Carcharodontosaurus name rant
Can someone please explain to me how we got to the point where everyone, even professional paleontologists, don't understand the name and just say "Shark-toothed lizard"? Yes, Carcharodon is the scientific name for the great white shark, but it doesn't mean shark. It is a combination of the distorted ancient Greek word Karkharos (meaning "sharp" or "jagged") and the also ancient greek word odon which literally means tooth. So Carcharodontosaurus **literally translates to "**Jagged-tooth lizard "
Both of these animals are named after a trait of their teeth which they share. Not one animal after another. I truly doubt Ernst Stromer was blind enough to see Carcharodontosaurus teeth (picture 1) and think 'hmmm these clearly look like Great white teeth' (picture 2).
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, hopefully people will get more educated thanks to my rant.