A person, a place, a characteristic Quiz

Answer: my discoverer's wife

Avaceratops means "Ava's Horned Face". It was first discovered by a fossil dealer, Eddie Cole, in Montana, USA, in 1981. When palaeontologist Peter Dodson formally described the new dinosaur, he named it after Mr Cole's wife, Ava.

Answer: False

Muttaburrasaurus, meaning "Muttaburra Lizard" was actually named after the town of Muttaburra in Queensland, Australia, near where its fossils were first discovered.

Answer: a place

Albertosaurus means "Alberta Lizard". It was named after the Canadian province of Alberta where its fossils were first discovered in 1884. It lived 70 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period in what is now southern Canada and western North America.

Answer: its horns

Triceratops means "Three Horned Face". It had a one-metre horn above each eye and a smaller one on its nose. It also had a large shield covering its neck but no armour on its back, tail or legs.

Answer: a bodily characteristic

In the early 1820s, a doctor, Gideon Mantell, was visiting a patient in Surrey, England, when he discovered a small collection of fossilised teeth. The teeth were similar in shape to those of an iguana, although much larger, so he named the new dinosaur Iguanodon, meaning "Iguana Tooth".

Answer: True

Lambeosaurus has a complicated history. It was first named Tracodon in 1902 before being re-named Stephanosaurus in 1914. Finally, in 1923, palaeontologist William Parks re-named it Lambeosaurus, meaning "Lambe's Lizard", in honour of Canadian palaeontologist, Lawrence Lambe.

Answer: feet

Deinonychus means "Terrible Claw" in honour of the six-inch curved claws on the second toe of each foot. Some scientists think these claws were used to disembowel prey while others believe they were simply used as grappling hooks.

Answer: head

Styracosaurus means "Spiked Lizard". It belonged to a group of herbivorous dinosaurs called Ceratopsians. Around the edges of its neck shield are a set of six long spikes.

Answer: a place

In 1987 a rancher, Guillermo Heredia, discovered the remains of a massive sauropod in Argentina, South America. In 1993 the dinosaur was named Argentinosaurus in honour of the country in which it was found.

Answer: head

On the top of its head, Dilophosaurus had a v-shaped crest made from two thin ridges of bone, hence the name "Two Ridged Lizard".

Answer: a person

Othnielia was named by Peter Galton in 1977, in honour of Othniel Charles Marsh, the American palaeontologist who found it.

Answer: True

Utahraptor means "Utah's Hunter". It was first discovered by Jim Jensen in 1975 near the town of Moab in east central Utah but didn't receive much publicity until the discovery of a second fossil in 1991.

It's interesting to note that, when this second fossil was found, the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park was being filmed and the raptors featured in it were roughly the same size.

Answer: False

In 1959, a goat farmer, Victorino Herrera, discovered the fossilized remains of a small predatory dinosaur in northwest Argentina. In 1963, palaeontologist Osvaldo Reig named the new dinosaur Herrerasaurus, meaning "Herrera's Lizard", in honour of the man who discovered it.

Answer: Canada

First discovered in the 1980s, Edmontosaurus was named after the Canadian city of Edmonton.

Answer: their daughter

When Tom Rich and his wife, Patricia, discovered Leaellynasaura in 1989 they named it after their daughter, Leaellyn. They've also named a dinosaur after their son, Tim.