoux vineyards in
Campagne-sur-Aude, south-central France. An armored sauropod 15 m.
long. Sauropoda Titanosauridae L. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Amphicoelias Cope 1877 "biconcave (vertebrae)"
AM-fi-SEEL-ee-as (Gr. amphi "around, on both sides" + Gr. koilos
"hollow, concave" + -ias "in character") (m) named for its dorsal
vertebrae. Cope (1877) says: "The centra [of the dorsal vertebrae]
differ from those of Camarasaurus in the form of their articular
extremities...They are unequally amphicoelous, the posterior extremity
being more concave." Marsh (1881) later disputed the diagnostic value
of the feature and the validity of Cope's proposed family
Amphicoeliidae, because "all the known Sauropoda...have similar
vertebrae [near the sacrum], with opisthocoelian centra in the cervical
and anterior dorsal region." One extremely large partial dorsal
vertebra described by Cope in 1878 under the name A. fragillimus
(fra-JIL-i-mus) "very fragile" (in allusion to the unusual thinness of
the bone, a feature Cope thought indicated aquatic habits), would have
been over eight feet tall if complete, and must have belonged to an
animal close to 170 feet in length. Unfortunately, this astonishing
specimen is now lost. Amphicoelias remains a poorly known, but possibly
diagnosable genus, with newly discovered material yet to be described.
Sauropoda Diplodocidae L. Jur. NA
________________________________________
Amphisaurus Marsh 1882 "near lizard"
AM-fi-SAWR-us (Gr. amphi "near, around, both" + Gr. sauros "lizard")*
(m) alluding its transitional nature, with supposed affinities to both
the primitive Palaeosaurus and later dinosaurs, as discussed by Cope
(1870) and others. (To replace preoccupied Megadactylus Hitchcock;
preoccupied by Amphisaurus Barkas 1870. See Anchisaurus) [=
Anchisaurus]
________________________________________
Amtosaurus Kurzanov & Tumanova 1978 "Amtgay (Mongolia) lizard"
AHM-to-SAWR-us (Amt(gay) + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the
Amtgay site, Omongov Province, southern Mongolia, where the fragmentary
skull was found. Originally classified as an ankylosaur, the specimen
may be a hadrosaur. ?Ornithopoda ?Hadrosauridae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Amygdalodon Cabrera 1947 "almond tooth"
am-ig-DAL-o-don (Gr. amygdale "almond" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) alluding
to the oval ("almond") shape of the teeth. Sauropoda Cetiosauridae L.
Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Anasazisaurus Hunt & Lucas 1993 "Anasazi lizard"
ahn-ah-SAH-zee-SAWR-us (Anasazi (from Navajo 'anaasazi "ancient ones")
+ Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the ancient Anasazi people, who
lived in Chaco Canyon near the type locality where the fossil was found
in New Mexico; for a hook-nosed skull attributed to the species
Kritosaurus navajovius by Jack Horner in 1992. Hunt and Lucas
considered Kritosaurus a nomen dubium, based on undiagnostic type
material, and proposed the new name for a taxon distinguished by
"possessing a short, posteriorly folded nasal crest that is above the
level of the frontals, but does not extend posterior to the anterior
end of the frontals." Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L. Cret.
NA. [= ?Kritosaurus]
________________________________________
Anatosaurus Lull & Wright 1942 "duck lizard"
a-NAT-o-SAWR-us (Lat. anat- (anas) "duck" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
referring to the duckbill shape of its snout; for "Claosaurus"
annectens Marsh, now classified as Edmontosaurus annectens. [=
Edmontosaurus]
________________________________________
Anatotitan Brett-Surman in Chapman & Brett-Surman 1990 "duck titan"
a-NAT-o-TIE-tan (Lat. anat- (anas) "duck" + Gr. Titan, a mythical
giant) (m) named for its duckbill snout and great size; formerly called
Anatosaurus copei, a species now considered distinct from Edmontosaurus
annectens. The new generic name was suggested by Donald Baird. Cope's
original type specimen (AMNH #5886) is the source of the popular term
"duckbilled dinosaur," a term Cope himself did not use, however. In one
of the great dinosaur finds of all time, two of Cope's collectors, J.
L. Wortman and R. S. Hill, unearthed a well preserved, almost complete
hadrosaur skeleton in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the summer of
1882. The skull and lower jaws were virtually intact, providing the
first good evidence for a startling looking creature, quite distinct
from the European Iguanodon, the former model for hadrosaurs. Cope's
1883 description of the skull noted in particular the "double
spoon-like bill" that formed "a weak spatulate beak." Unfortunately,
part of a bone on the inner lower jaw was missing, leading Cope to
conclude, in error, that the teeth were only "slightly attached," and
that any attempt to eat branches of trees would "have scattered [the
teeth] on the floor of the mouth," thus inviting the mistaken notion
that hadrosaurs were habitually aquatic dinosaurs designed for dabbling
after succulent water plants. Cope called his new Lance age "spoonbill"
Diclonius mirabilis, claiming that Leidy had abandoned the generic name
Trachodon in 1868. It is not completely clear what taxonomic reasoning
led Cope to use Leidy's old Judith River species name mirabilis for the
Lance find, or to substitute his own 1876 name Diclonius--another
Judith River form based only on teeth--as a synonym of Trachodon.
Questionable nomenclature aside, Cope established the key feature of
the new animal when he cited various bird resemblances in the skull:
"The general form and appearance of the skull, as seen in profile, is a
good deal like that of a goose. From above it has more the form of a
rather short-billed spoonbill." As early as 1890, however, the German
textbook Elemente der Palaeontologie decribed the skull of Cope's
Diclonius as resembling "that of a gigantic duck." Cope's original
characterization of the genus as a "spoonbill dinosaur" (the popular
term used in the famous 1897 Century Magazine article "Strange
Creatures of the Past," based on interviews with Cope) was a perfectly
apt description for a flat-headed hadrosaur--yet the epithet
"spoonbill" never stuck. Cope's famous collection of fossil reptiles
was purchased for the American Museum in 1899, including his specimen
of the "spoonbill dinosaur." In the meantime, Marsh had made Cope's
Diclonius a synonym of Leidy's Hadrosaurus in 1892, a usage that was
widely accepted until Hatcher (1902) argued for use of the name
Trachodon. The April-May 1901 issue of the American Museum Journal
(forerunner to Natural History magazine) carried a letter from the
field by Barnum Brown, describing his new dinosaur finds in Wyoming and
Montana. An anonymous footnote to the letter identified Hadrosaurus (=
Cope's Diclonius) as the "Duck-billed dinosaur." This footnote seems to
be the earliest published use of the term (in English, at least), and
indicates that staff at the American Museum already favored "duckbilled
dinosaur" over Cope's original term "spoonbill dinosaur," perhaps by
analogy with "duckbilled platypus." The celebrated mounted pair of
specimens in the American Museum made the "duckbilled dinosaur" world
famous, although the official scientific name assigned the form was
variously cited over the years as Diclonius mirabilis, Hadrosaurus
mirabilis, Trachodon mirabilis, Claosaurus annectens, Trachodon
annectens, Thespesius annectens, Anatosaurus copei, Anatosaurus
annectens, Edmontosaurus annectens, and, finally, Anatotitan copei! The
nontechnical term "duckbilled dinosaur" later was adopted to refer to
all varieties of hadrosaurs. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L.
Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Anchiceratops Brown 1914 "near horned face" ("intermediate (frill)
horned face")
ANG-ki-SER-a-tops (Gr. agkhi "near, close" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn"
+ Gr. ops "face") (m) named for its supposed close affinity to both
Centrosaurus (which Brown called Monoclonius) and Triceratops as "one
more link in the morphological chain by which the ceratopsian crest has
been developed," with a squamosal "intermediate in length between
Monoclonius and Triceratops." According to Brown, "If we compare a
series of skulls of Monoclonius, Anchiceratops and Triceratops,
representing respectively the succeeding geological formations, Judith
River, Edmonton and Lance, the squamosals are to seen to lengthen in
each succeeding type and the lateral fontanelles, which were very large
in Monoclonius, are much reduced in Anchiceratops, and have entirely
disappeared in Triceratops. Thus we see a gradual backward extension of
the squamosal with a lateral expansion of the central part of the
crest." Brown's analysis is contrary to the modern understanding of
ceratopsian evolution--Centrosaurus belongs to a different subfamily
(Centrosaurinae), and is not closely related to Anchiceratops or
Triceratops, which belong to the Chasmosaurinae. Ceratopsia Ceratopidae
Chasmosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Anchisaurus Marsh 1885 "near lizard"
ANG-ki-SAWR-us (Gr. agkhi "near" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named to
indicate its supposed primitive intermediate nature, between ancestral
forms and later dinosaurs. Originally described by Marsh as "one of the
oldest known members of the Theropoda," the dinosaur has been
reclassified as a herbivorous prosauropod, and redated from the Late
Triassic to the Early Jurassic. The type specimen was originally called
Megadactylus polyzelus E. Hitchcock Jr. 1865, the generic name being
preoccupied. The type species name polyzelus (Gr. polyzelos)
po-li-ZEE-lus "much coveted" was chosen, as Hitchcock explains: "in
allusion to the fact that for so many years other remains than simply
tracks of the former inhabitants of the Connecticut valley have been
eagerly and anxiously sought for, and that now we have the much coveted
bones." (To replace the preoccupied name Amphisaurus Marsh, with a
similar meaning.) Prosauropoda Anchisauridae E. Jur. NA. (?CAs. ?SAfr.)

________________________________________
Andesaurus Calvo & Bonaparte 1990 "Andes Mountains lizard"
AN-de-SAWR-us (Andes + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the Andes
Mountains, a geographic feature near the region where the fossil was
found in Neuquén Province, Argentina (Rio Limay Formation). Sauropoda
Titanosauria Andesauridae E. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Angaturama Kellner & Campos 1996 "noble one"
AHN-gah-too-RAH-ma (Tupi Indian angaturama "noble, brave") (m) named
for Angaturama, a protective spirit in the aboriginal Tupi Indian
culture of Brazil; proposed for a large, narrow-snouted, probably
fish-eating theropod from Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil, a region
where the Tupi lived. Theropoda Spinosauridae E. Cret. SA. (Brazil)
________________________________________
Animantarx Carpenter, Kirkland, Burge & Bird 1999 "living fortress"
an-i-MAN-tahrks (Lat. animant-animans) "living" + Lat. arx "fortress,
citadel")* (f) named based on Richard Swann Lull's observation
regarding ankylosaurs, that as "an animated citadel, these animals must
have been practically unassailable..." (Lull 1914). Animantarx is a
medium-sized Pawpawsaurus-like nodosaurid, known from a partial skull
and right mandible, and a partial skeleton, including vertebrae, ribs,
both scapula-coracoids, humerus, femur and left ilium with ischium
(Holotype: CEUM 6228R (Prehistoric Museum, College of Eastern Utah));
found in the Cedar Mountain Formation (Mussentuchit Member), eastern
Utah. Animantarx has a high-domed cranium, very small post-orbital
"horns," small quadratojugal "horn," and an elongated coracoid about
63% the length of the scapula. Skull is estimated at 25 cm (10 in.)
long, suggesting the entire animal was about 2.8-3 m (9-10 ft.) long.
The generic name was suggested by Ben Creisler.
Type Species: Animantarx ramaljonesi [RAM-al-JOHNZ-ie] Carpenter,
Kirkland, Burge & Bird 1999: for "Ramal Jones, who discovered the
specimen using a modified scintillometer in an area with no bones
exposed". Ankylosauria Nodosauridae Early Cretaceous
(Albian-enomanian)NA. [added 10/99]
________________________________________
Ankylosauria Osborn 1923 "fused lizards"
ANG-ki-lo-SAWR-ee-a (Gr. agkylos "bent, crooked" [with the applied
anatomical meaning "stiff" or "fused" as in "ankylosed," "ankylosis"] +
Gr. sauros "lizard" + -ia) (n) [taxon]
________________________________________
Ankylosaurus Brown 1908 "fused lizard"
ANG-ki-lo-SAWR-us (c.u.: ang-KIE-lo-SAWR-us) (Gr. agkylos "bent,
crooked" [with the applied anatomical meaning "stiff" or "fused" as in
"ankylosed," "ankylosis"] + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) alluding to a
range of anatomical features in which bones have coossified or fused
together: the skull has "plates coossified in a continuous surface over
the top and sides of the skull"; the massive scapula and coracoid are
"coossified and curved"; the four posterior dorsal ribs "are firmly
coossified to the vertebrae" to form "a rigid framework for the support
of the dermal armor;" and the armor itself has plates "coossified to
heavy bone" that "represent part of a continuous shield" covering "part
of the posterior dorsal or pelvic region." The 1908 type material was
missing both the coossified overlapping caudal vertebrae and the
massive club of fused dermal plates at the tip of the tail, however.
Brown characterized the family Ankylosauridae as having the "backbone
stiff," and noted the wide, bowed shape of the animal's ribs and its
supposed "strongly arched" back (an error based on a presumed
resemblance to stegosaurs and glyptodonts--ankylosaurs had rather flat
backs); thus, the additional meanings "stiff lizard" and "curved
lizard" probably should be read in the name Ankylosaurus as well.
Ankylosauria Ankylosauridae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Anodontosaurus Sternberg 1929 "toothless lizard"
an-o-DONT-o-SAWR-us (Gr. an- "not, without" + Gr. odont- (odous)
"tooth" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to indicate the supposed
"first toothless member of the Stegosauria to be recorded." Only the
front of the jaws was actually toothless, however. [= Dyoplosaurus]
________________________________________
Anoplosaurus Seeley 1878 "unarmored lizard"
AN-o-plo-SAWR-us (Gr. an- "not, without" + Gr. hoplon "weapon, shield"
+ Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) probably referring to its lack of armor
compared to other dinosaurs described in the same 1878 paper.
Ornithopoda Iguanodontidae E. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Anserimimus Barsold 1988 "goose mimic"
AN-ser-i-MIEM-us (Lat. anser "goose" + Gr. mimos "mimic") (m) named for
its birdlike appearance, by analogy with other ornithomimid names
derived from birds; distinguished by its stongly constructed forelimbs.
Theropoda Ornithomimosauria Ornithomimidae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Antarctosaurus von Huene 1927 "southern lizard"
an-TARK-to-SAWR-us (Gr. ant- (anti) "opposite" + Gr. arktos "north" +
Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) referring to South America (NOT Antarctica),
where the fossil was found in Argentina. Sauropoda Titanosauridae L.
Cret. SA.
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Antrodemus Leidy 1870 "cavity-bodied (vertebra)"
an-TROD-e-mus (Gr. antron "cave" (commonly used in anatomy in the Latin
form antrum to mean "a cavity or chamber, especially one in bone"
(American Heritage Dictionary, 1995 edition) + Gr. demas "body" + -us)
(m) Leidy proposed the name Antrodemus in 1870 (Proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 22: 3-4)) based on a half
of a centrum from a tail vertebra found in Colorado. He originally
attributed the bone to a new species of the European genus
Poekilopleuron: "One of the most remarkable characters of
Poicilopleuron [sic] is the presence of a large medullary cavity within
the bodies of the vertebrae...The same character is presented by the
Colorado fossil." According to Leidy, the Colorado partial vertebra
indicated an animal "one-third greater" in size than the European
species Poekilopleuron bucklandii. He concluded: "The species
represented by the fossil may be called Poicilopleuron valens [Latin
for "strong," after its larger size]. Should the division of the
medullary cavity of the vertebral body into smaller recesses by
trabeculae by significant of other characters indicating the Colorado
saurian to be distinct from Poicilopleuron, it might be named
Antrodemus." His repeated use of the terms "cavity" and "vertebral
body" throughout his description would have made the meaning of the
name Antrodemus obvious to his classically educated colleagues such as
Edward Drinker Cope or Richard Owen.
Leidy correctly surmised that the animal was a dinosaur rather than a
crocodile, but with such meager type material, other authors paid
little attention to Leidy's taxon. Lucas (cited in Hay 1909) proposed
that Antrodemus was the same as Marsh's Labrosaurus, though the basis
for this identification was not made clear. Gilmore (1920) reexamined
the type specimen and argued that Antrodemus was indistinguisable from
Allosaurus--thus Leidy's older name should be used as the valid name.
Various authors used either the name Antrodemus or Allosaurus into the
1960s. However, Madsen (1976) reviewed Allosaurus, and concluded that
Antrodemus was based on undiagnostic material, rendering Leidy's
generic name a nomen dubium. All modern authors now recognize
Allosaurus as the valid name. (The name Antrodemus does NOT mean "cave
demon" and is NOT the name of the devil in Greek mythology, contrary to
a few recent authors. Neither does the name mean "strongly framed," as
some books indicate. There is no basis in Greek or Latin, or scientific
usage, for any of these other interpretations.) Theropoda Carnosauria
Allosauridae L. Jur. NA [nomen dubium (?Allosaurus)]
________________________________________
Apatodon Marsh 1877 "deceptive tooth"
a-PAT-o-don (Gr. apatao "deceive" + Gr. odon "tooth")* (m) named for
what Marsh thought was "a portion of a lower jaw" of an animal with a
tooth deceptively resembling "in form and superior surface of the
crown, that of a typical Suilline [pig]." Georg Baur later reidentified
the specimen as part of a weathered dinosaur vertebra--the supposed
"teeth" were only a chance pattern in an eroded neural spine. Specimen
now lost. [= ?Allosaurus]
________________________________________
Apatosaurus Marsh 1877 "deceptive (chevron) lizard"
a-PAT-o-SAWR-us (t.L.m.: AP-a-to-SAWR-us) (Gr. apatao "deceive" + Gr.
sauros "lizard")* (m) alluding to the Y-shaped chevrons (or hemal
arches) on the underside of the tail, which Marsh thought were
deceptively like those found in some mosasaurs (Tylosaurus, Platcarpus,
etc.) in which the chevrons were not fused to the centra of the
vertebrae: "The chevron bones differ from those of most known Dinosaurs
in having the superior articular ends of the rami not united, but
separated from each other, as in the Mosasauria with free
haemapophyses." The specimen had not been prepared when Marsh published
the name and description, and his quick-and-dirty comparison with
mosasaurs now seems odd and obscure--chevrons at the near-end of the
tail in Apatosaurus were bridged at the top to form a compressed
triangle on a stem, perforated by a hemal canal, as in many other
dinosaurs, while some mosasaurs (Mosasaurus, Clidastes, etc.) had
chevrons fused directly to the centra of the caudal vertebrae, unlike
in Apatosaurus. (See additional comments at Brontosaurus.) (Apatosaurus
does not mean "headless lizard.") Sauropoda Diplodocidae L. Jur. NA.
________________________________________
Aragosaurus Sanz, Buscalioni, Casanovi & Santafe 1987 "Aragón (Spain)
lizard"
AHR-a-go-SAWR-us (Aragón + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Aragon
Province, Spain, where the fossil was found. Sauropoda Camarasauridae
E. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Aralosaurus Rozhdestvensky 1968 "Aral Sea lizard"
AR-a-lo-SAWR-us (Aral + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Aral Sea,
the huge inland lake near where the fossil was found in central
Kazazhstan. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Archaeoceratops Dong & Azuma 1996 "ancient horned-face"
AHR-kee-o-SER-a-tops (Gr. arkhaios "ancient" + Gr. kerat- (keras)
"horn" + Gr. ops "face") (m) named to indicate "the primitive nature of
the animal, which is the oldest known neoceratopsian." For a small
(88-90 cm. (1 yd.) long), lightly built, bipedal ceratopsian, known
from two incomplete skeletons and a relatively well-preserved skull,
found in the Xinminbao Group, Gongpoquan Basin of the Mazongshan Area
of Gansu Province, north central China. The relatively long skull (18.8
cm.) has no trace of a nasal or of frontal horn cores, and only has a
very short and shallow "frill" formed along the back by the squamosals
and parietals. The teeth are highly unusual in that they contrast
between the lower and upper jaws: the dentary teeth (lower jaw) are
similar to those of the ornithopods (low crown with small denticles),
whereas the maxillary teeth (upper jaw) are larger and more like those
of protoceratopsians (with a strong longitudinal ridge). Type species:
Archaeoceratops oshimai [oh-shee-MAH-ie] "for Oshima," named for "Mr.
Oshima, the director of the Chunichi-Shinbun of Japan, who supported
the Sino-Japan Silk Road Dinosaur Expedition." Neoceratopsia
Archaeoceratopidae E. Cret. CAs. (China).
________________________________________
Archaeopteryx von Meyer 1861 "ancient wing"
AHR-kee-OP-ter-iks (Gr. arkhaios "ancient" + Gr. pteryx "wing,
feather") (f) Von Meyer first mentioned a fossil feather from the
Jurassic Solnhofen deposits in a letter published in August, 1861. He
described the find as either a flight or tail quill preserved in rock
typical of the lithographic slates, though he was not completely
convinced that the specimen came from the Mesozoic, since no bird
fossils earlier than the Tertiary were then known. He did not propose a
name for the isolated feather. In a follow-up letter published in
September, 1861, after personal investigations, he confirmed that the
feather was a genuine fossil from Jurassic deposits at Solnhofen. He
also cited news that a nearly complete skeleton of a feather-bearing
animal (now known as the "London specimen") had recently been found in
the same lithographic quarries. In a slightly ambiguously worded
passage, he gave "the animal" the name Archaeopteryx lithographica
(lith-o-GRAF-i-ka, for the lithographic slates), the usual assumption
being that the "animal" he intended to name was the source of his
feather rather than the newly found "feather-bearing animal" whose
specimen he apparently had not seen yet in person. In a fuller
description of the feather published some months later, he took a
cautious approach to exactly what sort of animal was the source of his
feather, and was typically reluctant to conclude that the animal was a
true bird, being a skeptical opponent of Cuvier's theories concerning
the "correlation of parts." He did propose, however, that the feather
came from an animal similar to the still formally undescribed and
unnamed "feather-bearing animal." His German colleague J. A. Wagner
gave a first description of the "feather-bearing animal" in 1861,
proposing the name Griphosaurus "enigma lizard," although he only had
seen a drawing, and not the specimen itself. The modern usage of the
name Archaeopteryx was established by Richard Owen in 1863, when the
"London specimen" was purchased by the British Museum. Owen accepted
Cuvier's "law of correlation," and had no hesitation about identifying
the feathered animal as a true bird. He also accepted von Meyer's
generic name Archaeopteryx for the skeletal specimen with feathers, but
thought a more appropriate species name would be macrura "long-tail"
[mak-ROOR-a] in as much as this feature was highly distinctive--he
reasoned that von Meyer's original species A. lithographica, based on a
single feather, might well have been a short-tailed form, just as both
long-tailed and short-tailed pterosaurs were known from the
lithographic slates. Confusion over the correct type specimen and type
species name was settled by an official decision of the International
Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in 1964, which made the "London
specimen" the holotype and Archaeopteryx lithographica the valid name.
Although von Meyer did not specify if he intended Archaeopteryx to mean
"ancient feather" or "ancient wing," the interpretation "ancient wing"
is preferable, based on the standard usage of pteryx as "wing" for bird
names in zoological nomenclature (Apteryx, etc.). It also would be
consistent with the modern scientific usage of Archaeopteryx as defined
by Owen. Von Meyer, moreover, accepted Owen's usage of the name for the
"London specimen" (in Evans, 1865), although he still refused to
recognize the animal as a true bird. Wellnhoffer (1993) has described a
second slightly younger species (Archaeopteryx bavarica ba-VAR-i-ka
"Bavarian") from a seventh specimen discovered at Solnhofen in 1992,
distinguished by an ossified sternum and interdental plates in the
jaws. (Placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology with
Name No. 1433 by ICZN Opinion # 607 based on the British Museum
holotype.) Archaeopterygiformes Archaeopterygidae L. Jur. Eur.
[dino-bird]
________________________________________
Archaeornis Petronievics in Petronievics & Woodward 1917 "ancient bird"

AHR-kee-OR-nis (Gr. arkhaios "ancient" + Gr. ornis "bird") (m) name
proposed for the "Berlin specimen," found at Eichstätt; described as
representing a genus supposedly distinct from the London specimen of
Archaeopteryx. Reseachers now think Archaeopteryx had indeterminate
growth more typical of reptiles, rather than the combination of rapid
juvenile growth with a fixed adult size characteristic of modern birds,
and that the minor differences between the London and Berlin specimens
do not merit taxonomic separation. [= Archaeopteryx]
________________________________________
Archaeornithoides Elzanowski & Wellnhofer 1992 "Archaeornis-like
(dinosaur)"
AHR-kee-OR-ni-THOI-deez (t.L.m.: AHR-kee-or-NITH-o-IE-deez) (from
Archaeornis "ancient bird" [junior synonym of Archeopteryx] + -oides
"resembling")* (m) named for a resemblance to primitive toothed birds:
"The avian features of the maxillary palatal shelf and dentition
distinguish Archaeornithoides from all other potential sister-groups of
birds, suggesting that Archaeornithoides is the closest known theropod
relative of birds." A juvenile specimen. Theropoda Archaeornithoididae
L. Cret. (Mongolia)
________________________________________
Archaeornithomimus Russell 1972 "ancient ornithomimid"
AHR-kee-or-NITH-o-MIEM-us (Gr. arkhaios "ancient" + Ornithomimus (Gr.
ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. mimos "mimic")) (m) new name proposed for
"`Ornithomimus' asiaticus, from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Mongolia
[which] is more primitive than...later Canadian forms.." Theropoda
Ornithomimosauria Ornithomimidae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Arctometatarsalia Holz 1994 "compressed metatarsals"
ARK-to-MET-a-tar-SAY-lee-a (from Lat. arctus "narrow, compressed" + Gr.
meta "beyond" + Gr. tarsos "tarus" + Lat. -alis) (n) Proposed as a
clade within the Coelurosauria in which members have feet with a third
metatarsal pinched at the top, and buttressed against the second and
fourth metatarsal to form a tightly bound structure, adapted to rapid
locomotion. Some researchers believe this feature developed
independently in different groups of theropods (Elmisauridae, Avimimus)
and that the Arctometatarsalia are not a natural group. Addresssing
this problem, Holz (1996) redefined the Arctometatarsalia as "a clade
composed of Ornithomimus and all theropods sharing a more recent common
ancestor with Ornithomimus than with birds." [clade]
________________________________________
Argentinosaurus Bonaparte & Coria 1993 "Argentine lizard"
ahr-jen-TEEN-o-SAWR-us (Argentina + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for
Argentina; a huge sauropod (30 m. +) from the Rio Limay formation,
Neuquén Province, Argentina. Sauropoda Titanosauria Andesauridae L.
Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Argyrosaurus Lydekker 1893 "silver lizard"
AHR-ji-ro-SAWR-us (Gr. argyros "silver" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
alluding to Argentina "land of silver," where the fossils were found.
Sauropoda Titanosauridae L. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Aristosaurus Hoepen 1920 "best (specimen) lizard"
a-RIS-to-SAWR-us (Gr. aristos "best" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
alluding to the preservation of the fossil; "one of [the Transvaal
Museum's] best specimens...a nearly complete skeleton." [=
Massospondylus]
________________________________________
Aristosuchus Seeley 1887 "superior crocodile"
a-RIS-to-SOOK-us (Gr. aristos "best, superior" + Gr. soukhos
"crocodile") (m) named for a kind of reptile Seeley originally
considered distinct from both dinosaurs and crocodiles, though with
some features of both; based on a specimen named Calamospondylus by Fox
in 1866, a name now generally considered a nomen nudum. Theropoda E.
Cret. Eur. (Isle of Wight, England)
________________________________________
Arrhinoceratops Parks 1925 "hornless-snout face"
a-RIEN-o-SER-a-tops (Gr. a- "not, without" + Gr. rhin- (rhis) "nose,
snout" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face") (m) named to
indicate the supposed lack of the nasal horn typical of other large
ceratopsians: "The nasal horn core is apparently absent, but the nasal
bone is sharp above and somewhat rugose, suggesting that it may have
carried a horny sheath." Ceratopsia Ceratopidae Chasmosaurinae L. Cret.
NA.
________________________________________
Arstanosaurus Suslov & Shilin 1982 "Arstan (Kazakhstan) lizard"
ahr-stahn-o-SAWR-us (Arstan + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the
ancient Arstan well and benchmark of the same name close to the fossil
locality in Kazakhstan. Ceratopsia Ceratopidae i.s. L. Cret. CAs.
(Kazakhstan)
________________________________________
Asiaceratops Nessov & Kaznyshkina 1989 "Asian horned face"
AY-zha-SER-a-tops (Gr. Asia + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops
"face") (m) named to indicate a form found in Kazakhstan in Central
Asia. Ceratopsia Protoceratopidae L. Cret. CAs (Kazakhstan)
________________________________________
Asiamericana Nessov 1995 "Asiamerican (tooth)"
AY-zha-MER-i-KAHN-a (Gr. Asia "Asia" + New Lat. America "America" +
-ana) (f) alluding to the occurrence of similar fossil teeth in Central
Asia and North America, regions forming a connected land mass during
the Cretaceous referred to as "Asiamerica"; based on three teeth found
in the central Kyzylkum desert, Uzbekistan, comparable to other teeth
found in Kazakhstan and North America that have been illustrated but
not formally described. NOTE: Nessov cautions that these unusual teeth
may belong to saurodont fish rather than to dinosaurs. ?Theropoda
?Spinosauridae L. Cret. CAs. (Uzbekistan)
________________________________________
Asiatosaurus Osborn 1924 "Asiatic lizard"
ay-zhee-AT-o-SAWR-us (from Gr. Asia "Asia" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m)
named to indicate Camarasaurus-like teeth found in Ovorkhangai,
Mongolia, in Asia. Sauropoda E. Cret. CAs. (China, Monogolia) [nomen
dubium]
________________________________________
Astrodon Johnston in Leidy 1865 "star tooth"
AS-tro-don (Gr. astron "constellation, star" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) In
1859 Dr. C. Johnston briefly mentioned the teeth of a "thecodont
saurian" he named Astrodon in a paper on the teeth of Hadrosaurus, but
provided no description. He sectioned one tooth for viewing under a
microscope, and the name Astrodon alludes to the rather starburst-like
"multitude of minute tubuli radiating from the narrow elliptical
section of the pulp cavity" as later described and illustrated by
Leidy. The external form of the teeth was spoon-shaped, typical of
brachiosaurids. Treated by some researchers as a valid senior synonym
of Pleurocoelus. Sauropoda Brachiosauridae E. Cret. NA [nomen dubium
(?Pleurocoelus)]
________________________________________
Atlantosaurus Marsh 1877 "Atlas lizard"
at-LAN-to-SAWR-us (Gr. Atlant- (Atlas), a mythical Titan + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) named for its huge size; to replaced preoccupied
Titanosaurus Marsh 1877. Sauropoda Diplodocidae L. Jur. NA. [nomen
dubium (?Apatosaurus)]
________________________________________
Atlasaurus Monbaron, Russell & Taquet 1999 "Atlas lizard"
AT-luh-SAWR-us (Atlas, a giant who held up the heavens according to
Greek mythology + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the type location
in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco (spot at which the Titan Atlas was
said to hold up the heavens), and for the animal's gigantic size.
Atlasaurus is a moderately large (about 15 m (50 ft) long) sauropod,
known from a nearly complete skeleton with skull found at Wawmda, in
the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian-Callovian) Tiougguit Formation, Azilal
Province, High Atlas of Morocco. A relatively primitive sauropod
identified as a "cetiosaur" when first discovered in 1981, Atlasaurus
appears to be closer to Brachiosaurus than to any other known sauropod
based on detailed similarities between the vertebral column and limbs.
It differs from Brachiosaurus, relative to the estimated length of the
dorsal vertebral column (assuming 12 vertebrae, 3.04 m)), in having a
proportionately larger skull, a shorter neck (with at least 13 cervical
vertebrae, shorter and more uniform in length than in Brachiosaurus), a
longer tail and more elongated limbs (humerus to femur ratio: 0.99;
ulna to tibia ratio: 1.15). The lower jaw is about 69 cm long; the neck
about 3.86 m long; humerus 1.95 m long; femur about 2 m long; total
estimated length: around 15 m (50 ft); estimated weight: 22.5 metric
tons. The teeth are spoon-shaped and have denticles.
Type Species: Atlasaurus imelakei [ee-me-LAH-kay-ie] Monbaron, Russell
& Taquet 1999: from Arabic Imelake, name of a giant; for a large animal
found in North Africa. Sauropoda Eusauropoda Middle Jurassic
(Bathonian-Callovian) NAfr. [added 11/99]
________________________________________
Atlascopcosaurus Rich & Rich 1989 "Atlas Copco lizard"
AT-las-KOP-ko-SAWR-us (Atlas Copco + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for
the Atlas Copco Corporation, which supplied pneumatic tools and
accessory equipment that enabled the excavations at Dinosaur Cove,
Queensland, Australia, where the fossils were found. Ornithopoda
Hypsilophodontidae E. Cret. Aus.
________________________________________
Aublysodon Leidy 1868 "backward-flowing (?) tooth"
aw-BLIS-o-don (Gr. au "back, backwards; again; contrariwise" + Gr.
blys- (blyzo) "flow, spout forth" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) Leidy did not
provide a derivation or explanation for the name, which may allude to
what he noted as the "quite peculiar" form of the teeth: the two
cutting edges (carinae) are shifted to the backside to give a
semi-cylindrical D-shaped cross section, contrasting with the
blade-like front-and-back placement of the cutting edges in
Megalosaurus teeth. Leidy proposed the name Aublysodon for three
D-shaped teeth, two serrated and one unserrated, that he had previously
included with some reservation in the type specimen of Deinodon
horridus. (See Deinodon.) Ken Carpenter designated the single
unserrated tooth as the lectotype of Aublysodon mirandus in 1982. A
number of isolated teeth and two incomplete specimens of carnivorous
dinosaurs found with unserrated premaxillary teeth are currently
attributed to the genus. Not all researchers agree that the type tooth
is diagnostic, however, and the name Stygivenator recently has been
proposed for the so-called "Jordan theropod," found in Montana, and
generally identified as Aublysodon. (Aublysodon is not a misspelling of
"Amblyodon" "blunt-tooth" as sometimes suggested; Leidy or his
colleagues would have noted and corrected such an obvious error
according to 19th-century nomenclatural practices. If the
interpretation of the name proposed here is accurate, Leidy may have
formed the unusual combination aublys- by analogy with Greek verbs such
as apoblyzo (stem apoblys-) "flow forth," anablyzo (stem anablys-)
"spout upwards," katablyzo (stem katablys-) "pour down," etc., and
aueryo "pull backwards" (explained incorrectly as au "backwards" + eryo
"drag, pull" in 19th century editions of Greek lexicons). The meaning
"back, backwards" (= Latin retro, rursus) for Greek au is rejected by
modern classical scholars, although that definition was listed in most
19th century Greek lexicons and grammar books available to Leidy.)
Theropoda Coelurosauria Tyrannosauridae L. Cret. NA. [?nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Austrosaurus Longman 1933 "southern lizard"
AWS-tro-SAWR-us (Lat. austr- (auster) "south" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) alluding to the Southern Hemisphere continent of Australia, where
the fossil was found in the state of Queensland. Sauropoda
?Cetiosauridae E. Cret. Aus.
________________________________________
Avaceratops Dodson 1986 "Ava's horned face"
AY-va-SER-a-tops (Ava + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face") (m)
named to honor Ava Cole, a fine collector of fossils and wife of Eddie
Cole, discoverer of the fossil site in Montana. Ceratopsia Ceratopidae
Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Avetheropoda Paul 1988 "bird theropods"
AY-ve-thee-ROP-o-da (Lat. aves "birds" + Gr. ther "beast" + Gr. pod-
(pous) "foot" + -a) (n) A taxon proposed to include advanced theropods
(including allosaurs) and birds. [taxon]
________________________________________
Avimimus Kurzanov 1981 "bird mimic"
AY-vi-MIEM-us (Lat. avis "bird" + Gr. mimos "mimic") (m) named for the
birdlike appearance of the braincase and other features of the
skeleton. It is possible that some attributed skeletal remains are a
chimaera, mixing together remains of other small theropods. Theropoda
Avimimidae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Avipes von Huene 1932 "bird foot"
AY-vi-pees (Lat. avis "bird" + Lat. pes "foot") (m) named for the fused
metatarsals in its foot, a birdlike feature. Theropoda L. Trias. Eur.
[nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Azendohsaurus Dutuit 1972 "Azendoh (Morocco) lizard"
ah-ZEN-do-SAWR-us (Azendoh + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the
village of Azendoh, near the fossil deposit in the Atlas Mountains
region of Marrakesh, Morocco. Prosauropoda i.s. L. Trias. NAf.
Bactrosaurus Gilmore 1933 "club (spined) lizard"
BAK-tro-SAWR-us (Gr. baktron "rod, staff, club" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) Gilmore explains: "The vertebrae of the posterior half of the
[backbone] are characterized by high massive club-shaped spines, and it
is to this feature that the generic name refers." The name Bactrosaurus
is often misinterpreted as "Bactrian lizard." However, ancient Bactria
was in southwest Asia, far from Chinese Inner Mongolia where the
original fossil was found. Gilmore incorrectly associated a flat-headed
hadrosaur skull (now identified as belonging to Gilmoreosaurus) with a
lambeosaur body, resulting in a supposed non-crested form of
lambeosaur. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Lambeosaurinae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Bagaceratops Maryanska & Osmolska 1975 "small horned face"
BAH-gah-SER-a-tops (Mongolian baga "small" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn"
+ Gr. ops "face")* (m) named for its size: "probably smaller in size
than other protoceratopsids." Ceratopsia Protoceratopidae L. Cret.
Mong.
________________________________________
Bagaraatan Osmolska 1996 "little predator"
BAH-gah-RAH-tahn (from Mongolian baga "little" + araatan "predator,
wild beast") (m) named to indicate a rather small tetanuran theropod (3
m. long) from the Nemegt of southern Mongolia. Theropoda Tetanurae L.
Cret. CAs. (Mongolia)
________________________________________
Bahariasaurus Stromer 1934 "Baharija (Egypt) lizard"
bah-hah-REE-ya-SAWR-us (Baharija + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for
the Baharija Formation, where the fossil was found in northern Egypt.
Theropoda Carnosauria i.s. L. Cret. NAf.
________________________________________
Bambiraptor Burnham, Derstler, Currie, Bakker, Zhou & Ostrom 2000
"Bambi robber"
BAM-bee-RAP-tor (Bambi (fictional baby deer) + Lat. raptor "robber")
(m) from the widely used nickname "Bambi" given the holotype specimen
of a "raptor" (dromaeosaur) theropod by the Linster family, who found
the fossil; referring to the animal's small size (after the baby deer
named Bambi in children's literature, best known from a 1942 Disney
animated cartoon). Bambiraptor is known from a nearly complete skeleton
of a juvenile (75% adult size) (Holotype: FIP 001 (Florida Institute of
Paleontology, Graves Museum, Dania Beach, Florida)) found in 1993 in
the Two Medicine Formation near Byrum, Montana by Wes Linster, then 14
years old; scattered bones apparently belonging to at least 2 adult
individuals of Bambiraptor were also found in the same deposit.
Bambiraptor represents the most birdlike dromaeosaurid found to date,
showing many resemblances to Archaeopteryx, including extremely long
forelimbs that could move and fold like bird wings, as well as birdlike
shoulders, a large sternum and a well-developed furcula (wishbone)--if
the animal had large feathers along its arms in life, it is possible,
but not certain, that it may have had rudimentary flying abilities. The
type specimen is about twice as large as Archaeopteryx, making the
animal an estimated 1 m (3 ft) long in life, weighing about 7 pounds.
The skull of Bambiraptor is proportionately larger than in
Archaeopteryx, lightly built with large openings and an inflated
braincase. The feet have large slashing claws on the second toe,
typical of dromaeosaurs. The tail is incomplete, but is stiffened by
thin overlapping bony rods as in other dromaeosaurids; it was preserved
with a distinct upward curve (possibly an artifact of preservation).
The first chevron under the tail is long and slender, similar to that
found in male crocodiles, suggesting the type specimen of Bambiraptor
may be a juvenile male.
Type Species: Bambiraptor feinbergorum [fien-buhr-GOH-ruhm] Burnham,
Derstler, Currie, Bakker, Zhou & Ostrom 2000: "honoring Michael and
Feinberg, who recognized the significance of this fossil and have
generously encouraged our research and preservation of this fossil for
science." The species name was originally spelled "feinbergi," but the
rules of nomenclature in the ICZN Code (4th Edition) require that the
spelling be emended to use the Latin genitive plural ending -orum
because the name honors more than one person.
Theropoda Maniraptora Dromaeosauridae Late Cretaceous (Campanian)NA
[added 5/2000]
________________________________________
Barapasaurus Jain, Kutty, Roy-Chowdhury & Chatterjee 1975 "big leg
lizard"
buh-RAH-pah-SAWR-us (from bara "big" and pa "leg" in several Indian
languages + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) "The name was invented for easy
reference to the new dinosaur when a femur over 1.7 m. long was exposed
during the early stages of the excavation in 1961." Sauropoda
Barapasauridae E. Jur. India
________________________________________
Barsboldia Maryanska & Osmolska 1981 "for R. Barsbold"
bahrs-BOHL-dee-a (Barsbold + -ia) (f) named to honor Rinchen Barsbold,
noted Mongolian paleontologist. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae
Lambeosaurinae L. Cret. CAs. (Mongolia)
________________________________________
Barosaurus Marsh 1890 "heavy lizard"
BAR-o-SAWR-us (Gr. barys "heavy + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named for
its large size. Sauropoda Diplodocidae L. Jur. NA.
________________________________________
Baryonyx Charig & Milner 1986 "heavy claw"
BAR-ee-ON-iks (t.L.m.: ba-RIE-on-iks) (Gr. barys "heavy, strong" + Gr.
onyx "talon, claw")* (m) named for enormous claws, first thought to be
on the feet (implying a gigantic Tyrannosaurus-like animal, nicknamed
"Claws"), but now known to be on the manus and probably used in
fishing. Theropoda Spinosauria Baronychidae E. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Becklespinax Olshevsky 1991 "Beckles's 'spinax'"
BEK-el-SPIEN-aks (Beckles + "spinax" by analogy with Altispinax von
Huene) (m) to honor Samuel Husband Beckles (--1890), who found the
original specimen; proposed of high-spined "Megalosaurus" vertebrae
later named Altispinax by von Huene, but no longer included under von
Huene's genus name. (See Altispinax). Theropoda Carnosauria i.s. E.
Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Beipiaosaurus Xu, Tang & Wang 1999 "Beipiao (China) lizard"
bay-pyow-SAWR-us (Beipiao + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to indicate
a dinosaur found near the city of Beipiao, in the Yixian Formation in
Liaoning Province, northeastern China. Beipiaosaurus is known from an
incomplete skeleton (vertebrae, parts of the front and back limbs, with
hands and feet, plus a lower jaw (dentary bone) with teeth) (Holotype:
IVPP V11559 (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology, Beijing)). The remains come from ancient lake beds
in Liaoning famous for fossils of birds and small dinosaurs preserved
with traces of soft tissue--the Beiopiaosaurus material includes
impressions of feather-like filaments (between 50mm and 70mm long) near
the legs, arms and shoulders. The shape of the lower jaw closely
resembles that of therizinosaurs (segnosaurs), a still poorly
understood group of dinosaurs that appear to be plant-eating theropods.
Beipiaosaurus differs from known therizinosaurs in a number of
features, most notably a proportionately larger skull, shorter and more
bulbous tooth crowns, feet with three rather than four large toes, a
longer hand, an ilium similar to that of dromaeosaurs in shape, a crest
on the tibia, and compressed metatarsals. The authors conclude that
Beipiaosaurus is a basal (primitive) therizinosaur, retaining some
primitive theropod characters as well as others found in coelurosaurs.
They classify Beipiaosaurus as a member of the Coelurosauria that is
closer to the Oviraptorosauria than are other members of the
Therizinosauroidea such as Alxasaurus or the more derived family
Therizinosauridae. Estimated 2.2 meters (7.3 ft) long.
Type Species: Beipiaosaurus inexpectus [in-ek-SPEK-tuhs] Xu, Tang &
Wang 1999 "unexpected": "referring to the surprising features of the
animal." Theropoda Coelurosauria Therizinosauroidea Early Cretaceous(?)
China [added 6/99]
________________________________________
Bellusaurus Dong 1990 "fine lizard" [qiaolong]
BEL-uh-SAWR-us (Lat. bellus "beautiful, fine" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) alluding to the "fine" quality of the specimens of this small
sauropod, including many nearly complete skeletons, apparently of
juveniles, unearthed in Sichuan Province, China. Sauropoda
Cetiosauridae M. Jur. China
________________________________________
Betasuchus von Huene 1932 "'b' crocodile"
BAYT-o-SOOK-us (Gr. beta, second letter of the Greek alphabet + Gr.
soukhos "crocodile") (m) named based on von Huene's designation of a
specimen of "Megalosaurus bredai" as "Ornithomimidorum genus b" ("genus
b of the ornithomimid family") before it was formally renamed.
Theropoda i.s. L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Bienosaurus Dong 2001 "Bien's lizard"
BYEN-o-SAWR-us ((M. N.) Bien + Gr. sauros "lizard")(m) named to honor
the Chinese geologist and paleontologist Mei Nien Bien [Bian Meinian]
"who collected the holotype" while working in Yunnan Province between
1938 and 1939 (Bien later moved to the United States). Bienosaurus is a
small scelidosaur based on a nearly complete right lower jaw and skull
fragments (Holotype: IVPP V 9612 (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology
and Paleoanthropology, Beijing)), found in the Early Jurassic
(Hettangian-Pliensbachian) Dark Red Beds in the Lower Lufeng Formation,
Lufeng Basin, Yunnan Province, China. The teeth show characteristics of
both ankylosaurs and stegosaurs; the dentary is thick with a strongly
curved tooth row. Small bony scutes are fused to the frontal and
supraorbital bones. The skull was probably around 65-70 mm (2.5-2.8 in)
long, suggesting a total body length of around 1 meter (40 in).
Type Species: Bienosaurus lufengensis [loo-fuhng-EN-sis] Dong 2001: for
the Lufeng Basin, where the specimen was found in Yunnan Province,
China. Note that early media reports in November, 2000 indicated that
the type species name for Bienosaurus would be "crichtonii" to honor
Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park. Dong does not indicate
why he decided to change the official type species name to
"lufengensis" instead. Thyreophora Scelidosauridae Early Jurassic
(Hettangian-Pliensbachian) China
________________________________________
Bihariosaurus Marinescu 1989 "Bihor (Romania) lizard"
bi-HAHR-ee-o-SAWR-us (Biharium, Latin name for modern Bihor in Romania
+ Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the Bihor County region of the
Carpathean Mountains, Romania, where the fossils were found.
Ornithopoda Iguanodontidae L. Jur. Eur.
________________________________________
Blikanasaurus Galton & van Heerden 1985 "Blikana (South Africa)
dinosaur"*
bli-KAHN-a-SAWR-us (Blikana, mountain in South Africa + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) "Since 1965 the holotype specimen has been known as the
'Blikana dinosaur' after the locality where it was found"--1.6 km
northeast of the Blikana Trading Store, Herschel District, Transkei,
near Mount Blikana in South Africa. Prosauropoda Blikanasauridae L.
Trias. SAf.
________________________________________
Borogovia Osmolska 1987 "borogove"
bor-o-GOH-vee-a (borogove + -ia) (f) named for Lewis Carroll's
imaginary creatures, "the borogoves," mentioned in the "Jabberwocky," a
poem from Through the Looking Glass: "All mimsy were the borogoves..."
Theropoda Coelurosauria Troodontidae L. Cret. Mongolia
________________________________________
Bothriospondylus Owen 1875 "furrowed vertebrae"
BOTH-ree-o-SPON-di-lus (Gr. bothrion "little ditch, trench, furrow" +
Gr. spondylos "vertebra") (m) named for "the flattened form and lateral
cavities characteristic of the sacral vertebrae." Sauropoda
Brachiosauridae L. Jur. Eur. & Madagascar
________________________________________
Brachiosaurus Riggs 1903 "arm lizard"
BRAK-ee-o-SAWR-us (Gr. brachion "arm" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named
for the "unusually long humerus of the specimen," longer than the
femur, resulting in a giraffe-like posture. Sauropoda Brachiosauridae
L. Jur. and E. Cret. NA. Eur. Afr.
________________________________________
Brachyceratops Gilmore 1914 "short horned face"
BRAK-i-SER-a-tops (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" +
Gr. ops "face") (m) alluding to "the greatly abbreviated facial portion
of the skull." Ceratopsia Ceratopidae Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Brachylophosaurus C. M. Sternberg 1953 "short-crested lizard"
BRAK-i-LOF-o-SAWR-us (t.L.m.: bra-KIL-o-fo-SAWR-us) (Gr. brachys
"short" + Gr. lophos "crest" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the
shape of the projecting solid crest on its skull: "the crest differs
from that of Saurolophus in being broader, more uniform in breadth,
thinner and shorter..." Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L.
Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Brachypodosaurus Chakrvarti 1934 "short-legged lizard"
bra-KIP-o-do-SAWR-us (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. pod- (pous) "foot" +
Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the short length of the humerus.
Ankylosauria i.s. L. Cret. Ind. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Brachyrophus Cope 1878 "short-roofed (vertebrae)"
bra-KIHR-o-fus (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. orophe "roof, ridgepole
[dorsal vertebrae]" + -us) (m) probably named for the remarkable
"shortness of the pit-like facet for the attachment of the
neuropophysis" on the dorsal vertebrae. Ornithopoda L. Jur. NA [nomen
dubium (= ?Camptosaurus)]
________________________________________
Bradycneme Harrison & Walker 1975 "heavy leg"
BRAD-ik-NEE-mee (Gr. bradys "slow, heavy, massive" + Gr. kneme
"shinbone, lower leg")* (f) named for the large size of its
tibiotarsus. Originally identified as a giant owl. Theropoda
Coelurosauria Troodontidae L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Breviceratops Zurzanof 1990 "short horned face"
BREV-i-SER-a-tops (Lat. brevis "short" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" +
Gr. ops "face") (m) referring to its shortened snout and short,
flattish horn. Ceratopsia Protoceratopidae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Brontosaurus Marsh 1879 "thunder lizard"
BRON-to-SAWR-us (Gr. bronte "thunder" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named
for its great size and powerful build ("one of the largest reptiles yet
discovered"), similar in meaning to Marsh's earlier mammal name
Brontotherium "thunder beast" (1873). Brontes was also the name of a
giant in Greek mythology. Contrary to a common explanation for the
name, Marsh did not indicate that his "thunder lizard" was supposed to
make a sound like thunder when it walked. He recognized that his
Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were closely related taxa, but
distinguished the two forms primarily based on the number of fused
vertebrae in the sacrum of the type specimens (three in Apatosaurus
ajax, five in Brontosaurus excelsus), a feature now known to reflect
the age of individuals. Elmer Riggs could not find sufficient grounds
for treating both as separate genera, and made the well-known name
Brontosaurus a junior synonyn of Apatosaurus in 1903. Surprisingly,
though, Riggs also thought that the type species itself could not be
identified in an adult form: "Apatosaurus ajax is based upon a specimen
too young to admit of specific determination"--a situation, which,
arguably, could have been grounds for treating the name Apatosaurus as
a nomen dubium and using Brontosaurus instead. Modern authorities
consider Apatosaurus ajax diagnosable, however. The nomenclatural
issues surrounding the name are unrelated to Marsh's mistaken choice of
a Camarasaurus skull for his reconstruction of "Brontosaurus." [=
Apatosaurus]
________________________________________
Bruhathkayosaurus Yadagiri & Ayyasami, 1987 "heavy-bodied lizard"
brih-HUHT-kah-yo-SAWR-us (Sanskrit bruhathkaya "heavy-bodied" + Gr.
sauros "lizard") (m) referring to its huge size, with a supposed tibia
measuring two meters in length. Originally identified as a monstrous
theropod, most of the remains belong to a large sauropod (probably
Titanosaurus). Titanosauridae L. Cret. India [nomen dubium
(?Titanosaurus)]
________________________________________
Bugenasaura Galton 1995 "large cheek lizard"
BOO-jen-a-SAWR-a (Lat. bu- (Gr. bou-) "huge" + Lat. gena "cheek" + Gr.
saura "lizard")* (f) named as "an allusion to the massive ridges on the
maxilla and dentary for the attachment of a structure functionally
analogous to the cheeks of mammals"; for a skull originally attributed
to Thescelosaurus. Ornithopoda Hypsilophodontidae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Bullatosauria Holz 1994 "inflated lizards"
buh-LAY-to-SAWR-ee-a or (buh-LAH-to-SAWR-ee-a (Lat. bullatus "inflated"
(bulla "hollow swelling"+ -atus "having, provided with") + Gr. sauros
"lizard" + -ia) (n) named in reference to the bulbous parasphenoid
capsule in the skull, which is a common shared derived feature in the
Troodontidae and Ornithomimosauria. Osmolska et al. (1972) used the
specific name bullatus for Gallimimus, and noted that the term
originally meant "wearing the bulla," a golden capsule worn around the
neck of noble Roman youths. For a clade including the most recent
common ancestor of Ornithomimus and Troodon and all descendants of that
common ancestor. [clade]
________________________________________
Byronosaurus "Byron's lizard" Norell, Makovicky & Clark 2000
BIE-ruh-no-SAWR-us (Bryon + Gr. sauros "lizard")(m)named to honor Byron
Jaffe "in recognition of his family's support for the Mongolian Academy
of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History Paleontological
Expeditions." Byronosaurus is a troodontid theropod known from a
fragmentary skull and postcranial bones (Holotype: IGM 100/983
(Institute of Geology, Mongolia)), collected in 1993 at Ukhaa Tolgod,
Gobi Desert, southern Mongolia; a second specimen referred to
Byronosaurus was found 5 miles away at Bolor's Hill in 1996. The long
slender type skull is the best preserved troodontid skull found to
date, and is estimated to have been around 20 cm (8 in) long when
complete. Similar to birds, Byronosaurus has a chamber in the snout
where air enters from the nostrils before passing through to the mouth,
with a connection between the nasal passage and the antorbital fenestra
through the interfenestral bar; a secondary bony palate on the roof of
the mouth is formed "by extensive palatal shelves that meet the vomer
on the midline." The unserrated teeth closely resemble those of
Archaeopteryx in form, with a constriction between the root and the
base of the crown. As in other troodontids, numerous relatively small,
tightly packed teeth line the anterior portion of the jaws, followed by
larger, more widely spaced posterior teeth, with the posteriormost
teeth along the jaws being tiny. Byronosaurus was a lightly built,
agile predator, probably around 1.5 m (5 ft) long in life.
Type Species: Byronosaurus jaffei [JAF-ee-ie] Norell, Makovicky & Clark
2000: for Byron Jaffe "in recognition of his family's support for the
Mongolian Academy of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History
Paleontological Expeditions."
Caenagnathasia Currie, Godfrey & Nessov 1993 "Asian recent jaw"
see-NAG-na-THAY-zhee-a (Caenagnathus + Gr. Asia) (f) named to indicate
a small form from Uzbekistan in Central Asia; the earlist known
caenagnathid. Theropoda Oviraptorisauria Caenagnathidae L. Cret. CAs.
________________________________________
Caenagnathus R. Sternberg 1940 "recent jaw"
see-NAG-na-thus (c.u.: SEE-nag-NAY-thus) (Gr. kaine (feminine of Gr.
kainos) "recent, new" + Gr. gnathos "jaw" + -us) (m) named for a
toothless mandible with a fused symphysis, originally attributed to a
Cretaceous bird resembling Cenozoic (kainos "recent" + zoon "life") and
modern forms, thus the name "recent jaw": "The presence of the unfused
symphyses in Hesperornis and Ichthyornis, like the presence of teeth in
these forms, indicates only that they are more primitive than
Caenagnathus...All Cretaceous birds hitherto known from skulls or jaws
possess well-developed teeth...our outstanding paleornithologists have
always considered toothless birds in America to be confined to
post-Cretaceous times. Hence the occurrence of a toothless bird in the
Cretaceous of Alberta is unexpected but not necessarily impossible."
Now recognized as a small toothless theropod related to Oviraptor.
Theropoda Oviraptorisauria Caegnathidae L. Cret. NA. [= ?Chirostenotes]

________________________________________
Calamosaurus Lydekker 1891 "reed (bone) lizard"
KAL-a-mo-SAWR-us (Gr. kalamos "reed" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) to
replace supposedly preoccupied Calamospondylus Lydekker 1889. [=
Calamospondylus Lydekker]
________________________________________
Calamospondylus Fox 1866 "reed vertebrae"
KAL-a-mo-SPON-di-lus (Gr. kalamos "reed" + Gr. spondylos "vertebra")
(m) named for the slender, light construction of the vertebrae. The
original description was very brief without an illustration, and the
name is now generally considered a nomen nudum. The same specimen later
was described in detail by Seeley under the name Aristosuchus. [=
Aristosuchus]
________________________________________
Calamospondylus Lydekker 1889 "reed vertebrae"
KAL-a-mo-SPON-di-lus (Gr. kalamos "reed" + Gr. spondylos "vertebra")
(m) named for the slender, light construction of the vertebrae.
According to Lydekker, preoccupied by Calamospondylus Fox 1866.
Theropoda E. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Callovosaurus Galton 1980 "Callovian lizard"
ka-LOH-vo-SAWR-us (from Callovium, Latin name for Chalivoy-Milon,
France, source of the term "Callovian period" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) named for the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) period deposits of
Oxford, England, where the fragmentary specimen was found. Ornithopoda
Iguanodontidae M. Jur. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Camarasaurus Cope 1877 "chambered (vertebrae) lizard"
KAM-a-ra-SAWR-us (Gr. kamara "chamber" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
referring to the centra of the neck and back vertebrae, which Cope says
"are hollow and the interior chambers communicate with the cavity of
the body...The vertebrae are lighter in proportion to their bulk than
in any air-breathing vertebrate." Sauropoda Camarasauridae L. Jur. NA.
________________________________________
Camelotia Galton 1985 "for Camelot"
kam-e-LOH-tee-a (f) name for legendary Camelot, said to be located near
where the fossil was found in Somerset, England; based on Seeley's
preoccupied name Avalonia for a specimen that included ornithosuchian
teeth (Avalonianus) and prosauropod material (Camelotia). Prosauropoda
Melanorosauridae L. Trias. Eur.
________________________________________
Camposaurus Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan & Lockley 1998 "Camp's
lizard"
KAM-po-SAWR-us (Camp + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) for Charles Lewis Camp
(1893-1975), American vertebrate paleontologist, who excavated the
Placerias quarry and all specimens of this new genus"; for a small
ceratosaurian described as distinct from Coelophysis and Syntarsus in
details of the hindlimbs; identified from limb bones (UCMP 34498) and
attributed vertebrae from the Bluewater Creek Formation of the Chinle
Group, Late Carnian of Arizona.
Type species: Camposaurus arizonensis [ayr-i-zoh-NEN-sis] Hunt, Lucas,
Heckert, Sullivan & Lockley 1998: for "the state of Arizona, which
yielded the holotype."
Theropoda Ceratosauria Late Triassic (Carnian) NA. [entry added 11-98]
________________________________________
Camptonotus Marsh 1879 "flexible back"
KAMP-to-NOH-tus (Gr. kamptos "flexible" + Gr. notos "back")* (m) Marsh
explains: "the five sacral vertebrae are not coossified even in adult
forms, and to this characteristic the name Camptonotus especially
refers." (Preoccupied by Camptonotus Uhler 1864. See Camptosaurus)
________________________________________
Camptosaurus Marsh 1885 "flexible (back) lizard"
KAMP-to-SAWR-us (Gr. kamptos "flexible" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m)
replacment name based on preoccupied Camptonotus Marsh, to refer to the
sacral (hip) vertebrae, which were supposedly not fused together as
typically found in dinosaurs, but instead had a "peculiar peg-and-notch
articulation." Some specimens later described by Gilmore had fused
sacral vertebrae, making the name Camptosaurus something of a misnomer
according to Marsh's original description. (To replace preoccupied
Camptonotus Marsh.) Ornithopoda Camptosauridae L. Jur. - E. Cret. NA.
Eur.
________________________________________
Campylodon von Huene 1929 "bent tooth"
kam-PIL-o-don (Gr. kampylos "bent, crooked" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m)
named for Camarasaurus-like teeth "slightly curved in the lingual
direction." (Preoccupied by Campylodon Cuvier & Valenciennes 1832. See
Campylodoniscus.)
________________________________________
Campylodoniscus Kuhn 1961 "bent tooth"
kam-PIL-o-do-NIS-kus (Campylodon + -iscus) (m) to replace preoccupied
Campylodon von Huene. Sauropoda i.s. L. Cret. SA. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Carcharodontosaurus Stromer 1931 "shark-toothed lizard"
kahr-KAR-o-DON-to-SAWR-us (Carcharodon great white shark (Gr.
karkharodon "jagged toothed") + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) Stromer
explains: named "for its mainly Carcharodon-like teeth" in the upper
jaw, "not recurved, almost bilaterally symmetrical but with convex
edges"; the teeth have distinctive transverse bands and arcuate
wrinkles near the crown margins. For Megalosaurus saharicus Depret &
Savornin 1927. A nearly complete skull discovered in southeastern
Morocco in 1995 is larger than that of Tyrannosaurus, though more
narrow with a smaller braincase. Theropoda Carnosauria
Carcharodontosauridae L. Cret. NAfr.
________________________________________
Cardiodon Owen 1841 "heart tooth"
kahr-DIE-o-don (Gr. kardia "heart" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) named "for
the heart-shaped form of the crown of the fossil tooth." Sauropoda
Cetiosauridae M. Jur. Eur. [nomen dubium (? Cetiosaurus)]
________________________________________
Carnosauria von Huene 1920 "meat-eating lizards"
KAHR-no-SAWR-ee-a (Lat. carn- (caro) "flesh" + Gr. sauros "lizard" +
-ia) (n) proposed for large, heavily built flesh-eating dinosaurs,
distinguished from the smaller, more lightly built Coelurosauria.
Modern research indicates, however, that both large and small theropods
evolved among different lineages, and some former "carnosaurs" such as
Tyrannosaurus are now classified in the redefined Coelurosauria.
[taxon]
________________________________________
Carnotaurus Bonaparte 1985 "meat-eating bull"
KAHR-no-TAWR-us (Lat. carn- (caro) "flesh" + Lat. taurus "bull") (m)
alluding to the peculiar large horn-like projections on its skull, and
to its carnivorous diet. Theropoda Abelisauridae L. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Caseosaurus Hunt, Lucas, Heckert, Sullivan & Lockley 1998 "Case's
lizard"
KAY-so-SAWR-us (or KAY-see-o-SAWR-us) (Case + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
named in recognition of Ermine Cowles Case (1871-1953), American
vertebrate paleontologist, "who discovered the holotype and made
substantial contributions to our knowledge of Late Triassic tetrapods";
based on a right ilium identified as that of a herrerasaur that differs
from Staurikosaurus, Herrerasaurus and Chindesaurus in various details.
The type specimen (UMMP 8870) from the Tecovas Member of the Dockum
Formation in Texas was originally attributed to Chindesaurus
bryansmalli by Long and Murry (1995).
Type species: Caseosaurus crosbyensis [kroz-bee-EN-sis] Hunt, Lucas,
Heckert, Sullivan & Lockley 1998: "for Crosby County, Texas, which
yielded the holotype."
Theropoda Herrerasauridae Late Triassic (Tuvalian) NA. [entry added
11-98]
________________________________________
Cathetosaurus Jensen 1988 "upright lizard"
KATH-e-to-SAWR-us (Gr. kathetos "vertical, upright" + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) named for the construction of the pelvis, which
supposedly indicated a sauropod that could rear on its hind legs to
feed. [= Camarasaurus]
________________________________________
Caudipteryx Ji Q., Currie, Norell & Ji S. 1998 "tail feather"
kaw-DIP-ter-iks or kaw-dip-TAYR-iks (also KAW-dee-tayr-iks, Curries'
own pronunciation) (Lat. cauda "tail" + Greek pteryx "wing, feather")
(f) named to indicate a turkey-sized (3-ft.long) theropod notable for
large symmetrical feathers arranged fanlike on the end of the tail.
Caudipteryx is thought to represent a type of feathered ground-living
dinosaur that may be related to the Oviraptorosauria. The two known
specimens of the genus were found in the Jiulongsong Member of the
Chaomidianzi Formation, Sihetun area of Liaoning Province, northeastern
China, in ancient lake deposits that preserved impressions of rather
large symmetrical shafted feathers on the tail and forelimbs, as well
as downlike feathers on the body. However, the relatively small size of
the forelimbs, the proportionately large hindlimbs and the symmetrical
design of the feathers indicate the animal very likely could not fly.
The animal is identified as a dinosaur rather than a bird based on a
list of distinctive features, but most importantly, a skull with a bony
bar behind the eyes (not found in birds) and other theropod
characteristics. The pelvis is theropodlike (similar to dromaeosaurs
and oviraptorids): the ischium lacks the posterodorsal process found in
Archaeopteryx and other birds. Additionally, the hallux (first digit on
the foot) is reduced and positioned high on the metatarsals, off the
ground and oriented outward and slightly forward, as in typical
theropod dinosaurs; by constrast, the hallux in most birds, including
Archaeopteryx, is well-developed, low on the metatarsals and positioned
backwards for perching or contact with the ground.
The two specimens were originally assigned to Protarcheopteryx.
However, Caudipteryx differs from Protarchaeopteryx: its jaws are
toothless except for usual hooked spike-like teeth at the tip of the
upper jaw (premaxillary) that were probably partly covered with a horny
beak; its tail is relatively short (one-quarter the length of the body,
with 22 vertebrae (as in Archaeopteryx)); the forelimbs are relatively
long for a nonavian theropod but shorter than in Protarchaeopteryx,
with large secondary feathers attached to the second digit on the hand;
it has a gizzard containing small grinding stones, indicating it may
have eaten plant material.
Recent studies suggest Caudipteryx may be related to oviraptorosaurs. A
few researchers have challenged the identification of Caudipteryx as a
theropod dinosaur and propose that it is a secondarily flightless
plant-eating bird that evolved from primitive Archaeopteryx-like forms.
Type species: Caudipteryx zoui [DZOH-ie] "Zou's tail-feather" to honor
Zou Jaihua, vice-premier of China, for his support of scientific work
in Liaoning. Theropoda Maniraptora E. Cret. China [revised 6/99]
________________________________________
Caudocoelus von Huene 1932 "hollowed tail"
KAWD-o-SEEL-us (Lat. cauda "tail + Gr. koilos "hollow") (m) named for a
single tail vertebra with a lengthwise depression on one side; for
"Iguanodon" prestiwichi Sauvage [= Teinurosaurus]
________________________________________
Caulodon Cope 1877 "stalk tooth"
KAWL-o-don (Gr. kaulos "stalk" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m) alluding to the
shape of the teeth: "fang of the tooth of great length and hollow" [=
Camarasaurus]
________________________________________
Cedarosaurus Tidwell, Carpenter & Brooks 1999 "Cedar Mountain lizard"
SEE-duh-ro-SAWR-us (Cedar + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) "named for the
Cedar Mountain Formation from which the type specimen was collected."
Cedarosaurus is a medium-sized brachiosaurid known from a partial
skeleton (Holotype: DMNH 39045 (Denver Museum of Natural History)),
including vertebrae, ribs, front and back limb bones, pelvic bones,
portions of the scapulae and coracoids, foot bones and gastroliths,
found in the Eary Cretaceous (Barremian) Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar
Mountain Formation, western Utah. The dorsal and caudal vertebrae as
well as the slender metacarpals identify the specimen as a
brachiosaurid--the humerus and femur are almost the same length,
indicating the long forelimbs typical of brachiosaurs. Cedarosaurus was
probably around 14 m (46ft) long based on the proportions of other
brachiosaurs, with a humerus 1.38 m long and a femur 1.395 m long.
Type Species: Cedarosaurus weiskopfae [WIES-kop-fee] Tidwell, Carpenter
& Brooks 1999: "for the late Carol Weiskopf for her work in the field
and lab."
Sauropoda Brachiosauridae Early Cretaceous (Barremian) NA
________________________________________
Cedarpelta Carpenter, Kirkland, Burge & Bird 2001 "Cedar (Mountain)
shield"
SEE-dar-PEL-tuh (Cedar + Gr. pelte "shield") (f) named to indicate an
armored dinosaur from the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. Cedarpelta
is a very large primitive ankylosaurid (est. 7.5-8.5 m (25-28+ ft)
long), known from a partial skull (Holotype skull: CEUM 10405 (College
of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, Price, Utah)), another
disarticulated skull, plus postcranial material, found at the top of
the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain
Formation, southeast of Price, in Carbon County, eastern Utah. The
skull is about 60 cm (24 in) long and has a narrow snout and
ornamentation formed from remodeling of the surface of the bones on the
roof of the skull, not coossification with dermal armor; it shares
features with the skull of Shamosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of
Mongolia, suggesting faunal exchange between Asia and North America.
Type Species: Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum [bil-bee-haw-LOR-uhm]
Carpenter, Kirkland, Burge & Bird 2001: for Sue Ann Bilbey and Evan
Hall, who discovered the locality in near Price, Utah. Ankylosauria
Ankylosauridae Early Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) NA [added 6-2002]
________________________________________
Centrosaurus Lambe 1904 "spur (frill) lizard"
SEN-tro-SAWR-us (Gr. kentron "spur, sharp point" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) Lambe explains: named "in allusion to the remarkable inwardly
directed hook-shaped processes springing from the posterior border of
the frill." The original specimen was an isolated crest. More complete
skulls with a large single nose-horn were only identified later, and
the two hook-shaped spurs of bone that face each other at the very top
of the frill are the source of the name, not the prominent nasal horn
as commonly stated. Lambe originally misidentified a piece of another
hook-like bony process that projects downward over the parietal opening
on each side of the frill as part of a nasal horn. (The name
Centrosaurus Lambe is not preoccupied. Centrosaurus Fitzinger 1843 was
first published as a junior synonym of Phrynosoma in Fitzinger's
Systema Reptilium--then wrongly listed as a junior synonym of Heloderma
by Romer in 1956, in invalid usage. Under ICZN 1985 Art. 11 (e),
Fitzinger's genus name does not appear to meet the requirements of an
available name for purposes of scientific nomenclature--it was not used
before 1961 as a valid genus name nor cited as a senior homonym of
another taxon.) Ceratopsia Ceratopidae Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Cerapoda Sereno 1986 "horn-feet"
SER-a-POHD-a (from Gr. keras "horn" + Gr. pod- (pous) "foot" + -a) (n)
A name apparently formed as an arbitrary combination of Cera(topsia)
and (Ornitho)poda to indicate two of the major branches of the clade.
Members have asymmetrical enamel on their dentary and maxillary teeth:
heterodontosaurs, pachycephalosaurs, ceratopsians, and ornithopods.
[clade]
________________________________________
Ceratops Marsh 1888 "horned face"
SER-a-tops (Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face")* (m) named for
its small brow horns. Marsh says: "The present genus appears to be
allied to Stegosaurus of the Jurassic, but differs especially in having
a pair of large horns on the upper part of the head." He originally
thought the horns projected sideways and were "somewhat similar to the
large posterior pair of protuberances in Meiolania," an extinct
Australian "horned" turtle. Marsh did not recognize the frill and the
forward pointing position of the brow horns of ceratopsians until his
1889 description of Triceratops. Recently discovered material may
belong to this historically important but poorly known genus, and could
clarify its taxonomic identity. (The name is not preoccupied. Ceratops
Rafinesque 1815 was only published as a name in a list of bird genera,
and never received a formal description. It is therefore a nomen nudum
and not valid for purposes of homonymy.) Ceratopsia Ceratopidae
Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA. [?nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Ceratopsia Marsh 1890 "horned faces"
ser-a-TOP-see-a (Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face" + -ia) (n)
for horned dinosaurs; more correctly spelled "Ceratopia." [taxon]
________________________________________
Ceratosauria Marsh 1884
se-RAT-o-SAWR-ee-a (t.L.m.: SER-a-to-SAWR-ee-a) (Gr. kerat- (keras)
"horn" + Gr. sauros "lizard"+ -ia) (n) Originally proposed by Marsh as
a suborder to include the genus Ceratosaurus, and later Ornithomimus,
based in part on their fused metatarsals; redefined by Gauthier (1986)
as a clade to include Ceratosaurus, Coelophysis, Syntarsus,
Dilophosaurus, and other theropods with long flexible tails, a
trochanteric shelf on the femur, and other distinctive features that
contrast with the members of the Tetanurae. [clade]
________________________________________
Ceratosaurus Marsh 1884 "horned lizard"
se-RAT-o-SAWR-us (t.L.m.: SER-a-to-SAWR-us) (Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn"
+ Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named to indicate a carnivorous dinosaur
with a horn on its snout. According to Marsh: "the nasal
bones...support the large, compressed, elevated horn core...a high,
trenchant horn...must have formed a most powerful weapon for offense
and defense." Theropoda Ceratosauria Ceratosauridae L. Jur. NA. ?Afr.
________________________________________
Cetiosauriscus von Huene 1927 "whale-like lizard"
see-TIE-o-saw-RIS-kus (c.u.: SEE-tee-o-saw-RIS-kus) (Cetiosaurus +
-iscus) (m) name proposed for "Cetiosaurus" leedsi; interpreted by von
Huene as a cetiosaurid intermediate between Cetiosaurus and
Haplocanthosaurus, with a narrower femur, lower ilium and shorter
forelimbs than Cetiosaurus; later reclassified as a diplodocid.
Sauropoda Diplodocidae M. - L. Jur. Eur.
________________________________________
Cetiosaurus Owen 1841 "whale-like lizard"
see-TIE-o-SAWR-us (c.u.: SEE-tee-o-SAWR-us) (Gr. keteios "cetaceous" +
Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) Owen explains: "on account of the vertebrae
approximating in size and structure to the vertebrae of the whale,"
with a coarse, cancellous texture similar to whalebone. Owen (1875)
defended his derivation from Greek keteios "whale-like, cetaceous"
rather than ketos "whale," and insisted on his original spelling,
noting that: "In framing this name the diphthong in keteios was
dropped, as in 'pliocene,' 'miocene,' etc." He therefore pronounced
Cetiosaurus see-TIE-o-SAWR-us as his etymology demands, not
"SEE-tee-oo-SAWR-us" or "SEE-sho-SAWR-us" as many of his contemporaries
did. Owen originally described the genus as a giant marine crocodile
"with carnivorous habits, that it might keep in check the Crocodilians
and Plesiosauri." Huxley suggested in 1869 that Cetiosaurus was an
"Iguanodontid" dinosaur after examining a large femur in the Oxford
Museum. Prof. Phillips of the same institution gave a detailed
description of new material found in the Oxford region in 1870 and
characterized the huge creature as an upright terrestrial herbivore
(though no evidence for its long neck was then available), and thought
it may have been "a marsh-loving or river-side animal." Sauropoda
Cetiosauridae M. - L. Jur. Eur. ?NAfr.
________________________________________
Chaoyangsaurus Zhao, Cheng & Xu 1999 "Chaoyang lizard"
chow-yahng-SAWR-us (Chaoyang + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to
indicate a primitive ceratopsian dinosaur found in the Chaoyang area of
Liaoning Province, northeastern China; known from an incomplete
skeleton including the dorsal part of a skull, a mandible, an axis
vertebra along with 6 cervicals, and a fragmentary humerus and scapula
(Holotype: IGCAGS V371 (Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of
Geological Science (Beijing)). Chaoyangsaurus comes from the Tuchengzi
Formation (Ershijiazi locality) and dates either from the Middle or the
Late Jurassic, making it the earliest known ceratopsian--it is a small,
likely bipedal animal probably between 1.5 and 2 meters (5-7 ft) in
total length (the body proportions and tail size are not known). The
skull is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long from the tip of the rostral bone to
the end of the quadrate, and triangular in form, very broad at the back
tapering to a narrow beaklike snout. The jugals flare well beyond the
skull roof as in other ceratopsians, but there is no preserved evidence
of any features resembling a frill or horns. The 8-9 maxillary teeth in
each jaw are chisel-shaped with denticles on the crowns and a central
ridge; the 2 premaxillary teeth in each jaw are simple and somewhat
blade-like, with compressed crowns without denticles. The 11 dentary
teeth in each mandible are generally smaller than the maxillary teeth,
with centrally directed denticles on the crowns--the tooth rows of the
lower jaw are positioned inside the upper tooth rows when the jaws are
closed. Chaoyangsaurus possesses a combination of psittacosaurid and
neoceratopsian features; some features suggest a relationship between
heterodontosaurs and ceratopsians. NOTE: The discovery was mentioned in
literature dating back to 1983 under the name "Chaoyangosaurus
liaosiensis," but no diagnostic description was published and the older
name is invalid. The name also appeared in the form "Chaoyoungosaurus."

Type Species: Chaoyangsaurus youngi [YUHNG-ie] Zhao, Cheng & Xu 1999:
for Chung Chien Young [Yang Zhongqian] (1897-1979), "in memory of the
founder of vertebrae paleontology in China." Ceratopsia ?Late Jurassic
China [added 2/2000]
________________________________________
Chaoyoungosaurus Zhao 1983 "Chaoyang County (Liaoning, China) lizard"
CHOW-YAHNG-o-SAWR-us (m) named for Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province,
China, where the fossil was found. ?Pachycephalosauria
Chaoyoungosauridae M. Jur. China (This rather widely cited name may not
be validly published yet, and thus is technically a nomen nudum.)]
________________________________________
Charonosaurus Godefroit, Zan & Jin 2000 "Charon's lizard"
ka-ROH-no-SAWR-us (Gr. Kharon (mythical boatman) + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) named for Charon, the boatman in Greek and Roman mythology who
ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx in Hades; alluding
to the discovery of the specimens on the south bank of the Amur River,
dividing China from Russia. Charonosaurus is a very large lambeosaurine
hadrosaur (estimated around 10.8 m (36 ft) long), known from a partial
skull (Holotype: CUST J-V1251-57 (Changchun University of Sciences and
Technology, Changchun, Jilin Province, China)) found in the Late
Maastrichtian Yuliangze Formation, west of Jiayin village, Heilongjiang
Province, northeastern China. Adult and juvenile hadrosaur remains
discovered in the same area and formation likely represent the same
taxon and supply information on most of the postcranial skeleton; the
femur length was up to 1.35 m. (4.5 ft). The partial skull resembles
that of Parasaurolophus and probably had a similar long,
backward-projecting hollow crest, indicated by the highly modified
dorsal surface of the frontal bones. Charonosaurus is one of the
largest hadrosaurs currently known from Asia and indicates that
lambeosaurines survived till the very end of the Cretaceous
(lambeosaurines are not known from the Late Maastrichtian in North
America).
Type species: Charonosaurus jiayinensis [jyah-yee-NEN-sis] for the type
locality at Jiayin village, Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China.
Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Lambeosaurinae Late Cretaceous (Late
Maastrichtian) China [added 12-2000]
________________________________________
Chasmosaurus Lambe 1914 "wide-opening (frill) lizard"
KAS-mo-SAWR-us (Gr. khasma "wide opening, chasm" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) Lambe explains: "name has reference to the openings in the skull,
more particularly to the great size of the intraparietal fontanelles"
in the frill; for a form supposedly ancestral to Torosaurus. (To
replace preoccupied Protorosaurus Lambe.) Ceratopsia Ceratopidae
Chasmosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Chassternbergia Bakker 1988 "for Chas. Sternberg"
CHAS-stern-BERG-ee-a (Cha(rle)s + Sternberg + -ia) (f) named to honor
Charles Mortram Sternberg (1885-1981), vertebrate paleontologist, who
discovered the specimen. Ankylosauria Nodosauridae L. Cret. NA. [=
?Edmontonia]
________________________________________
Cheneosaurus Lambe 1917 "goose-like lizard"
kee-NEE-o-SAWR-us (Gr. kheneios "goose-like" + Gr. sauros "lizard")*
(m) named "on account of the supposed resemblance of the specimen, when
viewed in profile, to the outline of the head of a goose"; a juvenile
lambeosaur. [= ?Hypacrosaurus]
________________________________________
Chialingosaurus Young 1959 "Jialing River (China) lizard"
JYAH-LING-o-SAWR-us (Chialing [= Jialing (from Chin. jia "fine" + ling
"hill")] + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named "for one of the four main
rivers in Szehuan, the Chialingchiang [Jialingjiang]"; found in Quxian
County, Sichuan Province, China. Stegosauria Stegosauridae L. Jur.
China
________________________________________
Chiayusaurus Bohlin 1953 "Jiayu (China) lizard"
JYAH-yoo-SAWR-us (Chia-yu [= Jiayu] + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named
for the Jiayuguan [Chia-yu-kuon] badlands in Gansu Province, north
central China, where the fossil tooth was found. Sauropoda i.s. E.
Cret. China [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Chilantaisaurus Hu 1964 "Jilantai (Inner Mongolia) lizard"
jee-LAHN-tie-SAWR-us (Chilantai [= Jilantai] + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m)
named for Jilantai, near where the fossil was found in Alashon, Inner
Mongolia, China. Theropoda Carnosauria Allosauridae E. Cret. China
________________________________________
Chingkankousaurus Young 1958 "Jingankou (China) lizard"
jing-GAHN-koh-SAWR-us (Ching-kan-k'ou [= Jingankou] + Gr. sauros
"lizard") (m) named for Jingankou [Ching-kan-k'ou] in Shandong
Province, China. Theropoda Coelurosauria Tyrannosauridae L. Cret. China
[nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Chindesaurus Long & Murry 1995 "Chinde Point (Arizona) lizard"
CHIN-dee-SAWR-us (Chinde (from Navaho chii(n)dii "ghost, evil spirit")
+ Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Chinde Point, near where the
genoholotype specimen (a partial skeleton) was discovered in Petrified
Forest National Park, Arizona, in 1984. ?Theropoda Herrerasauria
Herrerasauridae L. Trias. NA.
________________________________________
Chirostenotes Gilmore 1924 "narrow-handed (dinosaur)"
KIE-ro-STEN-o-teez (c.u.: KIE-ro-ste-NOH-teez) (Gr. kheir "hand" + Gr.
stenotes "narrowness" (Gr. stenos "narrow" + Gr. feminine suffix -otes,
denoting a quality)) (f) referring to the long, slender digits of its
hands, used in grasping. Theropoda Elmisauridae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Chondrosteosaurus Owen 1876 "cartilage-boned lizard"
kon-DROS-tee-o-SAWR-us (Gr. khondros "cartilage" + Gr. osteon "bone" +
Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the cartilage that supposedly filled
the bone. Owen says: "I deem it much more probable that the large
cancelli obvious at every fractured surface of the vertebra were
occupied in the living reptile by unossified cartilage, or chondrine,
than by air from the lungs." Sauropoda Camarasauridae E. Cret. Eur.
________________________________________
Chuandongocoelurus He 1984 "Chuandong (China) coelurid"
CHWAHN-DUNG-o-see-LOOR-us (Chuandong + Coelurus (Gr. koilos "hollow" +
Gr. oura "tail" + -us) (m) named for Chuandong in Sichuan Province,
China, where the fragmentary remains of a possible "coelurosaur" were
found. Theropoda i.s. M. Jur. China [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Chuanjiesaurus Fang, Pang, Lü, Zhang, Pan, Wang, Li & Cheng 2000
"Chuanjie lizard"
chwahn-jyeh-SAWR-us (Chin. Chuanjie + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to
indicate a dinosaur found near Chuanjie village in Lufeng County,
Yunnan Province, China. Chuanjiesaurus is a large sauropod from the
Middle Jurassic Chuanjie Formation, discovered at the Laochang Jing
site, close to A'na hamlet and about 10 km from Chuanjie village,
Lufeng County, Yunnan Province. The specimen is described as a
comparatively complete post-cranial skeleton (Holotype: Lfch 1001
(Lufeng Museum)) that includes 9 cervicals, 17 caudals, 2 ribs and
various elements from the limbs and limb girdles. The original
description is extremely brief with no measurements of any bones or
comparison with other taxa. The centra of the cervical vertebrae are
comparatively long, opsithocoelous type, with comparatively shallow
lateral depressions and low neural arches. The anterior caudal
vertebrae are procoelous while more posterior caudals are amphicoelous;
the height of neural spines becomes lower toward the end of the tail as
the spines change from club-shaped to plank-shaped; the haemal arches
are forked. The proximal end of the scapula is markedly enlarged; the
coracoid is nearly oval in form. The ilium is comparatively large and
nearly semi-circular in form; the pubic bone is expanded while the
distal end of the ischium is not expanded. The front to hind limb ratio
is 0.83: 1, ulna to humerus ratio 0.65: 1, tibia to femur ratio 0.67:1.

Type species: Chuanjiesaurus anaensis [ah-nah-EN-sis] Fang, Pang, Lu,
Zhang, Pan, Wang, Li & Cheng 2000: "from A'na" for the hamlet of A'na,
close to where the specimen was found near Chuanjie village, in Yunnan
Province. Sauropoda "Cetiosauridae" Middle Jurassic China [added
12-2000]
________________________________________
Chubutisaurus del Corro 1974 "Chubut Province (Argentina) lizard"
choo-BOOT-i-SAWR-us (Chubut + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for Chubut
Province in Argentina, where the fossil was found. Sauropoda
Chubutisauridae L. Cret. SA.
________________________________________
Chungkingosaurus Dong, Zhou & Zhang 1983 "Chongqing (China) lizard"
CHUNG-CHING-o-SAWR-us (Chungking [= Chongqing] + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) named for Chongqing [Chungking, Chung-ch'ing] City, near where the
fossil was found in Sichuan Province, China. Stegosauria Stegosauridae
L. Jur. China
________________________________________
Cionodon Cope 1874 "column tooth"
sie-OHN-o-don (Gr. kion- (kion) "column, pillar" + Gr. odon "tooth")
(m) named for the column-like shape and arrangement of the teeth.
Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L. Cret. NA [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Citipati Clark, Norell & Barsbold 2001 "lord of the cemetery"
CHIT-i-puh-tih (Sanskrit citi "funeral pyre" + Sanskrit pati "lord")*
(m) named for "the lord of the cemeteries in Tantric Buddhist
tradition, typically depicted as a human skeleton." Citipati is a
moderately large oviraptorid (estimated 2+ m (7 ft) long) known from a
nearly complete skeleton (Holotype: IGM 100/978 (Institute of Geology,
Mongolia)), plus a partial skeleton overlying a nest and an embryonic
skeleton inside an egg, found in the Late Cretaceous
(Campanian-Maastrichtian) Djadokhta Formation at Ukhaa Tolgod, Gurvan
Tes Somon, Omnogov Aimak, Mongolia. Differs from other oviraptorids in
that the dorsal part of the relatively shortened skull is shifted
anteriorly (with an anterodorsally sloping occiput and quadrate, a
parietal much longer along the midline than the frontal, an ascending
process of the jugal perpendicular to the horizontal ramus rather than
extending posterodorsally, external naris nearly circular, an ascending
process of the premaxilla vertical rather than sloping
posterodorsally); it also lacks the parietal crest found in Oviraptor.
The cervical vertebrae are more elongated than in other oviraptorids
(approximately twice as long as they are wide). The ischia form a
symphysis distally. Skull length 17.2 cm. Citipati is about 50% larger
than Khaan and Conchoraptor.
Type Species: Citipati osmolskae [os-MOL-skee] Clark, Norell & Barsbold
2001: for Halska Osmolska, Polish vertebrate paleontologist, "for her
work on oviraptorids and other Mongolian theropod dinosaurs." Theropoda
Oviraptorosauria Oviraptoridae Late Cretaceous
(Campanian-Maastrichtian) Mongolia [added 8-2001]
________________________________________
Claorhynchus Cope 1892 "crushing beak"
KLAY-o-RINK-us (Gr. klao "break, crush" + Gr. rhygkhos "snout, beak" +
-us) (m) probably so-named because Cope thought the end of the beak in
the fragmentary fossil "was well designed for crushing hard
substances". Ornithopoda (or Ceratopsia) L. Cret. NA [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Claosaurus Marsh 1890 "broken lizard"
KLAY-o-SAWR-us (Gr. klao "break" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) probably
named for the broken-up way the type specimen was collected--pieces
were recovered at different times some years apart. Marsh first
identified remains of a "small dinosaur" from the Niobrara of Kansas as
Hadrosaurus agilis in 1872. After Cope's description of "Diclonius
mirabilis" [= Anatotitan copei] in 1883, Marsh restudied his own
"Hadrosaurus" material, and reclassified the form as a distinct genus
in 1890, explaining that "after the species was described, the writer
again visited the locality, and secured other portions of the skeleton,
so that now the more important parts are available for comparison." The
name may also reflect the condition of the specimen: some of the bones
were partially crushed (typical for Niobrara fossils and a detail Marsh
does not mention) and most of the skull was missing. Marsh considered
the dinosaur's solid limb bones diagnostic (Hadrosaurus had hollow limb
bones), and later identified well preserved fossils of a large Lance
hadrosaur (now Edmontosaurus) as "Claosaurus" as well. He gave the new
form the species name annectens (a-NEK-tenz) "intermediate,
transitional" (literally Latin for "connecting together"), alluding to
its limbs, which combined features of both bipeds and quadrupeds
(including a hoofed manus), and thus "linked" the limb structure of
Camptosaurus and Stegosaurus. Marsh's 1892 skeletal restoration of
"Claosaurus" [= Edmontosaurus] annectens was once commonly used to
represent a typical hadrosaur. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae
L. Cret. NA
________________________________________
Clasmodosaurus Ameghino 1898 "fragment-tooth (?) lizard"
KLAS-mo-do-SAWR-us (irr. Gr. klasma "fragment" + Gr. odon "tooth" + Gr.
sauros "lizard") (m) named for sauropod teeth in which "the crown is
wider than the root" and the "the lower part of the root is open at the
base, as in Edentates..." Sauropoda L. Cret. SA. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Coelophysis Cope 1889 "hollow form"
SEEL-o-FIE-sis (t.L.m.: see-LOF-i-sis) (Gr. koilos "hollow" + Gr.
physis "form, nature") (f) named for the hollow elements of the
skeleton: "the vertebrae...with most of the bones of the limbs are
hollow, having large central cavities surrounded by thin walls." The
original fragmentary specimens collected by David Baldwin do not appear
to be diagnostic. E. H. Colbert identified well-preserved skeletons
found at the Ghost Ranch site in New Mexico in 1947 as Coelophysis, and
established the modern usage of the name. Following controversy over
the lack of a type specimen adequate to establish the taxonomic
identity of the genus Coelophysis, the International Commission on
Zoological Nomenclature (Opinion 1842) assigned a new type specimen
(neotype) displayed in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH
7224), as requested in a petition presented by Colbert and others. (See
additional comments at Rioarribasaurus.) Theropoda Ceratosauria
Podokesauridae L. Trias. NA.
________________________________________
Coelosaurus Leidy 1865 "hollow (boned) lizard"
SEEL-o-SAWR-us (Gr. koilos "hollow" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named
for a hollow tibia from New Jersey. (preoccupied by Coelosaurus [Owen]
1854) Theropoda Ornithomimosauria Ornithomimidae L. Cret. NA. [=
?Ornithomimus]
________________________________________
Coeluroides von Huene 1932 "Coelurus-like (dinosaur)"
see-loo-ROI-deez (t.L.m.: see-LOOR-o-IE-deez) (Coelurus (Gr. koilos
"hollow" + Gr. oura "tail" + -us) + -oides "like") (m) named for dorsal
vertebrae supposedly indicating a small, lightly built coelurid; now
considered a possible allosaur. Theropoda L. Cret. India [nomen dubium]

________________________________________
Coelurosauria von Huene 1920 "hollow-tail lizards"
see-LOOR-o-SAWR-ee-a (Gr. koilos "hollow" + Gr. oura "tail" + Gr.
sauros "lizard") (n) originally proposed for slender, lightly built
theropods with thin, hollow bones, resembling Marsh's Coelurus, that
were distinguished from the larger, heavier Carnosauria. However, more
recent research indicates the both large and small forms evolved among
different groups of theropods, and the Coelurosauria as once widely
understood are not a natural group. Gauthier (1986) redefined the
Coelurosauria as a clade within the Tetanurae, to include birds,
Deinonychosauria, Ornithomimidae, Elmisauridae and other bird-like
forms, but excluding Coelophysis, once cited as the "best known
coelurosaur." Recent cladistic classifications now include the
Tyrannosauridae (previously classified in the Carnosauria) and the
Therizinosauroidea ("segnosaurs") in the redefined Coelurosauria.
[clade]
________________________________________
Coelurus Marsh 1879 "hollow tail"
see-LOOR-us (Gr. koilos "hollow" + Gr. oura "tail" + -us) (m) named for
vertebrae with "their centra so much excavated that the walls are
reduced to a thin shell," found in the "anterior caudal [tail]
vertebrae" as well as the "dorsal and lumbar region." Theropoda
Coeluridae L. Jur. NA.
________________________________________
Coloradia Bonaparte 1978 "for Los Colorados"
ko-lo-RAHD-ee-a (f) named for the Los Colorados Formation of La Rioja,
Argentina, where the fossil was found. (preoccupied by Coloradia Blake
1863. See Coloradisaurus)
________________________________________
Coloradisaurus Lambert 1983 "Los Colorados lizard"
ko-lo-RAHD-i-SAWR-us (Coloradia + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for
the Los Colorados Formation of La Rioja, Argentina; to replace
preoccupied Coloradia Bonaparte 1978. Prosauropoda Plateosauridae L.
Trias. SA.
________________________________________
Compsognathus Wagner 1859 "delicate jaw" [zierlich "delicate" + Kiefer
"jaw"]
komp-SOG-na-thus (c.u.: KOMP-sog-NAY-thus) (Gr. kompsos "elegant
[delicate, adorned]" + Gr. gnathos "jaw" + -us) (m) named for the light
construction of its jaws: "the skull presents a very delicate, slender,
elongated form." Wagner explained the name in German as zierlich
"delicate" + Kiefer "jaw," which fits his original descriptions better
than the commonly used, but less apt, English version "elegant jaw."
The type specimen may be a juvenile in which elements of the skull had
not fused. The type species name C. longipes (LON-ji-pees)
"long-legged" (the classical Latin meaning) refers to the striking
length of the back limbs. The 1859 description, though brief, validly
establishes the name. Theropoda Compsognathidae L. Jur. Eur.
________________________________________
Compsosuchus von Huene 1932 "delicate crocodile"
KOMP-so-SOOK-us (Gr. kompsos "elegant [delicate, adorned]" + Gr.
soukhos "crocodile") (m) named for a form based on a lightly built axis
vertebra and first classified in the same family as Compsognathus.
Theropoda L. Cret. India [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Conchoraptor Barsbold 1986 "shell robber"
KONG-ko-RAP-tor (Gr. kogkhe "shellfish, mussel" + Lat. raptor "robber,
plunderer") (m) named for its supposed diet of shelled mollusks, based
on the curved shape of its beaked jaws. The true diet of oviraptorids
(eggs, plants, flesh, mollusks, etc.) remains controversial. Theropoda
Oviraptorosauria L. Cret. CAs. (Mongolia)
________________________________________
Corythosaurus Brown 1914 "helmet lizard"
ko-RITH-o-SAWR-us (t.L.m.: KOR-i-tho-SAWR-us) (Gr. koryth- (korys)
"helmet, crown of the head" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for its
crested skull: "The extraordinary crest rises above the braincase like
a Corinthian helmet or the crest of a cassowary which it resembles."
Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Lambeosaurinae L. Cret. NA.
________________________________________
Craspedodon Dollo 1883 "bordered tooth"
kras-PED-o-don (Gr. kraspedon "edge, border" + Gr. odon "tooth") (m)
referring to teeth with crenulated borders as in Iguanodon, but
differing in the fineness of the serrations. Ornithopoda Iguandontidae
L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Crataeomus Seeley 1881 "strong humerus"
krat-ee-OHM-us (Gr. krataios "strong" + Gr. omos "humerus, shoulder")
(m) named for its forelimbs: "the humeri are remarkably powerful, and
indicate an animal strong in the fore limbs..." [= Struthiosaurus]
________________________________________
Craterosaurus Seeley 1874 "cup (skull) lizard"
kra-TEER-o-SAWR-us (Gr. krater "cup" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named
for "a long deep ovate cup in the basisphenoid, which I interpret as
being the base and anterior portion of the brain-case." The bone
appears to be the arch of a vertebra instead. Stegosauria E. Cret. Eur.
[nomen dubium]
________________________________________
Creosaurus Marsh 1878 "flesh lizard"
CREE-o-SAWR-us (Gr. kreos "flesh" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) alluding
to its flesh-eating diet. Marsh says: "This genus...was the carnivorous
enemy of the huge Atlantosauridae." Generally treated as a junior
synonym of Allosaurus fragilis, the form is considered a distinct
species (A. atrox), and possibly a definable genus by a few
researchers. [= Allosaurus]
________________________________________
Cristatusaurus Taquet & Russell 1998 "crested lizard"
kris-TAY-tuh-SAWR-us (Lat. cristatus "crested" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) named for a rostrum that narrows abruptly after the tip into a
"dorso-posteriorly rising longitudinal crest" along the top of the
snout; based on fragments of an upper and a lower jaw (MNHN GDF 366),
as well as some referred dorsal vertebrae. The animal is identifiable
as a spinosaur from the 7 premaxillary teeth. The teeth have finely
serrated carinae, as in Baryonyx, but the tip of the snout is short,
not long as in the British genus. The type material was discovered in
1973 at Gadoufaoua in Niger and first described in 1984 by Taquet--the
short, hook-shaped tip of the upper jaw was originally misidentified as
part of a dentary rather than a premaxilla.
Type species: Cristatusaurus lapparenti [lap-a-REN-tie] Taquet &
Russell 1998: "in recognition of Albert F. de Lapparent, S.J.,
[1905-1975] for his contributions to the knowledge of Saharan
dinosaurs, and his generous assistance during the field season of
1966."
Theropoda Tetanurae Spinosauroidea Spinosauridae Early Cretaceous
(Aptian) Afr. [entry added 11-98]
________________________________________
Cryolophosaurus Hammer & Hickerson 1994 "frozen crested lizard"*
krie-o-LOF-o-SAWR-us (Gr. kryos "cold" + Gr. lophos "crest" + Gr.
sauros "lizard")* (m) alluding both to the freezing conditions under
which the fossil remains of a large theropod were extracted on Mount
Kirkpatrick in the Queen Alexandra Range, west central Antarctica, and
to the unusual ridged, transverse bony crest on the animal's forehead,
originally compared to Elvis Presley's 1950's pompadour hair-do.
Theropoda Allosauroidea E. Jur. Ant.
________________________________________
Cryptodraco Lydekker 1889 "hidden dragon"
krip-TOD-ra-koh (Gr. kryptos "hidden, secret" + Gr. drakon "dragon")
(m) to replace supposedly preoccupied Cryptosaurus Seeley. Lydekker's
citation of "Cryptosaurus Geoffroy" is based on a typographical error
for Cystosaurus Geoffroy 1833 in a German journal, an error repeated by
Agassiz in his 1846 Nomenclator Zoologicus. Such incorrect subsequent
spellings are not a basis for homonymy under ICZN rules. [=
Cryptosaurus].
________________________________________
Cryptosaurus Seeley 1869 "hidden lizard"
KRIP-to-SAWR-us (Gr. kryptos "hidden, secret" + Gr. sauros "lizard")
(m) alluding to the rarity of an isolated femur that "remains...the
only example of a Dinosaurian genus from the Oxford Clay which has a
general affinity with Iguanodon" Possibly a Jurassic nodosaur. (The
name is not preoccupied.) Ankylosauria Nodosauridae L. Jur. Eur. [nomen
dubium]
________________________________________
Cumnoria Seeley 1888 "for Cumnor, England"
kum-NOHR-ee-a (f) named for the village of Cumnor, Berkshire, England
(Kimmeridge Clay), near where the specimen was found [= Camptosaurus]

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