Thanks.
I was going to share some of my own thoughts about the terms "bigmouth", "swimmer", and "duckbill" earlier, but I put it off so that I could post the revised list. So here they are now:
"Duckbill", I have to say, is my least favorite canon LBT term, because it references an animal that appeared long after the hadrosaurs. Logically, the LBT dinosaurs wouldn't use it. (Somehow I don't feel the same way about terms such as "clubtail" and "sickleclaw".
) Also, I would argue that because it was only used in that one scene in that one movie, it could be regarded as a "blooper term"; much like Grandpa Longneck's reference to stars as "lesser lights" in LBT VI (why not just call the lights in the sky "stars", considering the dinosaurs already use the word "tree
star" all the time?), and Cera's use of the word "rain" (despite LBT V's establishment of the term "skywater"). Still, I suppose it would be selfish to exclude "duckbill" (and "lesser lights", for that matter
) from the list because of my own opinions (unless, on the off-chance, everyone else agrees with me that it's a stupid name
). I think your suggestion that "duckbill" should apply to LBT hadrosaurs in general (much like "longneck" applies to sauropods) makes sense, though frankly, I hate the word so much as an LBT term that I’m reluctant to give it such a lofty position.
While I thought that "bigmouth" sufficed as a descriptive term for Ducky's species (and is much more specific than "swimmer"), it also sounds a little like an insult; something one would use to refer to an obnoxiously vociferous or gossipy person. (While Ducky is admittedly rather talkative, she most certainly does not, in my opinion, deserve a name with such negative connotations.
) My guess is that that was the reason her species was "renamed", with "swimmer" being the replacement of choice because of her repeatedly demonstrated partiality to water in the first film, as well as possibly the fact that "swimmer" was one of the species names mentioned by Littlefoot's mother during her "we never do anything together" speech (which, incidentally, included the species names of every other member of the gang).
Another note on "swimmers": while many fans (including myself) have tended to refer to all varieties of LBT hadrosaurs as "swimmers" (following the pattern of lumping all sauropods as "longnecks" and all pterosaurs as "flyers"), it has occurred to me that (as you also seemed to notice)
Saurolophus is practically the only species that is actually seen swimming in the series. (There's also the
Edmontosaurus in the introduction of LBT VIII, but that's about it.) Of course, it could be easily argued that we simply haven't SEEN the others swim, but it is also questionable whether they even regard themselves as related, the way longnecks, and flyers apparently do. Though admittedly, the different species ARE quite similar, besides the shape of the head crests, and I rather like your idea that they recognize their species as related, but use different terms for their respective species to avoid confusion. And vague though it is, I suppose "swimmer" is probably the best choice for an all-encompassing canon term for LBT hadrosaurs, seeing as "duckbill" is annoyingly anachronistic, and "bigmouth" is not that accurate a term to describe species like
Parasaurolophus, whose bills are relatively small and narrow.
Anyway, since you seem to think the list is okay,
should I start a new thread for it now? (I'll gladly accept the position of "glossary keeper"; updating the list whenever a new term is submitted.
)
