Re: [dinosaur] Keresdrakon, new pterosaur from Cretaceous of Brazil (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


I may put together a longer post on the topic of names.

The bottom line here is Neo-Latin is distinct from classical Greek and
Latin. Simply put, Neo-Latin in nomenclature is shaped by usage and there
are many examples (even dating back to Linnaeus) of forming names in
non-classical ways.

In the case of Greek keressiphanetos, the first part is an epic dative
plural keressi of Keres "by the Keres" combined with the singular
adjectival participle form phoretos "carried" (from Greek phero "carry,
bear").

There were also some similar words with a dative plural such as  oresibates
or oressibates "roaming in the mountains" with a plural dative (oresi or
oressi (poetic)) of Greek oros "mountain."

For all the meanings of the dative in Ancient Greek, see:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Dative-5Fcase&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=_--0mD7mIS4HyrCsMZzjCve257nhnB1BiqDyjPsS64c&s=KOskk4Vte0c7o0AykkuvMv1tAT8Wq85dtpCkj2_A5Ss&e= 

In both Greek and Latin, the dative could sometimes be used to show
possession.

So "Keressidrakon"  with a plural dative maybe could mean "dragon to the
Keres" but  this is getting pretty elaborate.

There are many examples in Neo-Latin zoological names in paleontology in
which two nouns are combined without modifying the ending of the first word.

Mosasaurus Conybeare, 1822 meant as "the saurus of the Meuse" [Latin Mosa]

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__books.google.com_books-3Fid-3DyGkPAAAAYAAJ-26q-3DMosasaurus-23v-3Dsnippet-26q-3DMosasaurus-26f-3Dfalse&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=_--0mD7mIS4HyrCsMZzjCve257nhnB1BiqDyjPsS64c&s=NrvDjKfm5Z5Jeb2m1z3V6xmOvYemKXJKCCce16G6-Lk&e= 

 J. Parkinson. 1822. Outlines of Oryctology. An Introduction to the Study
of Fossil Organic Remains; Especially of Those Found in the British Strata:
Intended to Aid the Student in His Inquiries Respecting the Nature of
Fossils viii-350

It gets a bit messy because Parkinson changed the spelling to Mosaesaurus
(using a genitive "of the Meuse") in later editions of the book.

Edward Drinker Cope also combined nouns in the nominative case in names
such as: Camarasaurus "chambered lizard" from Greek kamara "vault, chamber"
(having chambered vertebrae); Platecarpus "oar-wrist" from Greek plate
"oar" + karpos "wrist" (for the shape of the bones); Thecachampsa "sheath
(tooth) crocodile" Greek theke (or theka) "sheath" + khampsa "crocodile"
(for the hollowed out conical interior of the teeth). Note, though, that
the first word ends in a vowel.

Other examples include Confuciusornis, Xiphosura, etc., where  for ease of
pronunciation or clarity of etymology, a first noun is left unmodified with
a grammatical ending intact with a consonant before a vowel.

In principle, I don't see much difference in combining the nominative
plural Keres "spirits of death"  (to preserve a meaning distinct from
singular Ker "goddess of death") with singular drakon, except that there is
not a vowel ending on the first word.

However, Greek had amphisbaina  (amphisbaena) for serpent that could go
forward or backward with a head at each end, and mysphonon "mousetrap" with
an s retained.

The plural + singular combination is unusual but I suspect there are other
examples in Neo-Latin generic names. (None come to mind immediately,
though...)

Note that in species names, the ICZN requires that multi-word species names
for places, etc., be spelled as a single word.

Names like Keresdrakon, Camarasaurus, Platecarpus, etc.,  with grammatical
endings on the first part retained could be considered syntactic compounds
rather than stem-formed compounds that use the stem form (without a
grammatical ending) and a connecting vowel (o or i).

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On Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 1:31 AM Tim Williams <[email protected]> wrote:

> I take your point, and the inspiration behind the name _Keresdrakon_
> is impressive.  However, I'm wary of names that look like two (or
> more) nouns stuck together without any attempt to link them.   The
> theropod name _Notatesseraeraptor_ (nota + tesserae +  raptor =
> feature + mosaic stones + robber) is a case in point, and one of the
> worst examples in recent memory: the name fails to convey the intended
> meaning ('predator with an intermixture/mosaic of features').   Not
> that I want to directly compare _Keresdrakon_ with a nomenclatural
> disaster like  _Notatesseraeraptor_.  I also understand why
> "Kerodrakon" or "Kerdrakon" might fall afoul in Brazilian Portuguese,
> in light of the local meaning of kero/ker.  :-)
>
> Could _Keresdrakon_ have been "Keressidrakon" or something similar,
> rather than simply Keres + drakon?  Etymologically speaking, does
> _Keresdrakon_ express the intended meaning?  (Not a criticism, I'm
> genuinely curious - Ben, Borja...?)
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 21, 2019 at 8:53 PM Borja Holgado <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Ben, thank you quick and fine clarification.
> >
> > As co-author of the paper, we intentionally used the plural and the
> translation ought to be "the dragon of the Keres". As a funny fact, "Kero"
> or "Ker" are homophones of "I want" or "you/he want(s)" in Brazilian
> Portuguese (respectively)... and I am not sure if Brazilian people would
> like this dragon for breakfast or dinner!
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Borja
> >
> > Missatge de Ben Creisler <[email protected]> del dia dc., 21 d’ag.
> 2019 a les 2:58:
> >>
> >>
> >> Neo-Latin is what usage makes it, so a syntactic compound (rather than
> a stem-based compound) with a plural  and a singular might be OK. In the
> singular, Ker meant the goddess of death, so using the stem ker- or kero-
> might not convey the idea intended with the plural Keres.
> >>
> >> Ker goddess of death
> >>
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.perseus.tufts.edu_hopper_text-3Fdoc-3DPerseus-253Atext-253A1999.04.0057-253Aentry-253D-2Akh-252Fr&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=mFidexcLxqwzT6bZgT04ZKrzbSBwu1dNO8TaFUZPlps&e=
> >>
> >>
> >> Greek had a compound:
> >> keressiphoretos  "urged on by the Keres"
> >>
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.perseus.tufts.edu_hopper_text-3Fdoc-3DPerseus-253Atext-253A1999.04.0058-253Aentry-253D-2Akhressifo-252Frhtos&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=YHghO-z4Vbyf5S6Rp8MbR1sn54swjx_9QF0GxefwB84&e=
> >>
> >>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lsj.gr_wiki_-25CE-25BA-25CE-25B7-25CF-2581-25CE-25B5-25CF-2583-25CF-2583-25CE-25B9-25CF-2586-25CF-258C-25CF-2581-25CE-25B7-25CF-2584-25CE-25BF-25CF-2582&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=N09sHBWProazstmoVACrTTiMMOCE4UmuDEM9FT7UPwY&e=
> >>
> >> Virus-free. www.avg.com
> >>
> >> On Tue, Aug 20, 2019 at 7:18 PM Tim Williams <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> The name (_Keresdrakon_) is odd.  It's named after the Keres, the
> "deathspirits who personified violent death in Greek mythology and are
> associated to doom and/or plunder".  It's a great idea to name a pterosaur
> after the Keres - nothing wrong here.  However, "Keres" is plural.  The
> singular is "Ker".   "_Keresdrakon_" looks very 'cut-and-paste'.  The name
> would perhaps be more appropriately rendered as "Kerdrakon" or
> "Kerodrakon".  (Ben - any comments?)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Wed, Aug 21, 2019 at 1:47 AM Ben Creisler <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Ben Creisler
> >>>> [email protected]
> >>>>
> >>>> A new paper in open access:
> >>>>
> >>>> Free pdf:
> >>>>
> >>>> Keresdrakon vilsoni gen. et sp. nov.
> >>>>
> >>>> Alexander W.A. Kellner, Luiz C. Weinschütz, Borja Holgado, Renan A.M.
> Bantim & Juliana M. Sayão (2019)
> >>>> A new toothless pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from Southern Brazil
> with insights into the paleoecology of a Cretaceous desert.
> >>>> Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 91, suppl.2: e20190768
> >>>> doi:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__dx.doi.org_10.1590_0001-2D3765201920190768&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=m3i255MnFpriQn06WksgSk5QJEyi-e0K-ink8dkXUFE&e=
> .
> >>>>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.scielo.br_scielo.php-3Fscript-3Dsci-5Fabstract-26pid-3DS0001-2D37652019000400517-26lng-3Den-26nrm-3Diso-26tlng-3Den&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=ostglfzz-DhE1zR4zudmI4VlMIo4vc_djENCzXaAbEA&e=
> >>>>
> >>>> Free pdf:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.scielo.br_pdf_aabc_v91s2_0001-2D3765-2Daabc-2D91-2Ds2-2De20190768.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=ml6wIdrISjKrvQRTyUEcNCEnvDDZzZ6v0982TFCTCxI&e=
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> The first pterosaur bone bed from Brazil was reported in 2014 at the
> outskirts of the town Cruzeiro do Oeste, Paraná State, in the Southern
> region of the country. Here named 'cemitério dos pterossauros' site, these
> outcrops were referred to the Goio-Erê Formation (Turonian-Campanian) of
> the Caiuá Group (Bauru Basin) and revealed the presence of hundreds of
> isolated or partially articulated elements of the tapejarine pterosaur
> Caiuajara and fewer amounts of a theropod dinosaur. Here we present a new
> tapejaromorph flying reptile from this site, Keresdrakon vilsoni gen. et
> sp. nov., which shows a unique blunt ridge on the dorsal surface of the
> posterior end of the dentary. Morphological and osteohistological features
> indicate that all recovered individuals represent late juveniles or
> sub-adults. This site shows the first direct evidence of sympatry in
> Pterosauria. The two distinct flying reptiles coexisted with a theropod
> dinosaur, providing a rare glimpse of a paleobiological community from a
> Cretaceous desert.
> >>>>
> >>>> ====
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> News (in Portuguese):
> >>>>
> >>>>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__g1.globo.com_sc_santa-2Dcatarina_noticia_2019_08_20_pesquisadores-2Dde-2Dsc-2Ddescobrem-2Dnova-2Despecie-2Dde-2Dpterossauro-2De-2Dbatizam-2Dde-2Ddragao-2Despirito-2Dda-2Dmorte.ghtml&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=Tx0MvRh9fZJEvF5uqYFxMirSKnxIRpZsvQCZMQ7fa9A&e=
> >>>>
> >>>>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nsctotal.com.br_noticias_pesquisadores-2Dde-2Dsc-2Dapresentam-2Dnova-2Despecie-2Dfossil-2Dde-2Dpterossauro-2Dreptil-2Dvoador-2Dde-2D80&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=10xVOP-5oLqszdKCrRTYQTxgdpRuPYRfqmZOJ7oetIU&e=
> >>>>
> >>>>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.jmais.com.br_unc-2Dparticipa-2Dde-2Ddescoberta-2Dhistorica-2Dem-2Dcruzeiro-2Ddo-2Doeste_&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=Bun60-aZnVV3zgq7CNDix-6JzA00F_MqiAWqllccvjI&s=WH-eTm7VLRmQeGMVCed8SSzlFXnIYU-pvXSxmxFCk-o&e=
> >>>>
> >>>> Virus-free. www.avg.com
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Borja Holgado, PhD student
> > Laboratory of Systematics and Taphonomy of Fossil Vertebrates
> > Department of Geology and Paleontology
> > Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
> > Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ,
> Brazil
>

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