Encyclopedia of Dinosaur Genera Book Review
Authored by Mayumi Matsuda, Published by Hokuryukan, Published May 24, 2023, 496 pages, 10,000 yen (excluding tax)
As a member of the "dead-center Showa" generation born in Showa 40 (1965), the greatest joy of my childhood was watching sci-fi/tokusatsu TV shows and reading related books. Day and night, my heart raced watching giant heroes and monsters like Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Godzilla, and Gamera leap into action for the sake of the world and humanity (Schwazz!), or operate in the shadows to destroy the world or even the Earth (Graaaugh!). Immersed as I was in that world of sci-fi tokusatsu during my childhood, there was something else that deeply captivated me: "dinosaurs." There were two reasons for this. First, their forms served as the archetypes for Godzilla and other sci-fi tokusatsu monsters. Second, dinosaurs were not imaginary creatures; they were biological "great seniors" who had truly existed on Earth in the distant past, built an era, and were now extinct. To express it as best I can with who I am today, I thought: How historic, how scientific, and how romantic dinosaurs are. Among the dinosaur-related media I encountered in my childhood that left an impression on me were the TV show "Kaiju Oji" (The Monster Prince, 1967–1968, Fuji Television) and the movie "Jurassic Park" (1990, Universal Pictures—though I wasn't a child anymore by then), and when it came to books, "Kyoryu no Himitsu" (The Secret of Dinosaurs, 1971, Gakken Plus). Especially "Kyoryu no Himitsu," which—along with the other two in the three-book set, "Karada no Himitsu" (The Secret of the Body) and "Chikyu no Himitsu" (The Secret of the Earth)—I opened over and over again, pondering and letting my thoughts wander: what if this, what if that... Dinosaurs are just so cool, I find myself reminiscing. My long, pointless personal preamble has gone on too long.
Now, the "Encyclopedia of Dinosaur Scientific Names" (hereinafter referred to as this book) introduced here is the third book on dinosaur scientific names authored by Mayumi Matsuda, following the 2017 publication "Dictionary of Dinosaur Scientific Names with Etymology" and the 2021 publication "The Dictionary of the Etymology of Dinosaur Names." As can be gleaned from the title, it is the culmination of Ms. Matsuda's research into dinosaur scientific names, a magnum opus spanning over 490 pages in total. As noted in the foreword by the supervisors (Yoshitsugu Kobayashi and Shin-ichi Fujiwara), this book is epoch-making and the first of its kind in Japan in that it carefully and comprehensively unravels not only the etymology and meanings behind dinosaur scientific names, but also the history of their naming. Its structure is as follows. Looking at the table of contents following the aforementioned foreword, we can see that this book is organized into two main sections. One is the Lexicon (pages 8–53), which is a list of terms used in the generic names of dinosaurs and related groups, and the other is the Explanation (pages 54–467), which forms the main content of the book, listing dinosaur scientific names in alphabetical order. Preceding these two major sections are the Legend (explaining how to read dinosaur scientific names and other information presented in the Explanation) and the Phylogenetic Tree and Classification (a visualized diagram of when animals that have ever appeared on Earth—namely, dinosaurs and other animals—originated starting from amniotes, and how they branched out phylogenetically before going extinct or surviving to the present day). Following them at the back are the Index, which includes a quick-reference table of generic names (Katakana to Romanized; useful for looking up pages by familiar dinosaur names, such as finding where Tyrannosaurus is located within the Explanation), and a specific epithet index (useful for looking up scientific names featured in the Explanation in reverse by their specific epithets). For someone like me who proclaims to be a dinosaur lover in the preceding parts, yet remains a complete amateur regarding specialized knowledge from an academic perspective, these serve as indispensable and appreciated supplementary information for familiarizing oneself with this book.
Here I have a question for the readers of this humble text. Which dinosaur's scientific name would you want to look up and see first in this book? For me, it's Tyrannosaurus, of course! So, I tried it right away. I found the alphabetical name in the quick reference table for genus names (page 476), and searching for the explanation using the spelling Tyrannosaurus, I found the description on page 433. The scientific name, shown in italicized bold text, isTyrannosaurus rex, immediately following that, ">and the same species name Osborn, 1905 (hereinafter omitted)" was written. This means that in the year 1905 AD, Mr. Osborn and others determined and described the scientific name based on the type specimen of Tyrannosaurus (a specimen that guarantees the characteristics and traits of the animal) (indicated by the ">" at the beginning of the text). Furthermore, in the same column, following the "=" symbol, five pieces of information such as other scientific names, personal names, and years AD were listed. This means that five different names given to different type specimens were considered by researchers to be the same species, and mutuallyTyrannosaurus rexshows a synonym relationship (referred to as a subjective synonym). Looking at this, the name based on the specimen found in 1892Manospondylus gigas, which shows that it is the first scientific name given to Tyrannosaurus. In this way, Tyrannosaurus has multiple scientific names and the meaning that each scientific name holds (Tyrannosaurus rexis a tyrant;Manospondylus gigasare giants, etc.) are shown. The basic contents of this book further feature subitems such as pronunciation, genus name, specific epithet, classification, and other species, ending with comments by Mr. Matsuda "TyrannosaurusGenus,Tyrannosaurus rex"Only one is accepted as the valid name." Such content and structure characterize this book, which comprehensively covers the scientific names of approximately 1,500 dinosaur species. No book has ever existed that integrated and organized such a vast amount of information regarding dinosaur scientific names. Therefore, it is expected that this book will henceforth become an indispensable volume, widely utilized by a broad range of people—from the general public interested in dinosaurs and their scientific names to those involved in education and research.
Due to the needs of my research activities, I have encountered dictionaries containing specialized content related to biology and the life sciences, some of which I have purchased and placed on the shelves of my laboratory. A dictionary of biology, a dictionary of biochemistry, a dictionary of physics and chemistry, a dictionary of molecular and cell biology, a Latin dictionary of zoology, and a dictionary of biological scientific names... These are all books that I acquired more than ten years ago. Due to the nature of my work, they have certainly not been left unread. However, I feel that the recent advancements in the convenience and comprehensiveness of searching for related information on the internet have been tremendous, and thanks to those benefits, I rarely pick up these books and spend time reading them thoroughly. The "Large Dictionary of Dinosaur Scientific Names" introduced here is, for me personally, a groundbreaking major dictionary specializing exclusively in "dinosaur scientific names" in the fields of biology and life sciences—the first one in a very long time that truly makes me want to pick it up and read through its contents carefully. Seeing this book before me—which meticulously and carefully organizes the vast amount of information contained within, possesses a solid and overwhelming quality, yet makes one feel very calm, joyful, and peaceful, as symbolized by the columns scattered throughout—a new question arose: What kind of thoughts and passions, coupled with an incomparable intellect, curiosity, and explosive research capability on Mr. Matsuda's part, could have made the completion of such a work possible? Allowing me to quote a sentence from the "Afterword" written by Mr. Matsuda at the very end of this book, I simply wish to express my heartfelt gratitude, congratulations, and enthusiastic applause for this wonderful work.
...Instead of just lingering around the entranceway of dinosaur science, I ended up getting a glimpse into the world of dinosaur science as an academic discipline through research papers, but my honest feeling is that the essence of dinosaur science still remains out of sight...
Ah, I felt somewhat convinced, presuming to think that Mr. Matsuda is still deep on the journey of exploring dinosaur science, even after writing such a monumental work as this.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to the authors and editors of this book, led by Mr. Matsuda, as well as to the courageous and supportive staff of the Zoological Society of Japan Secretariat who gave me—someone who simply loves dinosaurs—the opportunity to write this review. Thank you very much.
July 2023
KENICHI, the ultimate dinosaur fan (Kyoto Sangyo University, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Industrial Life Sciences)
Kenichi Sato
Encyclopedia of Dinosaur Genera and Species: Book Review (PDF file)
