How Do Dinosaurs Get Their Names?

Why Can't We Just Call Them Suzie or George?

Dinosaurs are a lot of fun, but they would be a lot more fun if they were named Suzie or George instead of Brachylophosaurus or Protoceratops. (Can you imagine how long introductions would take at a prehistoric party?)

Actually, the names tell us something about the dinosaur. Sometimes, it is named for the paleontologist who discovered it; at least one, the Leaellynasaura, is named for the daughter (Leaellen) of the discoverer. Some dinosaurs are named for the place where they were discovered. The Huayangosaurus, for example, was discovered in Huayang, China. But, most commonly, the name of the dinosaur tells us something about what it looks like. The only problem is, it is all Greek to us!

You can use the following glossary to help understand a little more about your favorite dinosaurs (dino = terrible; saur = lizard).
Notice that scientists now tell us that these terrible lizards really were not lizards after all. You might even put together some of these parts of words to make up the name of a dinosaur no one has even discovered yet!

Allo - other
Anklo - crooked
Anuro - tail
Brachio - arm
Cephalo - head
Cero - horn
Chasmo - opening
Coeli - hollow
Di - two (diplo-)
Docus - beam
Dont - tooth
Euoplo - armed
Lopho - crest
Lystro - shovel
Masso - body
Ops - face
Ornitho - bird
Ovi - egg
Proto - first
Psittaco - parrot
Ptery - wing
Raptor - thief
Spino - spine
Styrax - spike
Tany - long

When paleontologists discover a new dinosaur, it's bones are often in a jumble. Imagine that you have just discovered the dinosaur names (below), and like a scientist, you have to sort out the part and rearrange them. Can you rearrange the letters to spell the names correctly. (Hint: What combinations of letters do you commonly find in the name of a dinosaur?)

1. a r o s e t u g s u s
2. s o u l r a y s r u s t
3. a u t h o r p a r t
4. c o p t r i e s a r t
5. i h a r r a s s o u r c u b
6. i n o d o a g n u
7. r a u c o u s r a n t
8. a r u s h o r a s c u m
9. m y c o o l s i g h t
10. c o r p o r a t e p o s t

ANSWER KEY

1. stegosaurus
2. lystrosaurus
3. utahraptor
4. triceratops
5. brachiosaurus
6. iguanodon
7. carnotaurus
8. chasmosaurus
9. stygimoloch
10. protoceratops