Laopteryx Laopteryx Laopteryx is the name assigned to a pterosaur (flying reptile) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming, United States; it was originally thought to be a bird. The genus was named in 1881 by Othniel Charles Marsh. The generic name is derived from Greek "laas", "stone", and "pteryx", "wing". The full species name given by Marsh was "Laopteryx priscum"; the specific name meaning "of venerable age" in Latin. However, Marsh incorrectly used the neuter form, while "pteryx" is feminine in Greek. (See grammatical gender.) This was in the 19th century emended to an, also incorrect, masculine "priscus" and
Desert plated lizard Desert plated lizard The desert plated lizard ("Gerrhosaurus skoogi") is a reptile species endemic to the northern Namib Desert in Namibia and Angola. Also known as the sand plated lizard, it is diurnal. The specific name, "skoogi", is in honor of Hilmer Nils Erik Skoog (1870–1927), who was Curator of the "" from 1904 to 1927. In 1916 Andersson described this lizard as a new species, naming it "Gerrhosaurus skoogi". In 1953 FitzSimons assigned the species to a new genus "Angolosaurus". Recent studies suggest that this monotypic genus is synonymous to "Gerrhosaurus" and makes it paraphyletic; therefore "A. skoogi" was