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> Tongtianlong limosus — the name means “muddy dragon on the road to heaven” Did they name it after how they discovered it died? Ha. Imagine if species were g

by mfoy_ 10y ago

> Tongtianlong limosus — the name means “muddy dragon on the road to heaven” Did they name it after how they discovered it died? Ha. Imagine if species were given posthumous names based on how they were wiped out... Would Dodos would be "Eaten by sailors on a lonely island"?

harveywi 10y ago
> Would Dodos would be "Eaten by sailors on a lonely island"? That is precisely where the name came from; i.e. the accretions left behind by satiated sailors after feasting on the endangered birds. The Great Vowel Shift hides its etymological roots.
- cjensen 10y ago
  The vowel shift[1] finished around the time the Dodo was discovered[2], so that's a fun story but it's wrong. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo
  - jcranmer 10y ago
    It's also worth pointing out that the vowel sound of "oo" was basically the first vowel to shift in the Great Vowel Shift. So the spelling "doodoo" would have had its modern pronunciation as far back as the first claimed mention (an unsubstantiated claim in 1630s that the Portuguese found it in 1507), let alone when it was first credibly discovered (by the Dutch in 1598) or first mentioned in English (1628). Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia page also suggests that the birds weren't found to be particularly appetizing.
  - nilved 10y ago
    I think it was a joke.
    - cjensen 10y ago
      Perhaps... to cover my rear-end, I intentionally avoided assuming an intent and worded my post to comment only on the story itself.
      - nilved 10y ago
        Well played!
jonchang 10y ago
> Did they name it after how they discovered it died? Ha. Actually, yes! From the original manuscript: Tongtian, Chinese Pinyin, refers to Tongtianyan of Ganzhou, the first grotto south of the Yangtze River. Tongtian also means the road to heaven, a fitting epitaph for a deceased dinosaur preserved with outstretched arms. Long, Chinese Pinyin for dragon. Limosus, Latin for muddy, refers to the holotype specimen being found in an unusual posture in a mudstone.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago
  > Long, Chinese Pinyin for dragon It seems worth pointing out that long 龍 / 龙 is the word for a Chinese dragon, but konglong 恐龙 (character-by-character, "terrible dragon") is the word for "dinosaur".

by mfoy_ 10y ago

harveywi 10y ago

> Would Dodos would be "Eaten by sailors on a lonely island"? That is precisely where the name came from; i.e. the accretions left behind by satiated sailors after feasting on the endangered birds. The Great Vowel Shift hides its etymological roots.

cjensen 10y ago
The vowel shift[1] finished around the time the Dodo was discovered[2], so that's a fun story but it's wrong. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo
- jcranmer 10y ago
  It's also worth pointing out that the vowel sound of "oo" was basically the first vowel to shift in the Great Vowel Shift. So the spelling "doodoo" would have had its modern pronunciation as far back as the first claimed mention (an unsubstantiated claim in 1630s that the Portuguese found it in 1507), let alone when it was first credibly discovered (by the Dutch in 1598) or first mentioned in English (1628). Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia page also suggests that the birds weren't found to be particularly appetizing.
- nilved 10y ago
  I think it was a joke.
  - cjensen 10y ago
    Perhaps... to cover my rear-end, I intentionally avoided assuming an intent and worded my post to comment only on the story itself.
    - nilved 10y ago
      Well played!

jonchang 10y ago

> Did they name it after how they discovered it died? Ha. Actually, yes! From the original manuscript: Tongtian, Chinese Pinyin, refers to Tongtianyan of Ganzhou, the first grotto south of the Yangtze River. Tongtian also means the road to heaven, a fitting epitaph for a deceased dinosaur preserved with outstretched arms. Long, Chinese Pinyin for dragon. Limosus, Latin for muddy, refers to the holotype specimen being found in an unusual posture in a mudstone.

thaumasiotes 10y ago
> Long, Chinese Pinyin for dragon It seems worth pointing out that long 龍 / 龙 is the word for a Chinese dragon, but konglong 恐龙 (character-by-character, "terrible dragon") is the word for "dinosaur".