In Depth A heavily built pelycosaur similar to Cotylorhynchus, Angelosaurus also shared its habitat with Caseopsis and Caseoides, all caseidids typified by the type genus of the group, Casea. These were a distinctive group of pelycosaurs that don’t seem to have been that specially adapted beyond being quadrupedal and having large round bodies that are … Read more
In Depth Originally though to be a member of the Archaeoceti, Kekenodon has more recently been considered to be a mysticetid (baleen) whale. Unfortunately the fragmentary nature of the holotype fossils makes is hard to be certain of distinct physical features about Kekenodon. Further Reading - Notes on New Zealand Cetacea, recent and fossil. - … Read more
In Depth Among the pterosaurs Quetzalcoatlus is usually treated as one of if not the largest known pterosaur, and so for a long time any large pterosaur bones of the azdharchid line (which Quetzalcoatlus belongs to), were usually attributed to the genus. These included the growing numbers of large azdharchid pterosaur bones that were being … Read more
In Depth For all intents and purposes Lepidotes was like a Mesozoic carp that was very common in the old world waterways of Eurasia as well as North Africa. Like todays carp Lepidotes was a suction feeder that sucked morsels of food and small prey into its mouth, something it was able to do because … Read more
In Depth Known only from incomplete material, Morrinhosuchus is still an interesting notosuchian. The skull of Morrinhosuchus still retained an antorbital fenestra (an opening in front of the eye socket, and a small notch was present between the premaxilla and maxilla, the two tooth bearing bones of the upper jaw. The mandibles (lower jaw bones) … Read more
In Depth Batyrosaurus has been described as a basal hadrosauroid, the group of ornithopod dinosaurs that would give rise to the more derived hadrosaurids such as Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus towards the late Cretaceous. Compared to other hadrosauroids, the describers considered Batyrosaurus to be more advanced than Altirhinus, but more primitive than Probactrosaurus. In life Batyrosaurus … Read more
In Depth Initially thought to represent a large Pentaceratops individual, Titanoceratops was declared its own genera after further study found the material to belong to a new, although still very similar, ceratopsian dinosaur. The large size of Titanoceratops was the inspiration for the new genera name, with the species name T. ouranos derived from the … Read more
In Depth Palaeohatteria is a genus of sphenacodont pelycosaur that lived in Germany during the early Permian. So far however Palaeohatteria is only known by immature individuals. At times Palaeohatteria has been considered to be synonymous with the genus Haptodus, however some researchers continue to list Palaeohatteria as a distinct genus. Further Reading - Die … Read more
In Depth Necrolestes is only known from partial remains, but the snout (the best preserved part) has an upturned tip. This has led to speculation that Necrolestes may have had a fleshy appendage similar to that seen on the star nosed mole (Condylura cristata). This in turn has led to speculation that Necrolestes may have … Read more
In Depth In 1983 a fossil hunter named William Walker discovered a large fossilised claw in a clay pit. Retrieval of this claw also resulted in the recovery of associated bones that revealed a new and previously unknown type of theropod dinosaur. Alan Charig and Angela Milner described and formerly named the new dinosaur Baryonyx … Read more