Allosauroidea

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A taxonomic superfamily grouping large meat-eating dinosaurs of the theropod lineage that includes the allosaurs and their close relatives
2. A classification category for a group of big carnivorous dinosaurs within the theropods, named after the genus Allosaurus and its kin
3. The scientific name for a superfamily of predatory theropod dinosaurs characterized by large skulls and powerful hind limbs

Etymology: Allosauroidea is a taxonomic name, not a word that passed through ordinary speech, and its history is a matter of scientific naming. It was coined in 1920 by the American palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene's contemporaries in the naming tradition of the time, and it formalised a group of large carnivorous dinosaurs built on the genus "Allosaurus". The genus name combines Greek "allos" meaning "other" or "different" with "sauros" meaning "lizard", and was given by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877. The suffix "-oidea" is the standard zoological ending for a superfamily, so the name literally means the superfamily of the "Allosaurus" group. The superfamily name was formed by adding "-oidea" to the genus name, a pattern used throughout zoological nomenclature to mark rank above the family level. Because the group has been reshuffled repeatedly as fossils were reclassified, its exact membership varies between studies, and the name is tied to the genus rather than to any single historical meaning of the word.