James Jacobs said:Since maintaining the latin names for dinosaurs in D&D is one of my obsessions, I figure I'd reply.
The answer is that most people know what a diplodocus is. Not everyone knows what a phorusrhacoid (or a diatryma) is. That said, "terror bird" is in fact the real-world name for this type of creature, and is often used when speaking of them as a group. More to the point, when they were statted up in the Fiend Folio, that's the name they were given. I personally came VERY close to actually calling them diatrymas (or even axe beaks), but in the end decided to keep them terror birds. Mostly because the author's a big fan of the name, and partially because it IS a pretty cool name for the monsters.
It has, but not since 1985, in Dragon #96, when some guy named Ed Greenwood wrote "The Ecology of the Gulgrutha", covering both the ordinary and neo variety of dung eaters. I think the otyugh is prime material for a 3.5 ecology article.Neo-otyugh, if ever used, would probably be best saved for an Ecology of the Otyugh (if such a thing is yet to be done).
Not to fear, I'm a paleontologist, and you pass your Knowledge (Prehistoric Creatures) check with flying chromatics!Echohawk said:But I also have no ranks in Knowledge (Prehistoric Creatures), so I'm curious to hear from an expert.

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Rulebook featuring "high magic" options, including a host of new spells.