In Depth Mesophryne is a genus of frog that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Mesozoic anurans from Liaoning Province, China, and phylogenetic relationships of archaeobatrachian anuran clades. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21 (3): 460–476. - Ke-Qin Gao & Yuan Wang - 2001.
In Depth A lot of painstaking work was undertaken by palaeontologists rebuilding this animal, and when they done they found out that they had the first ornithosuchian known from Brazil. Like relative genera, Dynamosuchus had a hooked notch in its upper jaw between the premaxilla and maxilla (the two tooth bearing bones of the upper … Read more
In Depth Catutosaurus is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived in waters around South America during the late Jurassic. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs like Catutosaurus were among the most successful marine reptiles of that time with fossils of them being found all over the world. Further reading - Catutosaurus gaspariniae , gen. et sp. nov. (Ichthyosauria, … Read more
In Depth Named after the ‘feathered serpent’ god of Mesoamerica, Quetzalcoatlus has really soared to the top among popular pterosaurs. When first discovered it was thought to have had a fifteen meter wingspan but further studies have reduced this estimate to eleven meters, although that’s still huge for a pterosaur. Another revision was the beak … Read more
In Depth Teleosaurus is commonly referred to as a prehistoric gharial (sometimes gavial) because of its long but very thin jaws that are lined with lots of small thin teeth. These jaws are perfect for snatching fish from the water as their thin form experiences reduced resistance from opening and closing while moving through the … Read more
In Depth Not a lot can be said about Pawpawsaurus because so far it is only known by a skull. However, another nodosaur from the Paw Paw Formation is Texasetes (which includes post cranial remains), which has been suggested as being a synonym to Pawpawsaurus. If this is true, then the current Pawpawsaurus fossil material, … Read more
In Depth From the outset the name Cryptoclidus does not sound all that special, but when you translate it to English to mean ‘hidden collarbone’ it raises a few eyebrows. The genus name is actually in reference to the very small clavicle that is buried within the shoulder girdle that controls the front limbs, or … Read more
In Depth Itasuchus is a genus of extinct notosuchian from the late Cretaceous of Brazil. Itasuchus is considered to have been similar to Barreirosuchus which is from slightly earlier during the late Cretaceous, and Caririsuchus which is known from the late early Cretaceous. All three of these genera are known from Brazil. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Barsboldia is so far only known from vertebrae and some fragmentary remains of other parts of the post cranial skeleton. At the time of writing no skull is known for the genus, yet the original describers still chose to class Barsboldia as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid dinosaur. Later studies however have cast doubts about … Read more
In Depth Cathayornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. While the type species of Cathayornis, C. yandica is valid, two further species C. aberransis and C. chabuensis have also been named but are questionable as they consist of partial body parts that are not preserved in with … Read more