Final answer:
Dinosaur footprints are not assigned the same scientific names as body fossils; they are categorized as ichnofossils, which provide behavioral insights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The assertion that dinosaur footprints are given the same Latinized scientific names as dinosaur body fossils is false. Dinosaur footprints, which are examples of trace fossils or ichnofossils, are not given the same names as body fossils. Instead, they are documented and categorized separately based on their unique features. The reason for this distinction is because footprints provide different information compared to skeletal fossils. While body fossils tell us about the physical characteristics of the organism, footprints provide insights into their behavior, such as their movements, gait, and potentially even interactions with other species.
When preserving dinosaur footprints, paleontologists often create a plaster jacket, a practice also depicted in the provided image from a paleontological dig by NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth. A plaster jacket is similar to a medical cast, using sheets of burlap and plaster-of-Paris to protect and transport the tracks safely from their discovery site.