M. africanavus was an African mammoth that seems to have lived after M. subplanifrons and is important to researchers of elephants and mammoths because it is considered to be the ancestor of M. meridionalis (Southern mammoth). In turn the descendants of M. meridionalis would go onto to produce some of the more famous mammoth species such as M. trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) and M. primigenius (Woolly mammoth). … Read more
In Depth Beneziphius is a genus of beaked whale that lived in waters around Europe during the Miocene/Pliocene periods. Further Reading - Systematics and phylogeny of the fossil beaked whales Ziphirostrum du Bus, 1868 and Choneziphius Duvernoy, 1851 (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti), from the Neogene of Antwerp (North of Belgium). - Geodiversitas 27(3):443-497. - O. Lambert … Read more
In Depth Due to the incomplete nature of the holotype fossils, Ultrasaurus is today seen as a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur, given that it would be near impossible to attribute further remains to the genus. Ultrasaurus is actually more famous for forcing a naming change in a North American genus of diplodocid dinosaur. In … Read more
In Depth Initially thought to be some form of elephant and later an antelope, the correct identification of Sivatherium as a giraffe did not come about until Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire identified it as one. However this theory was not universally accepted until close analysis found that the skull horns would have been covered by skin like … Read more
In Depth Aguascalientia was a miniature camel that lived across the southern portions of the continent of North America, though it was not one of the ‘true’ camels that we know today. Its small size displays well how many of today’s larger mammals from camels to horses to even elephants had very humble beginnings in … Read more
In Depth Several hundred bones from an estimated four individuals have been attributed to this genus, and together they make up the best represented European genus of nodosaurid dinosaur. Like its nodosaurid relatives, Hungarosaurus was an armoured quadrupedal dinosaur that would have browsed upon low growing vegetation. The armour would have been an arrangement of … Read more
In Depth Lessemsaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur named in honour of the Don Lessem, an author noted for his work writing popular science books. Although Lessemsaurus is so far only based upon the description of vertebrae. These vertebrae are noted for having tall neural spines, something which may hint at a fleshy or … Read more
In Depth Remains of Brazilian dinosaurs are often noted as being incomplete (for example, the increasingly famous spinosaurid Oxalaia was named from only the tip of the snout), and Adamantisaurus was no exception to this since it was named from only six caudal vertebrae. These six vertebrae were originally written about in 1959 by Sergio … Read more
In Depth Rhinorex is a genus of saurolophine hadrosaur that lived in the USA during the late Cretaceous. Rhinorex can be further identified as a kritosaurine due to the development of the bones on the snout which would have formed a bony display structure in life. However, Rhinorex is also noted as being very similar … Read more
In Depth Like with many sauropod dinosaurs, Agustinia is known from incomplete remains. Some of these remains however revealed a startling revelation in that this sauropod had what appeared to be armour along its back similar in appearance to the plates of Stegosaurus, a herbivorous but completely different kind of dinosaur. This is in particular … Read more