Pronunciation: BAM-bee-RAP-tor
Meaning: Bambi plunderer
Author/s: Burnham et al. (2000)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Montana, USA
Discovery Chart Position: #472
Bambiraptor feinbergi
(Feinberg's Bambi plunderer)Etymology
Bambiraptor is derived from Bambi — a nickname used by the Linsters (for the cutesy-wootsey ickle Disney deer) and the not-so-cutesy "raptor" (Latin for "plunderer" or "thief") . The species epithet, feinbergi (fine-BERG-eye), is named in honor of the well-to-do Feinberg family who purchased the original skeleton and loaned it to the new Graves Museum of Natural History in Florida for research purposes. In 2000 George Olshevsky attempted to "fix" this name by applying the correct plural genitive - "feinbergorum" - but such emendations are no longer allowed by the ICZN. ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0FC7A94D-0B07-4667-8738-900A107123B1.
Discovery
The fossils of Bambiraptor were discovered 13 km west of Bynum in the Two Medicine Formation of Montana by 14-year-old Wes Linster in September 1993.
The holotype (AMNH 001, originally FIP 001) is a 90-percent complete and beautifully preserved skeleton. It was found in association with at least two other individuals of the same species, one of which is larger.
