Pronunciation: TLAH-toh-LO-fus
Meaning: Word crest
Author/s: Ramírez-Velasco et al. (2021)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Coahuila, Mexico
Discovery Chart Position: #1039
Tlatolophus galorum
(Garza and López' Word Crest)Etymology
Tlatolophus is derived from the Náhuatl "tlatolli" (word) and the Greek "lophos" (crest) referring to the crest's resemblance to an inverse comma which itself resembles the glyph "word" in Aztec iconography.
The species epithet, galorum, honours the Garza and López families for their collaboration in collecting and preserving the specimen.
Discovery
The first discovery of Tlatolophus is a semi-articulated tail found at the Dinopato site (locality number JLE-1, an acronym in honour of José López Espinoza) in the Cerro del Pueblo Formation, on the southeastern tip of the Cuesta de la Asadura hill, General Cepeda Municipality, Coahuila, northern México, in 2005.
In 2013, a joint team of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and the Instituto de Geología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) began to excavate said tail and realised it was attached to the most complete lambeosaurine so far found in México.
The holotype (CIC/P/147) is a partial skeleton and skull.
