From famous singers to the emotional state of a paleontologist working on a specimen, the meaning behind some dinosaur names is incredibly interesting. In this article, you will learn how the likes of the Borogovia and Suchomimus got their names.
Irritator
What did the dinosaur species called the Irritator do to deserve such a name? It wasn’t the actions of the lizard, but the blunder of someone who added plaster to the skull of the dinosaur specimen to make it look more impressive. The paleontologist whose task it was to chip away the unnecessary material was quite perturbed ”“ thus the odd naming of the creature. Dave Martill spent a lot of long unnecessary hours working on the skull to remove the plaster. The Irritator was a close relative to the Spinosaurus and lived 100 million years ago ”“ during the early to middle Cretaceous period. The creature could reach a length of about 25 feet long and a weight of one ton.
The meat eater had a long narrow skull with spines that grew along his back. It is mostly described as having the head and jaws of a crocodile. A nearly complete skull of the dinosaur was found in Brazil. He earned the name Irritator challenger by a group of paleontologists in 1996.
Elvisaurus
Born with an odd-looking crest on the top of its head (that resembled the hairdo of the infamous performer), the Elvisaurus was the name given to the bipedal dinosaur that was the first prehistoric lizard discovered in Antarctica. Today, this species of dinosaur that reminded paleontologists of Elvis Presley is also called Cryolophosaurus. The creature lived about 190 million years ago during the early Jurassic period, and is known as the only theropod to live in Antarctica.
Suchomimus
When David Varricchio first caught sight of the massive thumb claw of the Suchomimus (whose name means “crocodile mimic”), the discovery of a 400-piece fossil soon followed. To date, one incomplete skeleton (with a partial skull) has been uncovered, and that has been classified as a juvenile. The Suchomimus was an odd mixture of dinosaur and crocodile, which lived in prehistoric lakes and rivers.
The dinosaur lived during the middle Cretaceous period, which dates back 110 million years. Full-size Suchominus are believed to reach measurements of about 35 feet long and a weight of up to 5 tons. The carnivorous creature ate a diet that consisted of meat and fish. The dinosaur was outfitted with a sail on its lower back that measured two feet. It also possessed adaptations that made it easier for it to catch fish, such as a long snout and thumb claws that measured a foot long. Inside of the crocodilian snout, the dinosaur had rows of backward-pointing teeth.
Borogovia
While some dinosaurs are named after their physical characteristics and others after the person that discovered their fossil, the Borogovia has ties to the literary world. The bipedal meat eater was named after the borogoves ”“ creatures mentioned in the poem titled ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll.