Pronunciation: HEY-a-WAH-tee
Meaning: Grinding Mouth
Author/s: McDonald et al. (2010)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: New Mexico, USA
Discovery Chart Position: #703
Jeyawati rugoculus
(Wrinkle-eyed grinding mouth)Etymology
Jeyawati is derived from two words in the language of the Zuni people, a Native American tribe located around the Zuni River in western New Mexico: "jeya-/u" (grind) and "awati" (mouth), in reference to the sophisticated chewing mechanism evolved by the herbivorous lineage to which Jeyawati belongs.
The species epithet, rugoculus, is derived from the Latin "ruga" (wrinkle) and "oculus" (eye), referring to the "wrinkly" texture of the area above and behind the eye sockets.
Discovery
Discovered in the Moreno Hill Formation of New Mexico by Douglas Wolfe way back in 1996, the Jeyawati holotype (MSM P4166, housed at the Arizona Museum of Natural History) consists of a partial skull, some vertebrae and rib fragments.
