How much latitude do the namers of new dinosaurs have?
27th August 2002
Question
How much latitude do the describers of new dinosaur genera and species
have? It seems as if practice varies considerably. While most
species are given rather dry names, some names seem to verge on the
downright frivolous - for example, Tianchisaurus
nedegoapeferima, whose specific name is made up of fragments of
the names of Jurassic Park cast members and other contributors,
Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard
Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana
Richards and Joseph Mazzello.
Isn't there some kind of international standards bodies that has to
pass names as acceptable?
Answer
[Answer to question class - naming goes here]