Who invented dinosaur names?

The names of fossil species were invented by the scientists who first described them and were often derived from Greek or Latin, which were the original international languages of science. The name chosen may indicate something unusual about the animal, or where it came from, or even who discovered it. The British dinosaur Baryonyx walkeri means literally ( Mr Walker's heavy claw ) because Mr Bill Walker found a large claw which turned out to belong to a new dinosaur characterised by this unusual claw. Velociraptor means 'speedy hunter' which is very appropriate ; Tyrannosaurus rex means ' king of the king reptiles'. The name dinosaur (which means 'terrible lizard') was not invented until 1842 when it was first used by Professor Richard Owen who was studying dinosaur fossils; up to this time they had been described as giant fossil lizards.