Drinker

Name: Drinker ‭(‬named after Edward Drinker Cope‭)‬.
Phonetic: Drink-er.
Named By: Robert Bakker,‭ ‬Peter Galton,‭ ‬James Siegwarth‭ & ‬James Filla‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Hypsilophodontidae.
Species: D.‭ ‬nisti‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About‭ ‬2‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Morrison Formation.
Time period: Late Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Holotype is a partial post cranial skeleton of a subadult,‭ ‬though many more individuals have now been assigned to the genus.

       Drinker might sound like an odd name for a dinosaur,‭ ‬but this dinosaur is named‭ ‬after‭ ‬Edward Drinker Cope,‭ ‬a man who in the late nineteenth century‭ ‬who‭ ‬made many of the most important discoveries in American paleontological history during that time.‭ ‬Most of this is derived from Cope’s involvement in the‭ ‘‬Bone Wars‭’‬,‭ ‬a fierce rivalry between Cope and another naturalist named Othniel Charles Marsh.‭ ‬Marsh also had a dinosaur named after him called Othnielia,‭ ‬and later another called Othnielosaurus‭ (‬based heavily upon fossils previously assigned to Othnielia‭)‬,‭ ‬and in a quirk of history,‭ ‬Drinker,‭ ‬Othnielia and Othnielosaurus were very similar dinosaurs to one another.‭ ‬The‭ ‬type‭ ‬species name of Drinker,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬nisti is named after NIST,‭ ‬the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
       Subsequent discussions‭ ‬about Drinker have noted the broad foot of this dinosaur,‭ ‬which may have been an adaptation to living in a wetland environment,‭ ‬something that has been indicated by plant fossils of marsh vegetation,‭ ‬as well as teeth of lungfish.‭ ‬In addition to this some specimens of Drinker have been located in pods,‭ ‬which have been interpreted by Robert Bakker as possible burrowing behaviour by this dinosaur.‭ ‬While rare,‭ ‬burrowing in dinosaurs is known,‭ ‬with the most commonly cited example being the genus Oryctodromeus.

Further reading
- A new latest Jurassic vertebrate fauna,‭ ‬from the highest levels of the Morrison Formation at Como Bluff,‭ ‬Wyoming.‭ ‬Part IV.‭ ‬The dinosaurs:‭ ‬A new Othnielia-like hypsilophodontoid.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hunteria‭ ‬2‭(‬6‭)‬:‭ ‬8-14.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Robert Bakker,‭ ‬Peter Galton,‭ ‬James Siegwarth‭ & ‬James Filla‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.
-‭ ‬A new latest Jurassic vertebrate fauna,‭ ‬from the highest levels of the Morrison Formation at Como Bluff,‭ ‬Wyoming,‭ ‬with comments on Morrison biochronology.‭ ‬Part I.‭ ‬Biochronology.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hunteria‭ ‬2‭(‬6‭)‬:1-3.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Robert Bakker‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.
-‭ ‬Dinosaur mid-life crisis:‭ ‬the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition in Wyoming and Colorado Robert Bakker.‭ ‬-‭ ‬In‭ ‬Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems.‭ ‬New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin‭ ‬14.‭ ‬New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬67‭–‬77.‭ ‬-‭ ‬S.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Lucas,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬I.‭ ‬Kirkland‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Estep‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.
-‭ ‬Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs‭ (‬mostly Ornithopoda‭) ‬from the Morrison Formation‭ (‬Upper Jurassic‭) ‬of the western United States‭ ‬-‭ ‬Peter M.‭ ‬Galton‭ ‬-‭ ‬In,‭ ‬Horns and Beaks:‭ ‬Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs.‭ ‬Indiana University Press:‭ ‬Bloomington‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kenneth Carpenter‭ (‬ed‭) ‬-‭ ‬2007.‭

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