Images of dinosaurs with their names. Dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurs are the most famous dinosaur species.

It is no secret that during the existence of our planet the world of flora and fauna has changed several times. Dinosaurs did not survive to our times, but their existence is confirmed by numerous excavations.

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Types of dinosaurs, their classification

Paleontologists claim that dinosaurs inhabited our planet for over a hundred million years. Scientists came to such conclusions after many years of excavations, which allowed them to invade the bowels of the earth and find numerous remains of giant birds and animals there. What was the reality in those days, one can only guess.

Today we will take a closer look at what varieties of dinosaurs are, and what information about them is available today. In general, when you start to be interested in these animals, it is amazing how much paleontologists know, and no one has ever seen these animals with their own eyes. Now these are the heroes of horror films, fairy tales for children, and so on, it is thanks to the artists that we have a clear idea of ​​​​how such unusual creatures really looked like. Very often different dinosaurs are compared to dragons.

Scientists, unfortunately, have not been able to come to a unanimous conclusion why dinosaurs suddenly died out on our planet. Although not only dinosaurs disappeared in that era, but also many inhabitants underwater world. One theory says that it is not the Earth that has changed dramatically climatic conditions, and dinosaurs could not live in a new environment, so one by one they began to die. The second theory (more realistic) says that 65 million years ago a huge asteroid crashed into our planet, which destroyed many earthly creatures.

We will not go into details about why huge creatures disappeared from the face of the Earth, it will be much more interesting to talk about what paleontologists know today. And they know a lot, from the remains they managed to establish which dinosaurs existed, to report approximately how many species there were, and also to give them certain names.

For the first time, the English biologist Richard Owen spoke about dinosaurs, it was he who called animals by this term (by the way, “dinosaur” is translated from Greek as a terrible lizard). Until 1843, scientists did not put forward theories about the existence of dinosaurs. Their remains were attributed to either dragons or other giant mythical animals.

Now the list of species is simply huge and each genus has its own name. For example, you will be interested to know what are the two largest and most ancient groups of these animals. Maybe the names will seem funny to someone, but these are lizard and ornithischian creatures. Next, we list the most famous and, in our opinion, the main species or types of dinosaurs. Do not be surprised that representatives of the most famous breeds could perfectly swim, fly, and not just move on land. A lot of information was studied by scientists before they could draw conclusions that dinosaurs can be divided into such groups:

• predatory;
• herbivores;
• flying;
• water.

Paleontologists knew exactly how to distinguish one type from another, they carried out more and more research, as a result of which the world learned about trinosaurs, ichthosaurs, pliosaurs, tyrannosaurs, ornithocheirs and so on.

The exact number of species of dinosaurs that existed cannot be established, and it is unlikely that this will ever be known. There are many nuances in the study of fossils. The number of varieties is said to range from 250 to 550 and these numbers are constantly changing. For example, some species have only been identified from the excavation of a single tooth or vertebra. Over time, scientists realize that some species that were previously considered different can actually be attributed to the same thing. So no one can draw firm conclusions. Perhaps most types of dinosaurs exist only in the fantasy of paleontologists and other sensationalists. But since these huge creatures have disappeared from our planet, it means that it was necessary. Nothing happens by chance, and especially the extinction of real giant predators.

Swimming dinosaur: myth or reality?

Paleontologists say that aquatic dinosaurs did exist. To be honest, the population of the seas and oceans in those days was not so harmless. Aquatic fish dinosaurs would happily eat everyone. And they can not even compare with the most dangerous sharks today. The sizes of monsters exceeded the sizes of modern whales. Huge animals could happily eat, for example, another dinosaur, which, by chance, was at the wrong time in the wrong place. Some fish grew up to 25 m (for comparison, a standard nine-story building is 30 m).

Sea monsters were classified as follows:

• plesiosaurus (a long-necked creature that lived all the time under water, sometimes surfaced to breathe air or grab a flying bird);
• elasmosaurus weighed about 500 kg, had a small but movable head on a huge (8 m) neck;
• mosasaurs lived in the seas and oceans, but moved a little like a snake;
• ichthyosaurs are very warlike and bloodthirsty animals that lived and hunted in packs. There were practically no insurmountable obstacles for them;
• the notosaurus led a dual lifestyle (on land and in water), eating small creatures and fish;
• Liopleurodon lived exclusively in aquatic environment, could hold their breath for several hours, dive to the depths and hunt there;
• Shonisaurus is a completely harmless reptile that was an excellent hunter and fed on mollusks, octopuses, and squids.

Very little is known about the existence of two-headed creatures, many types of dinosaurs were with long claws that helped them move faster. Some types of large marine inhabitants were:

• with a collar around the neck;
• with a hood;
• with a crest on the back (sometimes with two crests);
• with spikes;
• with a tuft on his head;
• with a mace on the tail.

Herbivorous dinosaurs: their classification

This is most likely the most peaceful species of huge creatures. They quietly chewed weed, were happy and entered the fight solely for the purpose of self-defense. Rarely have herbivorous creatures attacked first. At the same time, dinosaurs of this type were not at all weak, defenseless animals. A powerful skeleton, huge horns, a tail with a mace, unrealistically huge sizes, strong limbs that could immediately strike on the spot - all these are the characteristics of completely peaceful animals.

There were several types of herbivorous creatures:

• stegosaurus - they had peculiar combs on their bodies, chewed grass, from time to time swallowed stones to improve digestion;
• euplocephalus, which was covered with spikes, a bone shell and had a mace on its tail. This is a truly terrible monster;
• brachiosaurus - could eat about a ton of greens in just a day;
• triceratops had beaks, horns, lived in herds, easily defended themselves from enemies;
• hadrosaurs were quite large, but very vulnerable, it is still a mystery how they survived.

This is not a complete list of species of grass dinosaurs.

carnivorous dinosaurs

Yet most dinosaurs were predators by nature. They had a powerful body structure, huge teeth, horns, shells. All this allowed animals to rise above other living beings, often dinosaurs fought with their relatives. The strongest always won, there was no question of any family ties. Tyrannosaurus rex was considered the most popular predator, you can find a lot about it interesting information, watch the video. Tirex is the hero of many horror films, because this born hunter was really scary, disgusting, ruthless, bloodthirsty.

Dinosaur with a long neck (name and species)

Among herbivorous, marine and predatory species, there were breeds that were distinguished by unrealistically long necks. For example, diplodocus is a herbivore creature whose neck consisted of 15 vertebrae. He could easily get branches from the tallest trees.

Flying species or dinosaur birds did indeed have wings, scales, sometimes even feathers. A feature of these creatures were huge very sharp teeth, which cannot be said about modern birds. These are pterodactyls, pterosaurs, archeopteryxes. Ornithocheirus was the size of a small plane, had a light skeleton, a crest on its beak. Such "birds" lived near large reservoirs.

Quite informative, and also interesting to read about the inhabitants of the Jurassic period, isn't it? At that time, the population of the Earth was completely different, terrible and incomprehensible to us, its modern inhabitants.

The origin of dinosaurs has been one of the most poignant mysteries and discussions of the last century. But even now, extremely little is known about these lizards. What were they like? Can the dinosaur be considered the "king of nature" and the top of the food chain of its period?

These and many other questions have not yet been answered. Even those fragments of information that archaeologists and paleontologists managed to collect are based more on the analysis of fossils and theories built around the principles of life of similar organisms.

Many species of dinosaurs are still only superficially studied, and therefore there is no need to talk about a sufficient knowledge base on this issue.

Basic classification of dinosaurs

The difference between dinosaur species is dictated by habitat, food preferences, dietary habits, and even class.

Some names come directly from the names of the discoverers, as well as the territories where the skeleton of one or another pangolin was first found.

The type of dinosaur also varied significantly depending on which predator dominated the region. Yes, to

for example, huge diplodocus were perfectly protected from small aggressors, for example, deinocheirs, but not only hunted for the young of this subspecies of herbivores, it literally threatened their population.

In general, dinosaurs can be divided into 4 classes:

• Predators.
• Herbivores.
• Flying.
• Water.

However, some dinosaurs managed to combine several classes in their specificity.

Predators

The class of predators includes several subspecies, which can be conditionally grouped into two categories: large and flocking.

The class of the first, for example, can be attributed to "Tyrex", in other words, a tyrannosaurus rex. He was one of the most famous predators of his period, which is about 65 million years ago.

This dinosaur, like its fellows, is characterized by a solitary lifestyle with hunting mainly for large game. With a fangs length of 15-19 centimeters, it was not a problem for this lizard to bite through even the strong shell of a stegosaurus or to come together in a fight with a triceratops.

Its name even contains a direct reference to the reputation of the lizard - namely, the prefix "tee", whose entomology is close to "terror", which translates as "horror".

Allosaurus, Dilaphosaurus, Carnotaurus and Megalosaurus should also be attributed to the same kind of dinosaurs.

The latter species are quite characteristic, but the complete skeleton of this lizard has never been found.

pack predators distinguished by considerable intelligence and hunted mainly young growth of large herbivorous dinosaurs and sick loners.

Could not only coordinate their actions within the pack, they were in contact with

other representatives through sound effects. If the brain of an average stegosaurus reached the size of a walnut, then in a velociraptor it was already the size of a large orange.

Distinctive feature This type of dinosaur is a large claw on the first toe of the hind paw, through which hunting took place.

Velociraptor jumped on the back of its prey, after which it tried to break the spine or inflict wounds leading to blood loss. This species of dinosaurs is characterized by hunting in a pack, the type of which is similar to the actions of wolves.

Herbivores

The class "herbivores" has several subspecies. Most often they are named according to the names of several of the most famous representatives (Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Diplodocus).

At one time, the last of those mentioned was for the entire period of the existence of lizards. Its length from the nose to the tip of the tail reached 30 meters.

Ultrasaurus was supposed to be the new record holder, but, as in the case of Megalosaurus, a complete lizard skeleton has not been found. This species is characterized by huge sizes, even the “smaller” of them, namely the Apatosaurus reached a record 22 meters.

A dinosaur called Triceratops was not in danger of a head-on fight. Like modern rhinoceros, this dinosaur crushed the enemy with horns, although they were present in the amount of three pieces, and the neck of the lizard was covered by a bone “collar”, which also served to regulate heat transfer.

Stegosaurs and brontosaurs preferred defense to attack. Such dinosaurs just had to stand on their feet, huddle together and patiently wait out the attack. Their backs are tightly protected by a horny shell.

The stegosaurus also had spikes at the tip of its tail, with which the lizard skillfully defended itself from small aggressors.

One of the heaviest dinosaurs, namely the brontosaurus, had a heavy bone mace at the end of the tail, which could easily break through the skull, for example, of a velociraptor.

Aquatic

Aquatic dinosaurs are almost completely represented by the predator class. The largest of them, namely the plesiosaur, according to a number of scientists, may well be the same. The length of his neck reached 11-15 meters.

Mosasaurus and Ichthyosaurus are named as the ancestors of modern dolphins.

Pliosaurus, also known as "predator x", was the most aggressive. This dinosaur is characterized by attacks, including on its own relatives. It is likely that killer whales are the heirs of the pliosaurus. Most of these lizards became extinct after average temperature water began to fall as a result of the offensive ice age.

flying

Some flying dinosaurs later evolved into birds, others remained a subclass of their own, but they posed a serious threat to their habitat and deserve a mention.

He hunted insects (the size of which reached 2 meters during the existence of the lizard) and he himself was far from small. It was in his skeleton that the remains and traces of the feather cover were found, after which the origin of modern birds from this subspecies was proved.

The second subclass, represented by pterodactyl, had a wooly coat and huge leathery wings. Dinosaurs of this species are characterized by a diet of fish, fruits and insects.

Each type of dinosaur was distinguished by its own specifics and features. Such a concise description is not capable of giving a full assessment of them, but it is sufficient for the primary one. At one time, dinosaurs were a huge force, but later lost the battle to nature and even mammals, losing the championship once and for all.

Dinosaur species of this group lived in the late Jurassic on the territory of modern North America about 150 million years ago. Paleontologists consider diplodocus to be one of the most easily identifiable dinosaurs. Moreover, this species is the largest of all dinosaurs known from complete skeletons found. Diplodocus were herbivores, and their huge size was a deterrent to the predatory lizards of those times - ceratosaurs and allosaurs.

Allosaurus - a thunderstorm of diplodocus!

Within the framework of this article, we will not be able to consider all types of dinosaurs with names, so we will only turn to the most prominent and famous representatives of these legendary giants. One of them is the Allosaurus. This is a member of the genus predatory dinosaurs from the theropod group. Like diplodocus, allosaurs existed in the Jurassic period about 155 million years ago.

These creatures walked on their hind legs and had very small forelimbs. On average, these lizards reached a length of 9 meters and a height of 4 meters. Allosaurs were considered large bipedal predators of the time. The remains of these insidious creatures were found on the territory of modern Southern Europe, East Africa and North America.

Ichthyosaurs - legendary fish lizards

They represent an extinct order of large marine reptiles reaching a length of 20 meters. Outwardly, these lizards resembled modern fish and dolphins. Their distinguishing feature was big eyes protected by a bone ring. In general, at a short distance, ichthyosaurs could well be mistaken for fish or dolphins.

The origin of these creatures is still in question. Some paleontologists believe that they come from diapsids. This version is supported only by conjecture: apparently, the shoot of ichthyosaurs somehow branched off from the main diapsid stem even before this subclass split into archosaurs and lepidosaurs. However, the ancestors of these fish lizards are still not known. Ichthyosaurs died out about 90 million years ago.

Dinosaurs take to the sky

In the end Triassic period the first flying species of dinosaurs appeared on the planet, which appeared unexpectedly in the fossil record. Curiously, they were already fully formed. Their direct ancestors, from which they developed all this time, are unknown.

All Triassic pterosaurs belong to the Rhamphorhynchus group: these creatures had huge heads, toothy mouths, long and narrow wings, and a long and thin tail. The size of these "leather birds" varied. Pterosaurs, as they were called, were mostly the size of both gulls and hawks. Of course, among them were 5-meter giants. Pterosaurs died out about 65 million years ago.

Tyrannosaurs are the most famous dinosaur species.

The list of ancient lizards would be incomplete if we did not mention the most majestic dinosaur of all times and eras - the tyrannosaurus rex. It's insidious and dangerous creature fully justifies its name. This creature represents a genus from the coelurosaur group and theropod suborder. It includes a single species - a tyrannosaurus rex (from the Latin language "rex" is a king). Tyrannosaurs, like allosaurs, were bipedal predators with massive skulls and sharp teeth. The limbs of Tyrannosaurus Rex were a complete physiological contradiction: massive hind legs and tiny hook-shaped forepaws.

Tyrannosaurus is largest view within their own family, as well as one of the largest terrestrial predatory lizards in the entire history of our planet. The remains of this animal were found in the west of modern North America. According to scientists, they lived about 65 million years ago, that is, it was in their century that the death of the entire dynasty of ancient lizards occurred. It was the tyrannosaurs that crowned the entire great era of dinosaurs, which ended during the Cretaceous period.

Feathered heritage

It is no secret to many people that birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs. Paleontologists saw in the external and internal structure Birds and dinosaurs have a lot in common. It should be remembered that birds are descendants of land lizards - dinosaurs, and not flying lizards - pterosaurs! Currently, two subclasses of ancient reptiles are "hanging in the air" because their ancestors and exact origins have not been established by paleontologists. The first subclass is the ichthyosaurs and the second is the turtles. If we have already dealt with ichthyosaurs above, then nothing is clear at all with turtles!

Are turtles amphibians?

And therefore it is clear that, considering such a topic as "Types of dinosaurs", one cannot fail to mention these animals. The origin of the turtle subclass is still shrouded in mystery. True, some zoologists still believe that they originated from anapsids. However, they are opposed by other pundits who are sure that turtles are the descendants of some ancient amphibians. And they do not depend on other reptiles at all. If this theory is confirmed, then a big breakthrough will occur in the science of zoology: it may happen that turtles will not have the slightest relation to reptiles at all, because then they will become ... amphibians!

Dinosaurs are the most numerous, diverse, and most famous order of extinct that have lived on Earth for over 150 million years. Mesozoic era in the history of the development of our planet is often called the era of dinosaurs. It was they who became the ancestors of modern.
These extraordinary lizards existed on all continents and were very diverse. Along with the giant brachiosaurs, there were small, chicken-sized Compsognathae.
Some species were - hunted or collected carrion. Others were herbivores - they ate plants and swallowed stones.
Prehistoric dinosaurs lived in pairs, laid eggs and raised offspring.
Depending on the species, they moved in different ways - on four or two legs. Some pangolins swam or tried to fly. Life in those prehistoric times was full of dangers, and dinosaurs had to fight, to escape persecution, to be able to hide well. Therefore, the structure and appearance dinosaurs is extremely diverse. Their torsos, heads, tails are covered with leathery scales, armored plates, spikes of various sizes and configurations. These are not only elements of intimidation of the enemy, but also protective measures or additional weapons in a cruel and merciless struggle for existence.
It has been 65 million years since these amazing animals became extinct. Until now, scientists cannot confidently name the reason that caused such a catastrophe. The memory of dinosaurs was preserved by stones, or rather, fossils. It is from the fossilized remains of animals and plants that scientists find during excavations that we learned about the existence of ancient pangolins. The researchers were able not only to restore the skeletons of these amazing ones, but also to reconstruct their life.
All known types of dinosaurs were classified, grouped into families and groups according to the existing identical hallmarks. The main division occurs according to the composition of the pelvic bones into two orders - lizard and ornithischian.
Within each group there are animals moving on four and two limbs, giant individuals and very small, herbivores and predators.
In addition, the groups differ in the structure of the jaws and teeth, which is associated with a difference in nutrition.
Representatives of the lizards, for example, could not chew food, they swallowed it. Among the representatives of this species there were both herbivores and predators.
The ornithischian species consisted exclusively of herbivores. By the 21st century, researchers were able to give descriptions of more than 500 genera. prehistoric dinosaurs and 1000 species on all continents. The annual finds of paleontologists replenish the already existing list of dinosaurs with new finds.
giant size herbivorous dinosaurs, having a long neck and a huge strong tail, are united in the order of sauropods, which is divided into smaller groups, for example, diplodocus. The theropods, which were bipedal predators, belong to the lizards, completely different from the diplodocus. This group includes allosaurs, tyrannosaurs, oviraltors and the first bird Archeopteryx.
Herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs are divided into three main groups:
- ornithopods;
- horned dinosaurs;
- armored dinosaurs.
All the names of ancient lizards have Greek roots, like the term “dinosaurs”, which appeared in 1842 at the suggestion of the English scientist Richard Owen and translated from Greek means terrible lizards.
The largest were herbivorous reptiles from the group of diplodocus. Their length reached 30 meters, and the weight was generally fantastic - from 100 to 130 tons!
The most ferocious, terrible and dangerous predator prehistoric period was the tyrannosaurus. It differed not only in its gigantic frightening size, but also in the structure of the jaws, which did not cut, but tore, crushing and grinding the victim.

Each of us is familiar with the classic names of dinosaurs, such as the Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus), Apatosaurus (Apatosaurus) and the Tyrannosaurus Rex (Tyrannosaurus rex), which is often called simply Tirex (T. rex). These are widely known mesozoic fossils received at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, when they first began to be exhibited in museums.

But where did these names come from? And how less happened famous titles dinosaurs - Spinops, Bistahieversor and Pantydraco? Let's try to figure out what scientists are guided by when choosing official names for their favorite lizards >>

At the dawn of paleontology, the issue was solved simply - by adding to keyword the Greek ending is saurus (–saurus), that is, in fact, a lizard. The very first dinosaur to receive an official name back in 1824 was the Megalosaurus, or "huge lizard". True, the next dinosaur in 1825 was named Iguanodon, that is, literally "iguana tooth". But still, the vast majority of dinosaurs that became famous in the 19th century received names ending in -saurus.

The very first part of a typical dinosaur name, traditionally derived from Latin or Greek roots, usually emphasizes the main feature of ancient animals. For example, when in 1877 Yale University paleontologist O.C. Marsh coined the name Stegosaurus, which means "roof lizard", he proceeded from the later erroneous assumption that the dorsal plates of this dinosaur formed a fragile outer cover. Another godson of Marsh - Triceratops (Triceratops) - also has a description of his own appearance, contained in the name. After all, the name given to him in 1889 literally translates as "three-horned muzzle." Indeed, you will not confuse it with any other dinosaur.

However, some names of dinosaurs have rather strange meanings. Despite the fact that the Allosaurus was the dominant predator and even the hero of many movies, its name simply translates as "another lizard". Probably, according to the first specimen found, it became clear to the paleontologists who studied it that this animal was different from those found earlier.

Some dinosaur skeletons, by the way, can also receive proper names in addition to specific ones. The Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) is home to a Tirex named Sue ("Sue"), and the National Museum of Natural History (Washington) is home to the Triceratops Hatcher ("Hatcher"). In general, the same nomenclature rules are used in the taxonomy of dinosaurs as in other animals. First comes the name of the genus - for example, Brontosaurus, and after it - the name of the species: excelsus. From time to time, paleontologists find new species belonging to an already known genus. For example, Velociraptor mongoliensis was found back in 1924, and in 2008 another species of the same genus, Velociraptor osmolskae, was described.

For many paleontologists, choosing the name of an ancient animal is a serious matter. "Choosing a name for a new species of dinosaur has always been a difficult task for me," says Lindsay Zanno, a paleontologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. After all, these names play a big role not only for the communication of researchers. Dinosaurs have their own, and quite significant, niche in pop culture, and interesting, bright name is a great way to keep the audience interested. "A well-chosen name will spark interest, bringing extinct species to life in the collective imagination," adds Dr. Zanno.

But even in the most serious business sometimes there is a place for stupidity. The long-necked dinosaur with muscular legs was named Brontomerus, which literally translates as "rumbling hips". This name was coined by Mike Taylor and colleagues in 2011. And in 2012, another paleontologist Michael Ryan, a paleontologist at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, examined with colleagues a sample that was thought to belong to a representative of the centrosaurus (Centrosaurus ), i.e. "spiked lizards". Scientists have found that in fact the sample belongs to another species, which they called the coronosaurus (Coronosaurus) - or "crowned lizard".

But, Ryan recalls, his colleague paleontologist Jim Gardner (Jim Gardner) called him broccoliceratops (Broccoliceratops) throughout the study because of the protrusions covered with tubercles on the ridge. "I'm sure Jim suggested the name just as a joke," Ryan recalls. "But it's very expressive."

However, sometimes such working nicknames given to an as yet undescribed dinosaur stick to it forever. This is what happened to Wendiceratops, described in the same place by Ryan and David Evans in 2015. The lizard received this nickname in honor of its discoverer Wendy Sloboda (Wendy Sloboda), and then it became the official scientific name of the animal.

Often, dinosaurs are named after the peoples or tribes in whose places of residence the find was made. In the 1980s, bones of duck-billed dinosaurs found in the Colville River region of Alaska were identified as the remains of Edmontosaurus (Edmontosaurus), a widespread and well-studied herbivore. Cretaceous. But last year, paleontologist Hirotsugu Mori and colleagues determined that the bones belonged to a different, previously undescribed species, which they named Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis. This name, translated from the Inuit language Inupiaq, means "an ancient animal that grazes on the Colville River."

This name was suggested by study co-author Patrick Druckenmiller. "He believed that the Alaska Native peoples knew that the bones belonged to a herbivorous reptile before they were found by scientists," Maury said.

Referring to human culture, and mythology in general, is very popular with paleontologists, Zanno says: "It's a way of linking science and imagination - two sides of the same coin, although we often don't realize it." As an example, Zanno cites a large oviraptorosaurus resembling a flightless parrot.

"It was clear that the name should emphasize its huge size, but in addition, I would like to take the audience to times long gone when our planet was a completely different, almost unimaginable world," the paleontologist explained. And he chose the name Hagryphus giganteus for the new animal, in which "the name of the Egyptian god of the western desert Kha and the name of the mythical griffin beast were combined." The species name at the same time testifies to the large size of the animals. "This is now my favorite combination," Zanno added.

There is no doubt that over time, science will be enriched with even more names - after all, paleontologists are constantly finding new dinosaurs. In fact, we are now living in a golden age of paleontological discoveries: the new kind dinosaurs are described on average every two weeks. And estimates of the number of fossils yet to be found suggest that we have discovered and described only a small fraction of all dinosaur species.

Gradually, the methods of coming up with names for new types of dinosaurs are changing. "My generation is probably the first that did not have to learn Greek and latin languages during training,” says Ryan. “Over time, ignorance of these languages ​​is growing and scientists are moving further and further away from the previous taxonomic traditions.”

All this, coupled with the fact that researchers are also influenced by pop culture, has led to a marked change in the names of dinosaurs. The crooked-toothed "vicious lizard" Masiakasaurus knopfleri in 2001 received a species name in honor of Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler (Mark Knopfler) - after all, the dinosaur remains were discovered to the music of this group.

Nevertheless, anatomical features, localities, and the names of the authors of the find, traditionally noted in the names, still play an important role in the naming of new species, both dinosaurs and other animals. “Researchers emphasize morphological features in the genus name, while the species name can be given in honor of some geographical object or person. But if you were to discover a new species of beetle with the sign of Superman on the abdomen, it would be difficult to resist giving it has an obvious name," Ryan concluded.

Sourced from Smithsonian.com