"This dinosaur probably used its frill to attract mates, so the name made sense."ĭictionaries surmise that mojo has an African origin, perhaps related to moco'o ("medicine man") in the west African language of Fulani, or moco ("witchcraft, magic") in Gullah, a creolized language spoken off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia that retains many African elements. "I discovered that 'mojo' is an early 20th-century African-American term meaning a magic charm or talisman, often used to attract members of the opposite sex," he said. Surprisingly, he found that it was a perfect fit for the species, which sported a flamboyant, heart-shaped frill on its head. It was only after coming up with the unusual name that Longrich looked into its etymology. "I tried to come up with serious names after that, but Mojoceratops just sort of stuck.". "It was just a joke, but then everyone stopped and looked at each other and said, 'Wait - that actually sounds cool,' " said Longrich, a postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Over a few beers with fellow paleontologists one night, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind: Mojoceratops.
The press release from Yale University, the home institution of paleontologist Nicholas Longrich, tells the tale: When Nicholas Longrich discovered a new dinosaur species with a heart-shaped frill on its head, he wanted to come up with a name just as flamboyant as the dinosaur's appearance. And with the publication of a paper in the Journal of Paleontology this week, the name is official. What happens when paleontologists get together for drinks and brainstorm for names of dinosaur species? They come up with Mojoceratops, inspired by the mystical, magical mojo.
0 kommentar(er)
