We are excited to share a range of virtual resources and experiences to connect you with Tyrannosaurs - Meet the Family — from home!
FAMILY RESOURCES
Dino or Di-NO?
Even though dinosaurs have risen to fame in mainstream media, "dinosaurs" are only one group of many prehistoric animals that have lived on Earth. In this mini-series, play the Dino/Di-NO Game and visit some dinosaurs and non-dinosaurs at the Museum. Can you spot a Dino or a Di-NO?
What’s in a Name?
When scientists name any living thing, they break it down into categories based on how it relates to other organisms. The smallest two levels of this classification system, the genus and the species, are used as the scientific name for an organism. The genus comes first and is always capitalized, and the species comes second and is always lowercase. For example: Tyrannosaurus rex is the species rex within the genus Tyrannosaurus. This system is called binomial nomenclature and is used all over the world by scientists.
Each scientist who discovers a new dinosaur genus or species gets to decide the name. They might name it after a person, the place the fossil was found, or pick different words that describe the dinosaur. Whatever they choose is traditionally stylized in Latin to stay consistent. Below are a few examples of scientific names found in Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family and what they mean.
| Scientific Name | Genus Meaning | Species Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Guanlong wucaii | "Crown dragon" from Chinese 冠 (guan) “crown” and "龙 / 龍 (lóng) “dragon” | “Multicolored” from the Chinese 五彩 (wucaii), referring to the multicolored rocks of the 五彩灣 (Wucaiwan) where the species was discovered. |
| Teratophoneus curriei | “Monstrous murderer” from the Greek τέρας (teras) “monster” and φονεύς (phoneus) “murderer” | “Currie” (curriei) to honor Phillip J. Currie, a Canadian paleontologist |
| Tyrannosaurus rex | “Tyrant lizard” from the Greek τύραννος (tyrannos) "tyrant" and σαῦρος (sauros) "lizard" | “King” in Latin |
| Triceratops horridus | "Three horn face” from the Greek τρι (tri) “three,” κέρας (kéras) “horn,” and ὄψ (óps) “face” | “Rough texture” in Latin for the texture of the first bones discovered |
360 Virtual Exhibit Tour
In this virtual walkthrough of MPM’s Third Planet gallery, you’ll hear from MPM scientists, get close-up looks at behind-the-scenes artifacts, and unlock the secrets of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history.