In Depth South America is known as the cradle of giant dinosaurs, including other massive sauropods such as Argentinosaurus. Futalognkosaurus however has more skeletal material including the vertebrae (cervical and dorsal), sacrum, ilia, right pubis and ischium and ribs. Unfortunately the skull, tail and legs are unknown. Despite the lack of this material, Futalognkosaurus still … Read more
In Depth Though the name means ‘crocodile’, Mesosuchus was actually one of the rhynchosaurs, a distinct group of archosaurs noted for having a herbivorous diet. Mesosuchus seems to be one of the more primitive forms with later relatives showing distinctly more developed adaptations for their lifestyles. Further Reading - Mesosuchus browni, gen. et spe. Nov. … Read more
In Depth Silvacola is a genus of primitive hedgehog that lived in North America during the early Eocene. With an estimated body length of only five to six centimetres, Silvacola is the smallest hedgehog ever discovered. Further Reading - Early Eocene mammals from the Driftwood Creek beds, Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park, northern British Columbia. - … Read more
In Depth Discovered by Reverend William D. Fox in 1865, Polacanthus has been frustratingly ill preserved with only the hind quarters and parts of armour well preserved. The skull is also unknown, and for this reason modern reconstructions are based upon comparisons with other similar dinosaurs like Gastonia. What can be ascertained is that Polacanthus … Read more
In Depth Carbonodraco is a genus of acleistorhinid parareptile that lived in North America during the early Permian. At the time of its description Carbonodraco is considered to be one of the earliest known parareptiles. Further Reading - Carbonodraco lundi gen et sp. nov., the oldest parareptile, from Linton, Ohio, and new insights into the … Read more
In Depth Guemesia is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. At the time of writing Guemesia is known only from a braincase, which makes physical details beyond generic abelisaurid traits hard to determine. The size of the braincase however suggests that Guemesia may have actually been quite … Read more
In Depth Originally thought to be a diapsid reptile, Heleosaurus was later realised to be a varanopid pelycosaur. Heleosaurus would have been a predator of other small animals. Further Reading - On Some New Fossil Reptiles from the Karroo Beds of Victoria West, South Africa. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 18:31-42- Robert Broom … Read more
In Depth Godavarisaurus is a genus of lepidosaur that lived in India during the early Jurassic, and may have resembled a modern day Tuatara. Further Reading - Rhynchocephalians (Diapsida: Lepidosauria) from the Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 133:309-334. - S. E. Evans, G. V. R. Prasad, and B. K. … Read more
Fossil Map Interactive fossil Map of 65+ Fossil Records of Diplodocus Dinosaur, along with chronological bar chart of fossil discoveries. The discovery, naming and reconstruction of Diplodocus Two factors have helped make Diplodocus famous all over the world. The first is that for a long time Diplodocus was thought to be the largest (at … Read more
In Depth Xenokeryx is a genus of palaeomerycid artiodactyl mammal that lived in western Europe during the Miocene. Xenokeryx is noted to have a bizarre T-shaped horn rising up from the back of the skull. This horn is the inspiration of the type species name X. amidalae, which is a reference to the character of … Read more