Re: Don't leave the girls out (was FW: Dinosaur Exhibit)

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/2/99 12:47:46 PM EST, NJPharris writes:

<< _Mononykus_ is, IMHO, a misspelling, as k and ch are two distinct sounds 
in Greek.  The name really should have been _Mononyx_ from the beginning. >>

As you know, _Mononykus_ started out as _Mononychus_--which in your etymology 
would translate as "having one claw" or "being one-clawed"--but because 
_Mononychus_ was a preoccupied name the name was respelled--or, so to speak, 
intentionally misspelled--_Mononykus_. _Mononyx_ would translate as "one 
claw" and is, I believe, not a preoccupied name. So if you want to use the 
name for a dinosaur, simply find an appropriate but as yet unnamed specimen, 
describe it, and name it.