How do you name a dinosaur?

Answer 1

The person who describes a new dinosaur (or a new species of anything) for the first time in the professional literature gets to name it. They usually use some derived Greek or Greek and Latin. (for example, "Tyranno-" means "king" in Greek, and "rex" means "king" in Latin).

Sometimes the names aren't very appropriate. Because it was smaller and didn't have the horns of the big horn-faced dinosaurs, "Protoceratops" was named as though it was a primitive form, but it actually lived at the same time as the others. One dinosaur was named "Oviraptor" or "egg thief" because the scientist thought it died while stealing the eggs of another dinosaur, but it was actually trying to protect its own eggs. One "dinosaur" was named "Basilosaurus" ("Basil" is yet another Greek word for "king") but it turned out to be a kind of whale.

Answer 2

There are many different ways to name a dinosaur. Some scientists use there name and put it in the dinosaurs name so it's named after them. Every now and then dinosaurs have to be renamed because that name is already taken. For example one dinosaur was given a name. But then the Scientists found out that name had already been used for a ... bug!

Answer 3

They dig up fossils.