Deinodontidae, Cope, 1866

Matthew, W. D., & Brown, B., 1922, The family Deinodontidae, with notice of a new genus from the Cretaceous of Alberta., Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 56, pp. 365-385 : 379

V.—Remarks upon the Nomenclature of the Deinodontidae

It should first be pointed out that Cope’s name Dinodontidae was the first family name to be applied to a carnivorous dinosaur. It antedates Megalosauridae by four years and is based upon an unquestionably valid genus. But there is no need to discuss whether or not it should be used in place of Megalosauridae—as it should, according to the usage of many palaeontologists 1 —for the two families appear to be distinct. Cope’s original characterization of the family Deinodontidae 2 was as follows: ".... The family Dinodontidae .. is characterized by its contractile, raptorial claws and slender digits, and compressed sabre-shaped teeth.” This definition was intended to distinguish the family from the herbivorous dinosaurs. The family Megalosauridae was proposed by Huxley four years later.

Marsh 3 characterized the “ Dryptosauridae ” as follows: “Including the large carnivorous forms of which only imperfect specimens have been found but sufficient to indicate that they are distinct from the Megalosauridae of the European Jurassic. Limb bones hollow. Fore limbs very small. Feet digitigrade with prehensile claws.” The Ornithomimidae he characterized at the same time, referring them to the Ornithopoda (= Iguanodontia): “ Limb bones hollow. Fore limbs very small; hind limbs of avian type. Feet digitigrade and unguiculate.” Two years later 4 *he transferred them to the Theropoda. In 1895 5 he somewhat expanded his definition of the Dryptosauridae as distinct from the Megalosauridae , but there is nowhere any reference to the Deinodontidae or indication of the position to which he assigned the genus Deinodon . It may be assumed that he accepted Cope’s mistaken conclusion that the generic name was preoccupied and the family name therefore untenable.