May 24, 2006
Draco is a Dinosaur!
Source: The Leaky Cauldron
A new species of dinosaur was discovered two years ago in South Dakota, US. Because of the spiky horns and bumps on it's skull, and the long muzzle and flat head, people thought it looked rather like a dragon. And so the name 'Dracorex Hogwartsia' was born.
Paleontologist, Dr Baker describes how the name came about:
"The creature is a very special dinosaur that seems at home in a "Harry Potter" adventure," explained Bakker. "It was a plant-eater, only about as heavy as the war horse of a medieval knight. And it carried an armor-plated head of almost magical configuration, covered with knobs and spikes, horns and crests. I was staring at the skull last summer, and the name just popped into my head, hogwartsia"
According to The Indy Star:
"Dracorex hogwartsia, a member of the pachycephalosaur family, honors Rowling's use of dragons in her wildly popular children's book series. The name comes from the Latin words draco (dragon), rex (king), and hogwartsia (after the fictional Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in "Harry Potter")."
JKR has recently commented on this unexpected honor:
"The naming of Dracorex hogwartsia is easily the most unexpected honour to have come my way since the publication of the Harry Potter books! I am absolutely thrilled to think that Hogwarts has made a small (claw?) mark upon the fascinating world of dinosaurs. I happen to know more on the subject of paleontology than many might credit, because my eldest daughter was Utahraptor-obsessed and I am now living with a passionate Tyrannosaurus rex-lover, aged three. My credibility has soared within my science-loving family, and I am very much looking forward to reading Dr. Bakker's paper describing 'my' dinosaur, which I can't help visualising as a slightly less pyromaniac Hungarian Horntail."
The dragon dinosaur has just been unveiled at The Children's Museum in Indianapolis.
Thanks to The Leakey Cauldron for the photo. You can see more views of the new Hogwarts dinosaur at the Leaky Cauldron galleries.
Posted by Madmaxime at May 24, 2006 04:39 PM