In Depth        Pumiliopareia was a fairly small parieasaur though one that was not completely defenceless.†‬The skin of Pumiliopareia was the housing for a multitude of osteoderm armour,†‬though bony plates that floated within the skin that could stop the teeth and claws of most predators. Further Reading Further reading- A taxonomic revision of pareiasaurian … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – Tooth morphology of Mammuthus meridionalis from the Southern bight of the North Sea and from several localities in the Netherlands – Hans van Essen – 2003. – Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Campo di Pile (L’Aquila, Abruzzo, Central Italy) – S. Agostini, M.R. Palombo M.A. Rossi, E. Di Canzio & … Read more
In Depth        Irritator is proof that palaeontologists do have a sense of humour even if it is a dry one.†‬The holotype specimen of Irritator was a skull that had been artificially elongated by illegal fossil collectors in the hope of increasing its monetary value†(‬plainly speaking,†‬to get more money for the fossilâ€)‬.†‬Before … Read more
In Depth        Though at the time of writing only known from skulls and jaw bones,†‬it is clear that†‬Tapinocaninus would have been a large dinocephalian therapsid given that the skull alone is some fifty centimetres long.†‬Tapinocaninus is noted for having enlarged teeth that in the front portion of the mouth were angled to … Read more
In Depth        Although officially named in†‬2003,†‬the first confirmed remains of Rajasaurus were found in between†‬1982†‬and†‬1984†‬by Suresh Srivastava.†‬However there is an outside chance that the first remains may have actually been discovered way back in†‬1923†‬with the naming of Lametasaurus.†‬Lametasaurus though is now considered to ba a … Read more
In Depth        Mycterosaurus was a varanopid pelycosaur that lived in the USA during the Permian.†‬The small size of Mycterosaurus is suggestive that this genus was as predator of small vertebrates and possible larger invertebrates.†‬As a member of the Varanopidae,†‬Mycterosaurus would have been a relative of such genera as Varanops,†‬Varanodon and Varanosaurus. … Read more
In Depth        Not a lot has been recovered for this dinosaur,†‬but what we do have for Chaoyangsaurus allows us to identify this as a small ceratopsian dinosaur,†‬What is really significant about this is that Chaoyangsaurus lived during the late Jurassic,†‬which indicates to†‬us that the ceratopsian dinosaurs that would be among the … Read more
In Depth        Kronosaurus is one of the more famous fossil discoveries to come from Australia,†‬and as a huge short-necked pliosaur,†‬Kronosaurus would have been an apex predator of the waters it swam in.†‬The teeth of Kronosaurus are conical and up to thirty centimetres long,†‬although most of that was root with up to … Read more
In Depth        When it comes to popularity Triceratops is only eclipsed by Tyrannosaurus,†‬and even then there are a considerable portion of people who actually prefer Triceratops over the aforementioned apex predator.†‬Yet despite its frequent depiction from toys to dinosaur books,†‬films and other media,†‬there is still a lot of controversy and misconception … Read more
In Depth        The discovery of Jeholosaurus raised some eyebrows as even though it is an ornithiscian dinosaur with distinctively herbivorous teeth towards the back of its mouth, the frontal teeth look that those of a carnivore. This has brought forth the hypothesis that Jeholosaurus was an omnivore, either hunting smaller animals or scavenging carrion to … Read more