In Depth Originally named as a species of Dinornis by Richard Owen in 1844, Anomalopteryx was established as a valid genus a few years later by Ludwig Reichenbach. Different genera of moa are noted for specialising between differing habitats, and Anomalopteryx is so far known to have lived in lowland forests where it would have browsed upon shrubs and low growing trees. … Read more
In Depth When first described Estesia was considered to be a member of the Varanoidea, the group that contains modern day monitor lizards (i.e. lace monitor, komodo dragon, etc). This relationship was based mostly upon the similarity of the jaws as well as the teeth which were sharp and recurved (curve to face the back … Read more
In Depth Palaeocastor is most famous for the elaborate spiral burrows (popularly known as devil’s corkscrews) that it actually dug out using its teeth instead of its claws. These burrows were discovered long before the first specimen of Palaeocastor was identified, and had previously been interpreted as being the fossilised remains of aquatic sponges or … Read more
In Depth Notohypsilophodon is a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Notohypsilophodon is so named based upon a superficial similarity to the genus Hypsilophodon while also recognising the more southern occurrence of this individual. Notohypsilophodon is so far only known from the partial remains of a juvenile, … Read more
In Depth Caihong is a genus of anchiornithid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic. Caihong was a very small dinosaur, roughly about forty centimetres long in life. Caihong is noted for having feathers covering the entire body except for the snout and claws. Study of melanosome associated with Caihong show that in … Read more
In Depth Since the early days of palaeontology many genera of brontotheres have been named from North America, though now after over one hundred and fifty years of continuous study and discovery, many of these have now been perceived to be synonymous with the genus Megacerops. Some of these names include genera such as Brontops … Read more
In Depth Although known from other locations, Protorosaurus fossils are most common in Germany. This might suggest that Protorosaurus were more numerous there during the Permian, however it might also suggest that the conditions in Germany during the Permian were better for the fossilisation process to begin, therefore Germany might not have had a higher … Read more
In Depth Campinasuchus is a genus of sebecosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Unfortunately little is known about Campinasuchus, though the genus is thought to be related to Pissarrachampsa and Wargosuchus. Further Reading - Campinasuchus dinizi gen. et sp. nov., a new Late Cretaceous baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes) from the Bauru Basin, … Read more
In Depth Discovered in New Zealand, Mauisaurus was for a long time credited as one of the largest plesiosaurs. However in more recent times there have been doubts about the validity of fossils attributed to the genus since these have come from so many different locations. Mauisaurus also displays the long sharp teeth often seen … Read more
In Depth Nimravus - Not a Cat! Nimravus is the type genus of the Nimravidae group of mammals that are better known as the ‘false sabre-toothed cats’. This is because while Nimravus and others like it looked like the big cats, they actually evolved from a different line of mammals than the true cats that … Read more