# Tyrannosaurus Rex - 'Rex' ? Proper name?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303 "2004-01-27T18:12:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/1 "2004-01-27T18:12:16Z")
Is that the proper name for the Tyrannosaurus Rex, I think someone told me that the ‘Rex’ was wrong. Is it? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/2 "2004-01-27T18:58:27Z")
What do you mean by “proper name”? In sientific circles, it’s _Tyrannosaurus rex_ (note the italics and the lower case specific name). In abbreviated form, it would be _T. rex_. In _Jurassic Park_ circles, it’s “T-Rex” (probably about as close to a “common name” as you’re likely to find, since most dinosaurs are known to the public simply by their genus). But _rex_ is the proper specific name for the species. There are also other species of Tyrannosaurus (that is, within the genus _Tyrannosaurus_): _T. bataar_, _T. efremovi_, and possily _T. zhuchengensis_, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/3 "2004-01-27T19:10:24Z")
Just a WAG, but your friend might have been objecting to the hybrid Greek/Latin term. Tyrannos: (Greek) a lord and master Sauros: (Greek) lizard Rex: (Latin) a king Some people get in a twist over that kind of thing. FWIW, I’ve never seen the term being disputed, but my qualifications as a paleontologist are pretty much nil. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/4 "2004-01-27T19:25:04Z")
_Tyrannosaurus rex_ (king tyrant-lizard, in Latin) is the most widely accepted scientific name for the species, described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1905. “Rex” is the species name. Some other species have been proposed to belong to the same genus, including _Tyrannosaurus gigantus_ and _Tyrannosaurus stanwinstonorum_, but these are not generally regarded as valid. Also, as **Darwin’s Finch** mentions, some Asian species originally described in the genus _Tarbosaurus_ are sometimes placed in _Tyrannosaurus_, such as _Tyrannosaurus (Tarbosaurus) bataar_. Some fragmentary remains of a juvenile of what might possibly be the same species as T. rex were described earlier (1892), under the name _Aublysodon amplus_. If this were accepted, then this would be the proper name of the species. However, it has been decided that these fragments are not really identifiable, so that _Aublysodon_ becomes a '“nomen dubium” (uncertain name) and cannot be used. _Tyrannosaurus rex_ has officially been declared a “nomen conservandum,” (conserved name), which means it remains the official name even if new evidence comes to light about _Aublysodon._ Classification of _Tyrannosaurus rex_: [http://dinosauricon.com/genera/tyrannosaurus.html](http://dinosauricon.com/genera/tyrannosaurus.html) ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/5 "2004-01-27T19:55:09Z")
Well, technically, Tyrrannosaurus **R** ex is incorrect, even without going into cladistics, systematics and recent findings in paeontology. The genus name name is always capitalized, but the species name is always lower case. “T. rex” was a dinosaur. “T. Rex” was a influential rocker of the 70s (who may still be recording) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/6 "2004-01-27T20:24:26Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Just a WAG, but your friend might have been objecting to the hybrid Greek/Latin term. > > Tyrannos: (Greek) a lord and master > Sauros: (Greek) lizard > Rex: (Latin) a king > > Some people get in a twist over that kind of thing. > > FWIW, I’ve never seen the term being disputed, but my qualifications as a paleontologist are pretty much nil. **Kizarvexius** , your post about mixing languages, and those who get upset about it, reminds me of a passage from the novel by H. Beam Piper titled The Other Human Race. One character is objecting to the term “Fuzzyologist”, to be used in the description of those who study a species called Fuzzies. \*“I deplore that term, Mr. Grego. The suffix is Greek, from ‘logos’. Fuzzy is not a Greek word, and should not be combined with it.” “Oh rubbish, Ernst. We’re not speaking Greek; we’re speaking Lingua Terra(her Grego goes on to describe the evolution of their language, then he continues)And you’d better learn to like the term, because it’s your new title. Chief Fuzzyologist; fifteen per cent salary increase.” Mallin gave one of his tight little smiles. “For that, I believe I can condone a linguistic barbarism.”\* ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/7 "2004-01-28T00:28:07Z")
> [@KP](#): > > “T. Rex” was a influential rocker of the 70s (who may still be recording) Actually a band rather than an individual. They broke up following the death of the lead vocalist, Marc Bolan, in 1978. Between 1967 and ’70 they called themselves Tyrannosaurus Rex. Regarding the objectionable mixture of Greek and Latin, I remember a story about the newspaper editor who predicted that no good would come of the newly invented _television_ on the same grounds. But Merriam-Webster claims tyrannosaurus comes from New Latin. The source Greek words both end in _-os_ rather than _-us_. Can anyone confirm that Greek-derived components of taxonomic names are presumed to have been introduced via Latin rather than directly into our mother tongues from Greek? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/8 "2004-01-28T00:51:18Z")
New Latin is lexicographer code meaning “non-Latin word that someone has tacked a Latin inflection onto”. Ignore it and look at where the word really comes from. Minor trivia: _Tyrannosaurus rex_ is one of the few animals where the common, everyday name is the same as that of genus+species. The only other one I know of is _Boa constrictor_. I’m not a biologist, so there may be others I’m unaware of. But enough of these childish things. Don’t you guys know that Trex are for kids? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/9 "2004-01-28T03:59:35Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > There are also other species of Tyrannosaurus (that is, within the genus _Tyrannosaurus_): _T. bataar_, _T. efremovi_, and possily _T. zhuchengensis_, for example. To correct myself, _T. bataar_ is properly placed in the genus _Tarbosaurus_ - which is now consdiered valid, and not synonymous with _Tyrannosaurus_ after all. Other genera which _are_ considered synonymous with _Tyrannosaurus_, however, are _Dinotyrannus_, _Dynamosaurus_, _Manospondylus_, _Nanotyrannus_ and _Stygivenator_. _Aublsyodon_, as noted by **Colibri** , remains a _nomen dubium_, as the type specimen consists of but a few teeth (which most researchers feel are _Tyrannosaurus_ teeth anyway). Thus, it may be synonymous with _Tyrannosaurus_, or the teeth could belong to some other tyrannosaurid; the former case is the one most researchers accept, and many thus consider _Aublysodon_ to also be a synonym of _Tyrannosaurus_. ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/10 "2004-01-28T05:09:59Z")
IIRC taxonomy goes according to the “Latin Greek” formula to increase the names available and to make it clear to the scientists that something in Latin must be the genus while something in Greek must be the other bit. I speak neither language and am not a taxonomist. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/11 "2004-01-28T06:08:17Z")
The name doesn’t even have to be Latin (or Greek), it just has to be “Latinized” - usually by tacking on a Latin suffix or some such. Thus, we wind up with names like the afore mentioned _stanwinstonorum_ or any of the Chinese-named dinosaurs (like the also-aforementioned _T. zhuchengensis_). Besides which, many (if not most) dinosaur genera are derived from Greek, rather than Latin. And we also have critters like _Torvosaurus_ in which the name is a Greek and Latin composite (_torvus_ is Latin, while _sauros_ is Greek). _Velociraptor_ is one of the relatively rare “Latin only” dinosaur genera. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tyrannosaurus-rex-rex-proper-name/226303/12 "2004-01-28T19:41:24Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > Thus, it may be synonymous with _Tyrannosaurus_, or the teeth could belong to some other tyrannosaurid; the former case is the one most researchers accept, and many thus consider _Aublysodon_ to also be a synonym of _Tyrannosaurus_. And just to expand a little on what I said earlier, _Aublysodon_ is a somewhat unusual case of being a senior, rather than a junior, synonym. Although having been described earlier it would normally take precedence, even if a researcher fully accepts that it is the same as _Tyrannosaurus_, the latter, having been declared a _nomen conservandum,_ remains the official name. This happens in cases where a name has been so generally accepted for so long it is decided to retain it in the interest of stability in nomenclature, even if it goes against the strict rule of priority. This is probably what should have happened in the well known case of _Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus,_ but _nomen conservandum_ status has not been granted to _Brontosaurus._