A new dinosaur species (
Dracorex hogwartsia) was named in honor of author J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books.
The newly discovered, 66-million-year-old dragon-like dinosaur's name comes from the Latin words
draco ('dragon'),
rex ('king') and
hogwartsia (after the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry created by Joanne Rowling). The name therefore means 'dragon king of Hogwarts'.
Rowling agreed to the name because her two children are huge dinosaur fans. "The naming of
Dracorex hogwartsia is easily the most unexpected honour to have come my way since the publication of the Harry Potter books!" Rowling wrote. "I am absolutely thrilled to think that Hogwarts has made a small (claw?) mark upon the fascinating world of dinosaurs. I happen to know more on the subject of palaeontology than many might credit, because my eldest daughter was
Utahraptor-obsessed and I am now living with a passionate
Tyrannosaurus rex-lover, aged three. My credibility has soared within my science-loving family, and I am very much looking forward to reading Dr. Bakker’s paper describing ‘my’ dinosaur, which I can’t help visualising as a slightly less pyromaniac Hungarian Horntail”.
The dinosaur, a member of the
Pachycephalosaur family, had a flat skull with spiky horns, bumps and a long muzzle. Other pachycephalosaurs had domed foreheads. Scientists believe the
Pachycephalosaurs, which were herbivores, used their knobby heads to butt other dinosaurs.
The nearly complete skull of this previously unknown dinosaur species was discovered by three friends during a fossil collecting trip in South Dakota and then donated to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
When it was brought to the museum for cleaning and studying, it was little more than a box of parts. It took two years to glue the many fragments and restore the skull, museum officials said.
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