The Discovery of Laelaps, 1866 [1871]

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11a. The Discovery of Laelaps, 1866 [1871]

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Othniel C. Marsh had the final word on Laelaps. In 1877 he pointed out that the name Laelaps was already in use for another animal before Cope used it for this one, and the name was therefore invalid. Marsh assigned it the new name of Dryptosaurus, a name it still wears. For a later restoration of Laelaps (Dryptosaurus), see Charles Knight's version of 1898.

Sources:

Cope, Edward D. "On the discovery of the remains of a gigantic dinosaur in the Cretaceous of New Jersey," in: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. 18 (1866), pp. 275-9.

Cope, Edward D. "Synopsis of the extinct batrachia, reptilia and aves of North America," in: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 14 (1871), pp. 1-152. These works are part of the Library Collections, but they are NOT on exhibit.

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