Dakotadon

In Depth        Originally named as a species of Iguanodon,‭ ‬Dakotadon is so far only known‭ ‬from a‭ ‬partial skull.‭ ‬Like other ornithopods,‭ ‬Dakotadon would have fed upon plants growing at varying heights,‭ ‬adjusting its stance and posture to reach. Further Reading -‭ ‬A revised taxonomy of the iguanodont dinosaur genera and species.‭ – ‬Cretaceous Research‭ … Read more

Paritatodon

In Depth        Paritatodon is a genus of docodont mammal that lived during the Jurassic. Further Reading -‭ ‬Mammals from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Formation of the Fergana Depression,‭ ‬Kyrgyzstan.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬30‭(‬3‭)‬:855-871.‭ ‬-‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Martin‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Averianov‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010. – Reconsideration of the systematic position of the Middle Jurassic mammaliaforms … Read more

Pakisaurus

In Depth        Named from only four caudal vertebrae,‭ ‬Pakisaurus is a genus that faces a future where without further remains,‭ ‬it will probably end up being regarded as a dubious genus.‭ ‬This is because even if new titanosaurian sauropod fossils are discovered,‭ ‬they cannot be confidently assigned to the genus unless they are found in … Read more

Muiscasaurus

In Depth        Muiscasaurus is a genus of opthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Opthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs like Muiscasaurus are thought to have been specialists that hunted in deep water where there was very little light. Further Reading -‭ ‬A new ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Papers in Palaeontology.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ … Read more

Minotaurasaurus

In Depth        Minotaurasaurus was an Asian ankylosaurid dinosaur,‭ ‬presumably of the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬However the skull that makes up the holotype of Minotaurasaurus is more famous for the controversy surrounding it.‭ ‬The skull was purchased from a fossil dealer by Vilayanur S.‭ ‬Ramachandran,‭ ‬who in turn allowed it to be studied by palaeontologists.‭ ‬However at … Read more

Cardabiodon

In Depth        Cardabiodon is a genus of shark that is known to have lived during at least the Cenomanian and early Turonian periods of the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬First named from fossil teeth and vertebrae discovered in Australia,‭ ‬further examples are known from North America and Russia,‭ ‬as well as speculated in other locations.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬so … Read more

Lycoptera

In Depth        Lycoptera is a genus of small freshwater fish that seems to have been very common throughout Asia during the Late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.‭ ‬It is because of this abundance that Lycoptera is often used as an index fossil.‭ ‬What this means is that identifying the presence of Lycoptera in a specimen … Read more

Lesothosaurus

In Depth        Although only a very small dinosaur,‭ ‬Lesothosaurus has raised a lot of questions as to exactly what it was and how the genus was related to other ornithischian dinosaurs.‭ ‬When first described by Galton in‭ ‬1978,‭ ‬Lesothosaurus was proposed to be an ornithopod.‭ ‬However the genus has also been considered to be a … Read more

Jaggermeryx

In Depth        Jaggermeryx is a genus of anthracothere that lived in Egypt during the Miocene period.‭ ‬Jaggermeryx is noted for having jawbones which have eight mental foramen on each size,‭ ‬which is a strong indicator that Jaggermeryx had very sensitive lips as well as a snout.‭ ‬These feeding adaptations would have had a very fleshy … Read more

Khulsanurus

In Depth        Khulsanurus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in East Asia during the late Cretaceous. Further reading -‭ ‬The second taxon of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Khulsan locality in Gobi Desert,‭ ‬Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Historical Biology:‭ ‬An International Journal of Paleobiology.‭ ‬in press:‭ ‬1‭–‬12..‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Averianov‭ & ‬A.‭ … Read more