Chlamydosaurus

noun

Chlam·​y·​do·​sau·​rus

ˌklamədōˈsȯrəs

: a genus of reptiles containing the frilled lizard of Australia

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from chlamydo- chlamydo- + -saurus -saurus

Note: Genus name introduced by the British zoologist John Edward Gray (1800-75), originally with the etymologically incorrect spelling Clamydosaurus, in "A Synopsis of the Genera of Reptiles and Amphibia, with a Description of some new Species," Annals of Philosophy, vol. 10, no. 3 (September, 1825), p. 197. Gray corrected the spelling to Chlamydosaurus in a more detailed description of the lizard in an appendix, "Reptilia," to Phillip P. King's Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia, Performed Between the Years 1818 and 1822, vol. 2 (London, 1827), pp. 424-27, plate A at end. The specimen described by Gray was procured at Careening Bay, Port Nelson (now Western Australia) by the botanist on Phillip Parker King's expedition.

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