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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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