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Qilong — Beaky Crocs 2

Published: 2010-07-24 13:56:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 2305; Favourites: 36; Downloads: 79
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Description Hallopus victor (whose name means "leaping foot" with "winner" mixed in there -- Marsh wasn't the most brilliant nomenclator, although the name itself is very elegant to see, it's less meaningful in the details) was a fossil crocodilian from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Hallopus has historically been considered a dinosaur, and was originally named as a species of the now dubious "hypsilophodontan" Nanosaurus, as Nanosaurus victor before Marsh had the idea to look at its ankle; today, we know this ankle qualifies the animal as a crocodilian, and a few decades ago the form of the wrist and tibia suggested the material belonged to a grade of crocs called "sphenosuchians."

Hallopus is very similar to, and possibly synonymous with, Macelognathus ([link] ) from the same formation.
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Comments: 2

Brad-ysaurus [2010-07-28 00:33:07 +0000 UTC]

Why not simply call it "victorious leaping foot"? Actually, I never noticed before that the pes of this animal is rather incompletely known, nothing below the metatarsals. Maybe you do have a point about Marsh.

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Qilong In reply to Brad-ysaurus [2010-07-28 07:17:21 +0000 UTC]

Marsh had little idea how to form Latin/Greek oppositive structure in his nomenclature. Victor literally means "winner," or "one who conquers." With other Marsh constructions like ajax and excelsus, he's going for the word impact rather than the construction.

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