1) The taxon 'Dinosauria' was formally named in 1842 by Richard Owen to refer to the distinct group of large reptiles being recognized at the time.
2) The term comes from the Greek words "deinos" meaning terrible or powerful and "sauros" meaning lizard or reptile.
3) While dinosaurs were often thought of as fearsome due to their teeth and claws, Owen intended the name to evoke their large size and majesty.
1) The taxon 'Dinosauria' was formally named in 1842 by Richard Owen to refer to the distinct group of large reptiles being recognized at the time.
2) The term comes from the Greek words "deinos" meaning terrible or powerful and "sauros" meaning lizard or reptile.
3) While dinosaurs were often thought of as fearsome due to their teeth and claws, Owen intended the name to evoke their large size and majesty.
1) The taxon 'Dinosauria' was formally named in 1842 by Richard Owen to refer to the distinct group of large reptiles being recognized at the time.
2) The term comes from the Greek words "deinos" meaning terrible or powerful and "sauros" meaning lizard or reptile.
3) While dinosaurs were often thought of as fearsome due to their teeth and claws, Owen intended the name to evoke their large size and majesty.
by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen, who used it to refer to the "distinct tribe or sub- order of Saurian Reptiles" that were then being recognized in England and around the world.[1][2] The term is derived from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinos), meaning 'terrible, potent or fearfully great', and σαῦρος (sauros), meaning 'lizard or reptile'.[1] Though the taxonomic [3]
name has often been
interpreted as a reference to dinosaurs' teeth, claws, and other fearsome characteristics, Owen intended it merely to evoke their size and majesty.[4] Other prehistoric animals, including pterosaurs, mosas aurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosau rs, and Dimetrodon, while often popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, are not taxonomically classified as dinosaurs.[5] Pterosaurs are distantly related to dinosaurs, being members of the clade Ornithodira. The other groups mentioned are, like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, members of Sauropsida (the reptile and bird clade), except Dimetrodon (which is a synapsid).