Dinosaurus

terrible lizard

• deinos · Greek · terrible / fearfully great
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name 'Dinosaurus' is formed from the Greek words 'deinos' (terrible or fearfully great) and 'sauros' (lizard), making it a Latinised form of the same roots used by Richard Owen when he coined the word 'Dinosauria' in 1842. The name was applied to a fragmentary reptile from Triassic deposits of Europe. Because the name is essentially a generic form of Owen's group name, it has long been regarded as a problematic and poorly supported genus.

Named by

Rütimeyer

Year named

1856

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Norian

Found in

Keuper beds, Germany / Central Europe

Dinosaurus is generally regarded as a nomen dubium — the fossil material is too fragmentary to confidently assign it to a well-defined taxon. It is not to be confused with the informal English word 'dinosaur'; this is an actual (if dubious) genus name coined independently. Some sources treat it as a possible archosaur or early dinosauriform rather than a true dinosaur.