In Depth Termatosaurus was a genus of a phytosaur that lived in Europe at the end of the Triassic, an occurrence which was actually the inspiration for the genus name which means ‘end lizard’. The phytosaurs were crocodile-like reptiles, though they were not actually related to modern crocodiles. Further Reading – Beitr�ge zur Pal�ontologie W�rttemberg’s, … Read more
In Depth What information can be garnered about Hypselosaurus is that it was a medium sized titanosaur that lived in what is now Western Europe at the end of the Cretaceous period. Unfortunately it is very difficult to go beyond this because of the incomplete nature of recovered specimens (despite the popular image presented in … Read more
In Depth The teeth of Haopterus are quite robust. As well as extending for the first two thirds of the jaws they also point towards the back of the mouth. These teeth are well adapted for catching and holding onto fish, which seem to be the preferred diet of pterosaurs that belong to the Ornithocheiridae. … Read more
In Depth To realise the full meaning of the name Ludodactylus (toy finger), you may have to revisit your childhood. Whereas Pteranodon is by far the most easily recognised pterosaur by the general public, toys of it often have the presence of teeth in its jaws in order to make it look more ferocious. This … Read more
In Depth Itilochelys is a genus of turtle that lived in the waters over what is now Russia during the Palaeocene. Further Reading – Itilochelys rasstrigin gen. et sp. nov., a new hard-shelled sea turtle (Cheloniidae sensu lato) from the Lower Palaeocene of Volgograd Province, Russia. – Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RSA 314(1):24-41. – … Read more
In Depth An evaluation of a species of Stenopterygius, S. hauffianus, yielded two things. One, many of the remains of this species could actually be attributed to the Stenopterygius type species, S. quadriscissus. Two, remains that differed from these other fossils were of a new and previously un-described genus of ichthyosaur, hence the re-description and … Read more
In Depth Belebey were bolosaurid parareptiles that lived during the early and mid stages of the Permian. Like other members of the Bolosauridae, Belebey were probably herbivores given that their teeth were most suited to processing plants. The type species of the genus from Russia, B. vegrandis could grow to around thirty-five centimetres long, but … Read more
In Depth Xianshanosaurus is a genus of titanosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A preliminary report on the new dinosaurian fauna from the Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin, Henan Province of central China. - Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea 25(1):43-56. - J. L�, L. Xu, X. Jiang, … Read more
In Depth Today the Yixian Formation of China is one of the most famous and most studied fossil bearing formations in the world with many significant prehistoric animals such as Eomaia, Graciliraptor, Confuciusornis, Dilong, Beipiaosaurus, Yutyrannus, Sinocalliopteryx and Psittacosaurus all amongst many, many other animals all being found there. However what many people do not … Read more
In Depth Like with many early theropods, especially European ones, Metriacanthosaurus was originally named as a species of Megalosaurus, a dinosaur that in the early years of palaeontology ended up being used as a wastebasket taxon for almost any theropod remains. The initial naming was made by the German palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene, who named … Read more