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How dinosaurs get their names

Why are dinosaur names so long and hard to say, who chooses them, and where do Thai names like Kinnareemimus and Nagatitan come from?

Scientific names have two parts

Every dinosaur species has a scientific name following the binomial system laid down by Carl Linnaeus. It has a genus name, starting with a capital letter, and a species name, all lowercase, both written in italics, as in Tyrannosaurus rex.[2]

In everyday use we usually say only the genus name, such as "Tyrannosaurus", which is also what this site uses.

Put together, Kinnareemimus khonkaenensis means roughly "kinnaree mimic from Khon Kaen".

Who names a dinosaur?

The scientists who first describe a new dinosaur in a scientific journal name it. They must designate a "type specimen" (holotype), a fossil kept in a museum or institution where others can examine it, and follow the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).[1]

One key rule is "priority": if the same animal is named twice, the name published first is the one used. The famous case is Brontosaurus, which was long considered the same as Apatosaurus, so the name Brontosaurus was dropped for decades, until a 2015 study argued the two were different enough, and many scientists, though not all, went back to using Brontosaurus.[1][3]

Common word roots

Dinosaur names are often built from Greek and Latin roots, such as saurus (lizard), raptor (robber), cerat (horned), ops (face), tyranno (tyrant) and rex (king).[9]

A name may describe a distinctive feature (Triceratops means "three-horned face"), the place where the fossil was found, or honor a person.[8]

Thai dinosaur names

Many Thai dinosaurs have names that reflect Thai culture and places. For example, Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae is named after Phu Wiang and in honor of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.[7]

Kinnareemimus khonkaenensis comes from the kinnaree, a half-human, half-bird being from Thai literature. Ratchasimasaurus suranareae honors Thao Suranari, and Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis comes from the naga of Thai belief and from Chaiyaphum province, where the fossils were found.[4][5][6]

Sources and further reading

  1. [1]ICZN: International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
  2. [2]Wikipedia: Binomial nomenclature
  3. [3]Wikipedia: Brontosaurus
  4. [4]Wikipedia: Kinnareemimus
  5. [5]Wikipedia: Ratchasimasaurus
  6. [6]Wikipedia: Nagatitan
  7. [7]Wikipedia: Phuwiangosaurus
  8. [8]Wikipedia: Triceratops
  9. [9]American Museum of Natural History: Dinosaur names

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