In Depth The name Iberomesornis is often translated to English as ‘Spanish intermediate bird’, but the first part of the name is actually in reference to the Iberian Peninsula (also just called Iberia) which includes not only Spain, but Portugal, Andorra and part of southern France as well. At the time of writing however, Iberomesornis … Read more
In Depth With a rib that is three meters long, Huanghetitan is thought to have had one of the deepest bodies of any known animal. This is but a hint of the size of this sauropod dinosaur which is considered to have been one of the largest sauropods (and by extension vertebrates) to ever walk … Read more
In Depth Eolambia was established after the remains of several individuals were found in the Carol Quarry of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain formation, so named after Carol Jones who first discovered the remains with her husband Ramal in 1992. The name Eolambia means ‘dawn Lambe’, a reference to the last name of … Read more
In Depth Nothogomphodon is a genus of therapsid that lived in Asia during the Early Triassic. Nothogomphodon is notable for the presence of shearing sectorial teeth that are more commonly seen in cynodonts. These teeth would have given Nothogomphodon a large advantage in chewing through meat. Further Reading – New discoveries from the Sinokannemeyeria-Shansisuchus Assemblage … Read more
In Depth Named in 2014, Laquintasaura is officially the first ever dinosaur genus to be named as coming from Venezeula. Laquintasaura was a small plant eating dinosaur, roughly estimated to have been about one meter long. When the first fossils of Laquintasaura were recovered, small theropod dinosaur teeth were discovered near them, hinting at a … Read more
In Depth Rileymillerus is a little known genus of temnospondyl amphibian that lived in Texas during the late Triassic. Further Reading - A new temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Triassic of Texas. - Journal of Paleontology 74(4):670-683. - J. R. Bolt & S. Chatterjee - 2000.
In Depth Embasaurus is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in Kazakhstan during the Early Cretaceous. For a long time Embasaurus has been considered to be a basal tyrannosauroid, but a later study by George Olshevsky raised the idea that Embasaurus might have been a megalosauroid. Further Reading - Two dinosaurian vertebrae from … Read more
In Depth Although certainly not the only North American camel known to us, Camelops seems to have been the last to go extinct. The theories as to why this happened are controversial but in the case of Camelops human hunting was certainly a contributing factor since evidence of butchery (the processing of a carcass for … Read more
In Depth Megalochelys is one of the largest tortoises ever to walk the earth. Individuals of Megalochelys can vary greatly in size, though the largest species M. atlas, (formerly a distinct genus known as Colossochelys), is known to have had an upper shell size approaching just over two meters in length. This large size meant … Read more
In Depth Platyceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that has a noted similarity to the genus Bagaceratops, with some researchers even considering that the two genera may actually be synonymous with one another. However, the skull of Platyceratops is noted as being quite a bit larger than what is known for Bagaceratops, so it … Read more