RE: With Libratus and Gorgosaurus For All

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Tommy Bradley
>
> But as for the species name, _libratus_?  Some sources say it
> means "free,"
> but I am skeptical.  My source says _liberatus_ means "freed" (_liber_ =
> free; _atus_ = result of, state of, act of).  _libratus_ on the
> other hand is
> translated as "Balanced or poised" (_libra_ = "the scales" or a pair of
> scales; _atus_ = result of, state of, act of).
>
> Do any of you good people know what Lambe originally intended the name to
> mean?  Or at least better reference material then an old college edition
> dictionary?
>
If memory serves, Lambe uses libratus for "well-balanced" or "freely
moving". My copy of Lambe 1914 is at home, unfortunately, so I can't verify
that right now.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
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