Named Through Sioux

The languages of the Sioux Nation have been sampled and featured extensively in North American paleontology. Examples span from dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus yahnahpin Filla, et al. 1994 (currently assigned to Brontosaurus), a rare North American primate, Ekgmowechashala philotau Macdonald 1963, and the anthracothere Kukusepasutanka schultzi Macdonald 1956. Mammals constitute a large portion of the Sioux names in paleontology, but most of those are actually due to the works of James Reid Macdonald (read his 2004 obituary here) who prolifically described and named mammals from the Miocene and Oligocene from Oregon to the Dakotas using the Sioux language. The immense number of specimens bearing Sioux names means that we can easily pick any single animal to celebrate the contributions of the language to paleontology, but I think we can all agree that this would not show that contribution the proper justice it deserves. Instead, for the first time ever, we will discuss a different animal every day this week.