by David Alric
velvetkin mole
wolf-fang protocyon
wolfkin dog, wolf
Notes on the names in the book
Many of the names that appear in the book tell you something about the character they belong to. Some are very obvious, others much less so, and some are in Portuguese, the language of Brazil. Here is a list describing them, giving the chapter or section in which their name first appears. See how many hidden meanings or associations you spotted as you read the story.
Unusual words or abbreviations used in this section are explained in the glossary.
Achilles Chapter 23 Achilles was one of the great warrior heroes of Greek mythology and an obvious name for an insurance company wishing to portray strength and protection. As an infant, Achilles was dipped into the river Styx by his mother; its magical waters conferred protection and this proved useful in his many battles. She held him by the heel to dip him, however, and he was eventually killed by a poisoned arrow in the heel – his only vulnerable point. The term ‘Achilles’ heel’ is now used to mean a weak point. This insurance company’s Achilles’ heel is Julian, who has now lost two expensive aeroplanes smashed up by pre-historic animals.
Algy Chapter 4 Algy is Biggles’s partner. In the famous stories about Biggles by W. E. Johns, Algy (short for Algernon Montgomery Lacey) is Biggles’s second-incommand and close friend.
Angstrom Preface The angstrom is a unit of length equivalent to 0.1 nanometre. It is used to express wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum and is a very appropriate name for Lucinda.
Arrumadeira Chapter 24 This is the Portuguese word for maid. Maria Arrumadeira is Lucinda’s widowed sister and was one of Chopper’s maids.
Atlas Chapter 23 The name of Lucy’s new geography teacher. An atlas is a book of maps. The name comes from the Titan in Greek mythology who carried the heavens on his shoulders.
Barker Chapter 4 Before going to jail for drug offences Barker was a lumberjack and cut bark.
Biggles Chapter 4 Biggles happens to have the same name as the famous fictional pilot hero who appears in the books by W. E. Johns. Major James Bigglesworth, known always as Biggles, was a fighter ace who featured in numerous flying adventures.
Bonaventure Preface Bonaventure is Lucy’s surname. Saint Bonaventure (1221–74) was a mystic and philosopher who was the author of The Life of St Francis.
Cerberus Chapter 2 In Greek mythology Cerberus was the three-headed watchdog that guarded the entrance to Hades, the underworld. In this story Cerberus guards the message from Lucy that he has buried underground.
Chopper Chapter 2 Before going to jail, Chopper ran a logging company which chopped down trees.
Colarinho Chapter 23 Captain Colarinho is one of the Brazilian policemen. Colarinho is a Portuguese word for a person who catches someone.
Constante Subornos Chapter 4 The crooked governor of the prison. His name in Portuguese means ‘frequent bribes’.
Crack Chapter 4 ‘Crack’ is Barker’s nickname. Barker’s criminal activities include drug peddling. Crack is a slang term for a highly addictive form of processed cocaine.
Dacey Chapter 23 A Gaelic name meaning southerner. Dacey lives on the equator with her husband, Norman (qv) but, presumably, on a different side of the house.
Darwin Chapter 16 Charles Darwin (1809 –82). A British naturalist renowned for his theories of natural selection and evolution. Origin of Species is the shortened title of his most controversial and famous book.
Einstein Chapter 5 Albert Einstein (1879 –1955). A US citizen born in Germany. He was a famous physicist and mathematician who formulated the special theory of relativity in 1905 and the general theory of relativity in 1916. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1921, and his work has had a profound influence on modern scientific thought and practice.
Fossfinder Preface Helen and Julian Fossfinder are palaeontologists who look for fossils.
Gyges of Lydia Chapter 5 In Greek mythology, Gyges of Lydia is a shepherd who finds a golden ring that makes him invisible. The ring is referred to by the famous philospher Plato in The Republic where he argues that no man can be so virtuous as to remain uncorrupted by its power.
Hades’ cap Chapter 5 In Greek mythology, Hades is the king of the underworld. He possesses a ‘cap of darkness’ which makes the wearer invisible.
Heathrow Airport Chapter 1 London’s famous international airport. It is built on the site of a hamlet called Heath Row. Archaeological excavations at the site of the new Terminal Five have revealed stone-age artefacts. Humans were active here when terror birds, giant ground sloths and sabre-toothed cats were still roaming the plains of South America (even outside the lost crater).
Lucinda Chapter 5 The name Lucinda means bringer of light: an appropriate name for this scientist. The Roman goddess of childbirth, Lucine, gave first light to the newborn.
Lucius Chapter 5 The name Lucius comes from the Latin word lux, meaning light, the subject in which the professor is an expert. Lucius comes from the same root as Lucifer, which means light-bearer, and was the name of the highest angel in heaven. He led a rebellion against God and was cast down to hell where he is identified with Satan. His fall from grace is reflected in the life of Professor Lucius Strahlung.
Lucy Chapter 1 The name Lucy means light, a perfect name for the Promised One who is a beacon for all animals.
Melanie Chapter 3 This is the name of Lucy’s panther. It comes from melas – the Greek word for dark or black.
Meridian Greenwich Chapter 23 The Greenwich Meridian is the prime meridian of longitude in the world (0 degrees) and the point at which Greenwich Mean Time is determined (see Glossary). It passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, near London. In the beauty competition, Miss Greenwich is said to be in her prime (see Glossary).
Moriarty Chapter 22 Professor James Moriarty appears in the famous fictional detective stories about Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is Holmes’s arch enemy and is commonly regarded as being the first ‘supervillain’ in literature. Holmes refers to him as ‘The Napoleon of Crime’. In the present book Moriarty is the maiden name of Professor Strahlung’s mother so, appropriately, the two evil professors are presumably related.
Napoleon (above) Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 –1821). Emperor of the French (1804–1815). A brilliant general, he was eventually defeated at the battle of Waterloo (1815) by the British Duke of Wellington, later to become Prime Minister. Napoleon died in exile on the island of St Helena.
Newton Chapter 22 Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), an Englishman, was one of the world’s greatest mathematicians and scientists. He is famous for his work on calculus and on the physics of gravitation and optics.
Norman Chapter 23 An Old German name meaning northerner. Norman lives on the equator with his wife, Dacey (qv) but, presumably, on a different side of the house.
Paterpromise Chapter 3 The Paterpromise is Richard, the Promised One’s father. Pater is the Latin word for father.
Peter Flint Chapter 5 Lucinda’s boyfriend. He is a geologist with very appropriate names. Peter comes from the Greek word petros meaning stone, and Flint is a type of rock called quartz.
Photogyraspar Chapter 5 This is not a real substance but is the name Lucinda coined for the ore discovered by Biggles. Photo comes from the Greek word phos meaning light. Gyrate means to rotate or spiral from the Greek word guros a circle. Spar is a transparent or translucent microcrystalline mineral. Thus photogyraspar is a crystalline mineral that twists or distorts light.
Poirot Chapter 5 The original Hercule Poirot is a famous Belgian detective who appears in many of the detective stories written by Agatha Christie.
Pollard Chapter 4 The name of one of Chopper’s lumberjacks. To pollard a tree means to cut its branches in such a way as to stimulate bushy growth.
Ray Chapter 5 Lucinda’s technician. Presumably he brings a ray of light into her laboratory.
Rio Chapter 2 Rio means ‘river’ in Portuguese. José and Fran
cesca live at the mouth of the Amazon and named their son accordingly.
Sawyer Chapter 4 This is Chopper’s surname. Before going to jail, Chopper ran a timber company and sawyer means one who saws timber for a living.
Shortshanks Chapter 4 Bert Shortshanks is Chopper’s diminutive associate. The shank is another word for the shin, so shortshanks means short legs.
Sapientia Chapter 16 St Sapientia’s is Lucy’s new school. Sapientia is the Latin word for wisdom.
Strahlung Chapter 5 Strahlung is the German word for radiation. The professor studies light, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation.
Tropic of Cancer Chapter 23 An imaginary line of latitude encircling the earth approximately 23.5 degrees north of the equator (0 degrees). Cancer is the Latin word for crab, which is why Miss Tropic of Cancer was disqualified from the beauty competition on account of her sideways gait.
Tropic of Capricorn Chapter 23 An imaginary line of latitude encircling the earth approximately 23.5 degrees south of the equator (0 degrees). Capricorn comes from the Latin word capricornus meaning goat-horned. A young goat is called a kid, and one of these must have been the cause of Miss Tropic of Capricorn’s tummy ache.
Underwright Chapter 23 Mr Underwright works in Julian’s insurance company. An underwriter assesses insurance risks and determines the premiums (payments) that are due.
Verdade Chapter 2 José Verdade turned out to be one of the few honest men in Chopper’s company and took charge after the villains were arrested. Verdade is the Portuguese word for truth.
An Anthology of the Animals of Antiquity
(mya = million years ago; tya = thousand years ago. Difficult words are explained in the glossary.)
Argentinosaurus Chapter 10 Scientific name: Argentinosaurus huinculensis, meaning: ‘Argentine lizard’. A herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that, on current evidence, was one of the largest land creatures that ever lived. Length: 35 metres; weight: 80–100 tonnes; lived: approximately 100–90 mya.
Bigfoot Chapter 21 A cryptid, also known as ‘Sasquatch’. A large, hairy, bipedal, hominoid animal that is believed by some to inhabit the remote forests of North America. Height: 2–2.5 metres.
Carnotaurus Chapter 11 Scientific name: Carnotaurus sastrei, ‘carnotaurus’ meaning ‘carnivorous bull’. A fierce carnivorous dinosaur with tiny arms that walked on its hind legs. It had bull-like horns – hence its name (taurus is the Latin word for ‘bull’). Length: 7–8 metres; weight: 1 tonne; lived: uncertain – probably 110–90 mya.
Ceratopsian dinosaur Chapter 12 Meaning: ‘horned face’. Any of a large variety of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs having horns and/or frills and beaked skulls. Lived: Cretaceous period (142–65 mya).
Dromaeosaurid dinosaurs Chapter 12 Meaning: ‘running lizards’. Various theropod dinosaurs closely related to birds. Small to medium-sized, fast-running carnivores that probably hunted in packs. Length: 1–7 metres; lived: Cretaceous period (142–65 mya).
Giant ground sloth Chapter 2 Scientific name: Megatherium americanum, ‘megatherium’ meaning ‘large beast’. A massive bear-like mammal with large claws, related to the tree sloth. It walked upright on the ground and was mainly herbivorous. Length: 6 metres; weight: 3–4 tonnes; lived: 2 mya–8 tya.
Giganotosaurus Chapter 12 Scientific name: Giganotosaurus carolinii, meaning: ‘giant southern lizard’. Probably the largest carnivorous dinosaur that ever existed. Length: 13–14 metres; weight: 8 tonnes; lived: 110–95 mya.
Glyptodont (‘grooved or carved tooth’) Chapter 21 Scientific name: Doedicurus clavicaudatus, ‘clavicaudatus’ meaning: ‘pestle tail’. An edentate mammal related to the modern armadillo, with an armoured carapace and a spiked tail. Herbivorous. Length: 3 metres; weight: 1.4 tonnes; lived: 2 mya–15 tya.
Loch Ness Monster Chapter 21 A cryptid, also called ‘Nessie’ (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag). Its (disputed) scientific name is: Nessiteras rhombopteryx, meaning: ‘The wonder of Ness with the diamond-shaped fin’. The name was given by the late Sir Peter Scott and sceptics point out that the ‘scientific’ name is an anagram of ‘monster hoax by Sir Peter S.’
Loch Ness is the largest body of fresh water in Britain (by volume) and the monster is claimed to be one of a colony of lake creatures similar in appearance to the (long-extinct) plesiosaurs. The first reported sighting of the creature was said to have been by St Columba on 22 August AD 565.
Macrauchenia Chapter 14 Scientific name: Macrauchenia patachonica, meaning: ‘long llama/long neck of Patagonia’. An herbivorous, hoofed mammal looking like a cross between a camel and a horse, with a long, hose-like nose. The last member of a group of extinct South American animals known as litopterns. Head height: 3 metres; lived: 7 mya-20 tya.
Minhocão Chapter 21 A cryptid, also known as ‘Surubin-Rei’, ‘Sierpe’ and ‘Mboi-assu’ (big snake). A huge earthworm-like creature said to destroy plantations, orchards and livestock in South America.
Cryptozoologists believe it may be a giant member of a species of caecilian or a lepidosiren. Others think it may be an anaconda, or a hoax.
Najash rionegrina Meaning: ‘serpent from Rio Negro’ Chapter 12 A fossil of this creature has been recently discovered in Patagonia. It is a snake with hind legs, and is believed to represent a primitive form in the evolutionary progression from lizards to snakes. The name is derived from the Hebrew Nachash, the snake that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Paradise. God punished the snake by commanding it to crawl thereafter on its belly (Genesis 3.14). Some interpret this line as meaning that, before God’s command, snakes had legs. Length: 1 metre; lived: 90 mya.
Notoceratops Chapter 12 Scientific name: Notoceratops bonarelli (nomen dubium), ‘notoceratops’ meaning ‘southern horned face’. A horned, frilled, ceratopsian dinosaur with a beak. It was an herbivorous quadruped. The exact identity of the animal is dubious and based only on a single jaw bone. It probably lived 80–70 mya.
Protocyon Chapter 21 Scientific name: Protocyon scagliarum A wolf-like carnivore, now extinct, that hunted on open plains during the Pleistocene period. It probably lived 1– 0.5 mya.
Psittacosaurus Chapter 12 Scientific name: Psittacosaurus mongoliensis, ‘psittacosaurus’ meaning ‘parrot lizard’. A small, primitive, ceratopsian dinosaur with a tough, hooklike beak. It was herbivorous, could walk on two or four legs and was probably a fast runner. Length: 1–2 metres; weight: 25–80 kg; lived: 120–95mya.
Pterodactyl Chapter 9 Meaning: ‘winged finger’. Any of a large variety of flying reptiles belonging to the order Pterosauria. The wings were covered in thin membranes of skin, like a bat, and the animals ranged in size from that of a small bird to monsters with a wing span of 14 metres. Pterodactyl species existed over an immense span of time: 228–65 mya.
Sabre-toothed cat Chapter 2 Scientific name: Smilodon populator, ‘smilodon’ meaning: ‘knife tooth’. Often referred to as sabre-toothed ‘tigers’, these animals are not true tigers but they are similar to our modern big cats. The cat gets its name from its massive (20 cm) canine teeth. It fed, like the modern lion, on large herbivorous animals. Length: 1.2–1.5 metres; weight: 200 kg; lived: 1.5 mya–10 tya.
Sauropod Chapter 12 Meaning: ‘lizard foot’. Herbivorous, quadrupedal, long-necked dinosaurs that were the largest creatures ever to have lived on land. Well-known examples include Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus), and Diplodocus. Sauropods first appeared in the late Triassic period (approx. 215–200 mya) and their last representatives, the titanosaurians, died out in the great Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, 65 mya.
Stegosaurus Chapter 11 Scientific name: Stegosaurus armatus, meaning: ‘armoured roof lizard’. A large, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur with a double row of armoured plates along its back and long tail spikes. The mouth was beak-shaped and the front teeth were absent. The brain was among the smallest among dinosaurs – the size of a walnut. Length: 9 metres; weight: 4–5 tonnes; lived: 155–145 mya.
Terror bird Chapter 21 Scientific name: Phoru
srhacos longissimus, meaning: ‘rag bearer’. A large, flightless bird with a massive beak – large enough to swallow a cat in one mouthful. The terror bird was carnivorous and could run very fast – possibly up to 60 kph. The wings were adapted into sharp claws that could catch prey. Height: 3 metres; weight: 130 kg; lived: 27 my–10 tya.
Triceratops Chapter 11 Scientific name: Triceratops horridus, ‘triceratops’ meaning ‘three-horned face’. A large, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur with a massive head, large bony frill and a horned appearance somewhat reminiscent of a modern rhinoceros. The frill and horns may have been used for defence but it is now thought more likely that they were used in display for dominance and courtship behaviour, similar to some modern deer. Length: 9 metres; weight: 6 tonnes; lived: 70–65 mya.
Tyrannosaurus Chapter 10 Scientific name: Tyrannosausus rex, meaning: ‘tyrant lizard’. A giant, bipedal, carnivorous, theropod dinosaur. Its massive head and thorax were balanced by a heavy tail, but its arms were relatively small. Its powerful jaws had the greatest bite force of any dinosaur. Scientists are still uncertain whether T. rex and other active dinosaurs were warm-blooded or not. Length: 12–13 metres; weight: 6 –8 tonnes; lived: 85–65 mya.
Velociraptor Chapter 12 Scientific name: Velociraptor mongoliensis, ‘velociraptor’ meaning ‘swift thief’. A turkey-sized, bipedal, theropod dinosaur. It was carnivorous and, in common with other dromaeosaurids, had a large, sickle-shaped claw on the hind foot. Velociraptors achieved popular awareness through the 1990 novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, and the 1993 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg. Length: 1–2 metres; weight: 20 kg; lived: 83–70 mya.
Yeti Chapter 21 A hominoid cryptid reported principally from the Himalayan mountains. The name derives from Tibetan roots meaning ‘rock bear’ and the creature has many other appellations, including ‘The Abominable Snowman’, ‘Meh-teh’ (man bear) and ‘Mizo’ (wild man). Himalayan folklore is steeped with traditions about a man-like creature leaving footprints in the snow and occasionally glimpsed among the trees or snow-covered rocks in remote mountain sites. Some cryptozoologists believe it may be an extant example of the ape gigantopithecus, the largest ape that ever lived, but this is thought by mainstream science to have been long extinct (100 tya). Sceptics think that the yeti sightings may actually be those of the langur monkey, the Tibetan blue bear, or the Himalayan brown or red bear.
