dinosaur scrotum
Here's a science fun fact...
The first dinosaur to be scientifically described, Megalosaurus bucklandii, was originally named Scrotum humanum. The distal end of the femur of a large, unknown animal was discovered in 1676 in a limestone quarry near Oxford, England. Originally thought to belong to a giant person, the specimen was redescribed in 1763 by Richard Brookes and named after the fragment's resemblance to human testicles.
Whether this was a joke on Broooke's part, or if he really thought it was pair of petrified balls, is open to debate. Although this name theoretically had priority over Megalosaurus according the rules of binomial nomenclature, the rules also state that if a name falls into disuse for 50 years after publication, it is no longer in competition for priority. Therefore, the name Scrotum humanum is a nomen oblitum, or "forgotten name".
The fossil wasn't recognized as belonging to a large reptile until 1815, when famed French comparative anatomist George Cuvier visited Richard Buckland, who had come into possession of it and some additional material which had been found at the same quarry. Buckland assigned the bones to the genus Megalosaurs (Greek for "Great Lizard"), and Gideon Mantell gave it the species name bucklandii in 1827 in honor of Buckland. Incidentally, the term "dinosaur" wouldn't be coined until 1842.
The first dinosaur to be scientifically described, Megalosaurus bucklandii, was originally named Scrotum humanum. The distal end of the femur of a large, unknown animal was discovered in 1676 in a limestone quarry near Oxford, England. Originally thought to belong to a giant person, the specimen was redescribed in 1763 by Richard Brookes and named after the fragment's resemblance to human testicles.
Whether this was a joke on Broooke's part, or if he really thought it was pair of petrified balls, is open to debate. Although this name theoretically had priority over Megalosaurus according the rules of binomial nomenclature, the rules also state that if a name falls into disuse for 50 years after publication, it is no longer in competition for priority. Therefore, the name Scrotum humanum is a nomen oblitum, or "forgotten name".
The fossil wasn't recognized as belonging to a large reptile until 1815, when famed French comparative anatomist George Cuvier visited Richard Buckland, who had come into possession of it and some additional material which had been found at the same quarry. Buckland assigned the bones to the genus Megalosaurs (Greek for "Great Lizard"), and Gideon Mantell gave it the species name bucklandii in 1827 in honor of Buckland. Incidentally, the term "dinosaur" wouldn't be coined until 1842.