Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis – “ancient grazer of the Colville River”

Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis – “ancient grazer of the Colville River”

In September, the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced the discovery of a new kind of duck-billed dinosaur, a hadrosaur that lived in the arctic. Paleontologists have leeway in dinosaur naming conventions. Most are based on Greek words, typically with references to the geographic area where they were found or characteristics of the dinosaur itself. The arctic hadrosaur Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis (oo-GREW-na-luck) (KOOK-pik-en-sis) carries an Inupiaq name that means “ancient grazer of the Colville River.”

Ugrunnaq – noun meaning a grazing animal with a long set of grinding teeth

-aluk – adjective meaning old

kuukpik – refers to the Colville River