Dicraeosaurus hansemanni Janensch, 1914

Dicraeosaurus hansemanni Janensch, 1914

The genus name Dicraeosaurus derives from the Greek δίΚραιος / díkraios, which literally means “forked.” This is a reference to the tall bifid neural spikes that extend out from the vertebrae on the neck and back of the saurian (σαῦρος / saúros).

The specimen was described by Werner Janensch, who chose to name it after David Paul von Hansemann, a pathologist and prosector at Berlin’s Rudolf Virchow Hospital: “I dedicate the species described here to Privy Councilor Prof. Dr. D. von Hansemann, whose efforts were so vital to the launching of the Tendaguru Expedition.” 47 David Paul von Hansemann came from a very wealthy family. His uncle, Adolph von Hansemann, was a mining magnate and the owner of Germany’s largest private bank at the time, the Diskonto-Gesellschaft. Hansemann was active in scientific associations, including the Society of Friends of Natural Science and the Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory (Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte); on several occasions he co-edited journals published by these organizations. 48 He maintained a private collection of biological specimens for medical research and was a major donor to Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde and other institutions. As the bestconnected member of the Tendaguru Committee, established in 1908, Hansemann was a major force in the expedition’s fundraising campaign and contributed greatly to its success. He also donated 500 marks of his own money, induced the Society of Friends of Natural Science to donate 10,000 marks, and delivered an anonymous donation of 50,000 marks. 49 Hansemann was thus actively involved in raising almost half of the expedition’s total funds. (For more on the role of Hansemann and the ‘marketing’ of the Tendaguru Expedition, see “On Donors and Sponsors,” pp. 64–97, and “Marketing Deep Time,” pp. 124–133.)