Patagotitan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A huge long-necked dinosaur that roamed South America approximately 95 million years ago, known as one of the largest land animals ever to exist
2. An enormous herbivorous sauropod from Patagonia in Argentina during the Late Cretaceous epoch, characterized by its enormous size and four-legged stance
3. A colossal four-legged plant-eating dinosaur discovered in Patagonia that lived in the Cretaceous period and ranks among the heaviest creatures to ever walk the Earth

Etymology: The name combines two parts. "Patago-" refers to Patagonia, the region of southern Argentina where the fossils were found, and "-titan" comes from the Titans of Greek myth, the giant deities who ruled before the Olympians. Scientists chose the second element for its sense of enormous size, since this dinosaur is among the largest known land animals. The species name, "mayorum," honors the Mayo family, who owned the land where the fossils were found and helped bring them to scientists' attention. The genus name is a modern scientific coinage built from classical roots, so the Greeks and Romans never used it. Its meaning is clear from its parts: a giant from Patagonia.