Regnosaurus

In Depth        The holotype fossil of a partial jaw of Regnosaurus was recovered by Gideon Mantell who considered it to belong to an unknown large prehistoric animal.‭ ‬Mantell would later name his animal Igaunodon,‭ ‬though it was still referred to as a big lizard since the word dinosaur had still not been invented.‭ ‬Mantell realised … Read more

Paludititan

In Depth        Discovered in the increasingly famous Hațeg basin of Romania,‭ ‬Paludititan was a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in Eastern Europe towards the end of the Cretaceous period.‭ ‬Paludititan is not the first titanosaur to be named from this part of the world,‭ ‬the‭ ‬dwarf titanosaur Magyarosaurus‭ ‬was named earlier and‭ ‬seems to … Read more

Rhopalodon

In Depth        There has been a lot of uncertainty as to exactly what Rhopalodon was,‭ ‬but a‭ ‬2005‭ ‬study by Tverdokhlebov et al considered the genus to represent a mid-sized dinocephalian therapsid. Further Reading -‭ ‬Upper Permian vertebrates and their sedimentological context in the South Urals,‭ ‬Russia,‭ ‬-‭ ‬Earth-Science Reviews‭ ‬69‭ ‬27-77‭ ‬55‭ ‬-‭ ‬Valentin … Read more

Nanokogia

In Depth        Nanokogia seems to have been much like modern day pygmy sperm whales of the Kogia genus.‭ ‬This is‭ ‬reflected in the genus name which basically means‭ ‘‬Small Kogia‭’‬.‭ ‬One difference however is that Nanokogia seems to have lacked teeth in the upper jaw,‭ ‬which may be a reflection of a specific prey specialisation.‭ … Read more

Paleoparadoxia

In Depth        The first description of Paleoparadoxia remains was published in‭ ‬1939‭ ‬by Tokunaga as Cornwallius tabatai.‭ ‬The genus Paleoparadoxia was not named until‭ ‬1959‭ ‬when R.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Reinhart published a review of the Sirenia and Desmostylia.‭ ‬Paleoparadoxia was a large quadrupedal mammal that has been identified as a member of the Desmostylia‭ (‬type genus … Read more

Eotriceratops

In Depth        Named in reference to the more famous Triceratops,‭ ‬Eotriceratops was a large ceratopsian dinosaur of the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬At three meters long from the snout to the tip of the neck frill,‭ ‬the skull of Eotriceratops is also immense.‭ ‬The skull at the base of the left brow horn has bite marks which … Read more

Ischyodus

In Depth        Nine times out of ten Ischyodus in simply referred to as a prehistoric Chimaera.‭ ‬In this instance it is meant as being similar to Chimaera monstrosa,‭ ‬also known as the rat fish and the rabbit fish,‭ ‬due to its physical similarity.‭ ‬Both Ischyodus‭ ‬and Chimaera monstrosa are members of the Chondrichthyes,‭ ‬which means … Read more

Platycraniellus

In Depth        Platycraniellus is a genus of therapsid that lived in South Africa‭ ‬during the early Triassic. Further Reading -‭ ‬Redescription of Platycraniellus elegans‭ (‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Cynodontia‭) ‬from the lower Triassic of South Africa,‭ ‬and the cladistic relationships of eutheriodonts.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontology col‭ ‬50,‭ ‬issue‭ ‬3‭ ‬pp‭ ‬591-618.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Fernando Abdala‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.

Chiayusaurus

In Depth        Chiayusaurus is a highly dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur because the type species is based upon the description of a tooth crown.‭ ‬The problem with such tooth taxons is that unless in exceptionally rare cases‭ (‬like with Troodon‭)‬,‭ ‬it is next to impossible to assign further remains.‭ ‬Even a second species named C.‭ … Read more

Lycopsis

In Depth        Lycopsis is a genus of borhyaenoid mammal that lived in South America during the Miocene. Further Reading -‭ ‬A New Species of Lycopsis‭ (‬Borhyaenidae:‭ ‬Marsupialia‭) ‬from the La Venta Fauna‭ (‬Late Miocene‭) ‬of Colombia,‭ ‬South America.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Paleontology‭ ‬51‭(‬3‭)‬:633-642.‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Marshall‭ ‬-‭ ‬1977. -‭ ‬New clues for understanding Neogene … Read more