Catalogue of the genera of dinosaurs

Abstract

First passage: "When I assumed my duties at Dinosaur National Monument in September, 1953, I realized that many of the genera of dinosaurs, possibly fifty percent, were founded on very fragmentary material and could not be considered valid. In order to form an opinion regarding the validity of a particular genus it was necessary to have a statement of the material upon which it was founded. I needed this information on all the described genera of dinosaurs. Since no such list was available it was necessary to prepare one. I used the list of genera in the Osteology of the Reptiles, by A. S. Romer, and entered them on 3" x 5" cards. On each card I listed the genus, author, and year; the family and suborder to which the genus belonged; the type species; the elements of which the type specimen consisted; and the horizon and locality of the type specimen. When data were available, I included the catalogue number of the type specimen and the museum in which it was located, or both"