Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide O

Ben Creisler

Ohmdenosaurus Wild 1978 "Ohmden (Germany) lizard"

OHM-den-o-SAWR-us (Ohmden + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the town of Ohmden, near where the fossil was found in Holzmaden, Germany. Sauropoda Vulcanodontidae E. Jur. Eur.

Oligosaurus Seeley 1881 "small lizard"

OL-i-go-SAWR-us (Gr. oligos "small, little, few" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for its small size. [= Rhabdodon]

Omeisaurus Young 1939 "Mount Emei (China) lizard"

UH-may-SAWR-us (c.u.: OH-may-SAWR-us) (Chin. Omei (= Emei (e "lofty" + mei "brow")), name of a sacred mountain + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) "dedicated to the famous sacred mountain Omeishan, some 100 kilometers west of Yunghsien" in Sichuan Province, China, where the original fossils were found. Sauropoda Euhelopodidae L. Jur. China

Omosaurus Owen 1875 "forelimb lizard"

OHM-o-SAWR-us (Gr. omos "humerus, shoulder" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) name "suggested by the unusual development of the muscular crests and processes of the arm-bone, perhaps in relation to the formidable weapon with which the fore limb appears to have been armed." (Preoccupied by Omosaurus Leidy 1856. See Dacentrurus) [= Dacentrurus]

Onychosaurus Nopsca 1902 "barbed lizard"

ON-ik-o-SAWR-us (Gr. onykh- (onyx) "claw, nail, barb" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the armor on its tail; the type specimen is now considered to be teeth described as "Stegosaurus-like" by Nopsca. The armor probably belongs to Struthiosaurus. Nopsca "withdrew" the genus a few months later after consulting with von Huene. [= Rhabdodon]

Opisthocoelicaudia Borsuk-Bialynicka 1977 "hollow-backed tail (vertebrae)"

o-PIS-tho-SEEL-i-CAWD-ee-a (Gr. opisthe "backward, behind" + Gr. koilos "hollow" + Lat. cauda "tail" + -ia) (f) named "because of the opisthocoelian [hollow-behind] structure of the tail vertebrae" Sauropoda ?Camarasauridae L. Cret. Mongolia

Oplosaurus Gervais 1852 "armored lizard"

OP-lo-SAWR-us (for Gr. hoplon "weapon, shield" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) The name is probably based on Mantell's earlier speculation that the then-unnamed tooth might belong to a Hylaeosaurus-type armored dinosaur; the tooth belongs to a sauropod. [= ?Pelorosaurus]

Orinosaurus Lydekker 1889 "mountain lizard"

o-RIEN-o-SAWR-us (Gr. oreinos "belonging to the mountains" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) unnecessary replacement for supposedly preoccupied Orosaurus Huxley (Oreosaurus Peters 1862). [= Euskelosaurus] .

Ornatotholus Galton & Sues 1983 "decorated dome"

or-NAYT-o-THOL-us (t.L.m.: or-nay-TOTH-o-lus) (Lat. ornatus "adorned" + Lat. tholus "dome") (m) named "in allusion to the tuberculate ornamentation on the somewhat thickened skull roof". Pachycephalosauria Pachycephalosauridae L. Cret. NA.

Ornithischia Seeley 1888 "bird hips"

or-ni-THIS-kee-a (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. iskhion "hip joint") According to Seeley: "In this order the ventral border of the pubic bone is divided, so that one limb is directed backward parallel to the ischium as among birds, and the other limb is directed forward." The resemblance of the hip structure to that of birds is superficial; true birds evolved from the "lizard hipped" saurischians according to current research. [= Predentata] [taxon]

Ornithodesmus Seeley 1887 "bird link"

or-NITH-o-DES-mus (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. desmos "bond, chain, tie") (m) referring to the supposed avian affinities indicated by an isolated sacrum, though Seeley thought certain anatomical details approximated "towards Dinosaurs in a way of which no bird has previously given evidence." New research indicates Seeley's type specimen belongs to a small theropod, not a pterosaur as long thought. Later specimens identified as "Ornithodesmus" represent a new genus of "duck-billed" pterosaur, yet to be formally described and named. Theropoda i.s. E. Cret. Eur.

Ornitholestes Osborn 1903 "bird robber"*

or-NITH-o-LES-teez (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. lestes "robber") (m) named because the grasping hands, light build and long hind limbs indicated "the animal may have been adapted to the pursuit of Jurassic birds"; the name was suggested by Dr. Theodore Gill. Theropoda Coeluridae L. Jur. NA.

Ornithomerus Seeley 1881 "bird femur"

or-NITH-o-MEER-us (Gr. ornith- (ornis) + Gr. meros "femur") (m) named for the "cylindrical bird-like form" of the femur. [= Rhabdodon]

Ornithomimoides von Huene 1932 "Ornithomimus-like (dinosaur)"

or-NITH-o-mie-MOI-deez (t.L.m: or-NITH-o-MIEM-o-IE-deez) (Ornithomimus + -oides) (m) named for vertebrae with hollow centra supposedly resembling those of ornithomimids; possibly a carnosaur. Theropoda i.s. L. Cret. India

Ornithomimus Marsh 1890 "bird mimic"

or-NITH-o-MIEM-us (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. mimos "mimic") (m) named for the birdlike construction of the foot and lower limb. Marsh noted that "the almost exact correspondence" of the tibia, astragulus and metatarsals "in the bird and reptile will be manifest to every anatomist." Ornithomimid specimens with the characteristic ostrich-like long neck and toothless skull were not described until 1917 by Osborn; such features make the name "bird mimic" a more appropriate choice than Marsh was aware of. Theropoda Ornithomimosauria Ornithomimidae L. Cret. NA.

Ornithopoda Marsh 1881 "bird feet"

or-ni-THOP-o-da (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. pod- (pous) "foot" + -a) Named for the typical three-toed construction of the feet found in iguanodonts and hadrosaurs. [taxon]

Ornithopsis Seeley 1870 "bird-look (vertrebrae)"

or-ni-THOP-sis (Gr. ornith- (ornis) + Gr. opsis "face, appearance") (f) named for the light, hollowed-out, bird-like construction of the vertebrae, originally attributed to a supposed giant pterosaur, but now identified as belonging to a sauropod. Sauropoda E. Cret. Eur. [= ?Pelorosaurus]

Ornithoscelida Huxley 1869 "bird legs"

or-NITH-o-SKEL-i-da (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. skelid- (skelis) "hind leg" + -a) (n) Proposed to include both Dinosauria and Compsognatha for "the ornithic modification of the Saurian type, which is especially expressed in the hind limbs." [obsolete name]

Ornithotarsus Cope 1869 "bird tarsus"

or-NITH-o-TAHR-sus (Gr. ornith- (ornis) "bird" + Gr. tarsos "tarsus") (m) referring to the supposed "confluence of the first series of tarsal bones with each other, and with the tibia" as in birds. Cope's description was an error, however, and modern preparation shoed the bones were not fused together. Cope classified Ornithotarsus and Compsognathus together in the Symphypoda. Marsh, however, showed that key diagnostic anatomical feature (fusion of the tarsal bones, etc.) was a misinterpretation of the fossils. [= ?Hadrosaurus]

Orodromeus Horner & Weishampel 1988 "mountain runner"

OR-o-DROHM-ee-us (Gr. oros "mountain" + Gr. dromeus "runner") (m) alluding to the type locality 'Egg Mountain' (a fossilized nesting site preserving eggs and embryos), as well as the state of Montana, where the specimens were found, and to the animal's presumed cursorial habits, indicated by its long hindlimbs and gracile build. The name was suggested by Donald Baird. Ornithopoda Hypsilophodontidae L. Cret. NA.

Orosaurus Huxley 1867 "mountain lizard"

OR-o-SAWR-us (Gr. oros "mountain" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the Stormberg Mountains, South Africa, where the fossils were found. [= Euskelosaurus]

Orthogoniosaurus Das-Gupta 1931 "straight-angled (tooth) lizard"

OR-tho-GOHN-ee-o-SAWR-us (Gr. orthos "straight" + Gr. gonia "angle, corner" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for a tooth with a straight, serrated distal margin and a curved unserrated mesial margin. Theropoda L. Cret. India [nomen dubium]

Orthomerus Seeley 1883 "straight femur"

or-tho-MEER-us (Gr. orthos "straight" + Gr. meros "femur") (m) named for a femur in which "the shaft is remarkably straight and strong". Ornithopoda L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]

Orthopoda Cope 1866 "regular feet" ("straight feet")

or-THOP-o-da (Gr. orthos "straight, regular" + Gr. pod- (pous) "foot" + -a) Originally contrasted with the Goniopoda: "the relations of the tibia and fibula are similar to those in the modern Lacertilia." Originally including forms now classified as ornithopods and stegosaurs. [obsolete name]

Othnielia Galton 1977 "for Othniel (Marsh)"

OTH-ni-EE-lee-a (Hebrew Othniel (?"lion of God") + -ia) (f) named to honor Othniel Charles Marsh (1833--1899), American paleontologist, who described the type specimen as Nanosaurus rex; his taxa Nanosaurus and Laosaurus were based mainly on undiagnostic postcranial material. ("Othniel" is a Biblical name of obscure origin (perhaps in part from El, a Hebrew word for "God"), and is pronounced in three syllables as OTH-nee-uhl. Marsh reportedly detested his unusual first name and preferred to be called "O.C.") Ornithopoda Hypsilophodontidae L. Jur. NA.

Ouranosaurus Taquet 1976 "brave (monitor) lizard"

oo-RAHN-o-SAWR-us (from Tuareg ourane "monitor lizard" [from Arabic waran "brave, fearless", source of Latin varanus "monitor lizard"] + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) from a name used for the desert monitor (Varanus griseus) by the Tuareg tribe of Niger, where fossils of the high-spined iguanodont were found in the Gadoufaouna deposits, southwest of Elrahz. The Tuareg reportedly consider the desert monitor their ancient maternal uncle, turned into a large lizard by God as punishment for having killed one of Noah's she-camels. Ornithopoda Iguanodontidae E. Cret. Afr.

Oviraptor Osborn 1924 "egg stealer"

OH-vi-RAP-tor (Lat. ovum "egg" + Lat. raptor "robber") (m) so-named "because the type skull was found lying directly over a nest of dinosaur eggs...this immediately put the animal under suspicion of having been overtaken by a sandstorm in the very act of robbing the dinosaur egg nest." Osborn was cautious about such a conclusion, however, though he gave the genus the species name philoceratops fil-o-SER-a-tops "fond of ceratopsians," alluding to the supposedly ceratopsian nature of the eggs associated with the skull. The recent discovery of an intact oviraptorid embryo in a "Protoceratops" egg, as well as remains of adults preserved in a guarding or brooding posture over nests of similar eggs prove that the eggs belonged to Oviraptor itself. The diet of Oviraptor has recently been described as primarily herbivorous, thought the two small teeth on its palate could be designed for breaking egg shells. Remains of young theropods found with an Oviraptor nest in Monogolia suggest it may have been a true carnivore, however. Theropoda Oviraptorosauria Oviraptoridae L. Cret. Mongolia

Ozraptor Long & Molnar 1998 "Australian thief"

oz-RAP-tor ("Oz" (colloquial abbreviation for "Australia") + Lat. raptor "thief") (m) named to indicate a rather small theropod from Australia, based on a distal tibia. The isolated bone is distinctive for the angular oblong shape of the astragular condyles at the lower end where the bone articulated with the ankle bones. The fossil, first thought to belong to a turtle, was found at the Bringo railway cutting east of Geraldton, Western Australia. Ozraptor is both the first named dinosaur from the Western Australia region, and the first Jurassic (170 million-year old) theropod identified from skeletal remains on the continent. Est. length: 2-3 meter (6-10 ft.). Type species: Ozraptor subotaii [SUH-bo-tie-ie] for Subotai, a fictional swift running thief in the Conan the Barbarian saga. Theropoda ?Tetanurae Mid. Jur. Australia