Polyonax

many master" or "ruling over many

• poly- · Greek · many
• onax (anax) · Greek · master, lord, ruler

The name combines the Greek prefix 'poly-' (many) and 'anax' (lord, master, ruler), yielding a sense of "lord of many" or "ruling over many." It was applied to suggest the great size and dominance of the animal. The name was coined by Edward Drinker Cope in the 19th century for large ceratopsian-like material from North America.

Named by

Cope

Year named

1875

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Colorado, USA

Polyonax mortuarius was named by Cope in 1875 on the basis of fragmentary ceratopsian material from Colorado. The material is too incomplete to be reliably diagnosed, and the genus is now generally considered a nomen dubium. Some historical references have tentatively associated it with Triceratops or other large ceratopsids, but no confident synonymy has been established.