Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide C

    Ben Creisler


    Web Page copyright © 1996-2002 by Jeff Poling. Text copyright © 1996-2002 by Ben Creisler. This material may not be reproduced except as provided for in the "fair-use doctrine" of title 17, U.S. Code.
    Last updated July 7, 2003. Updated every Monday and Thursday, as necessary.
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    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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