In Depth Sinocephale fossils originally started as being assigned as a species of Troodon back in 1953 when similarity between the teeth of Troodon and other pachycephalosaurs. When the pachycephalosaurs and troodonts were realised to be very different kinds of dinosaurs, material of Sinocephale was then associated with the pachycephalosaur Stegoceras in 1964. The validity … Read more
In Depth The original 2012 paper of the plesiosaur Spitrasaurus included the description of not one but two species for the genus. The type species, S. wensaasi (PMO 219 718) is described from sixty articulated cervical vertebrae believed to have come from a juvenile individual. S. larseni (SVB 1450) is also known from cervical vertebrae, … Read more
In Depth The overall appearance of Velociraptor was that of a lightweight bipedal hunter built for speed, though differed from most other known dromaeosaurid dinosaurs by having an upturned snout at the front of a long, low skull. The skull was filled with small teeth, suitable for taking meat off a carcass, but not for … Read more
In Depth A relative of the more famous Diprotodon, Zygomaturus was another of the exceptionally large wombats that once roamed around Australia. As a genus Zygomaturus has been envisioned as preferring to live around waterways such as rivers and lakes where they could browse upon the aquatic plants that grew around the water’s edge. Like … Read more
In Depth Akidolestes displays a number of features which are seen in monotreme mammals, including a similar pubis and the presence of cervical ribs. However, other observations of the holotype specimen mean that there is no doubt that Akidolestes was a spalacotheriid mammal. The monotreme-like features are probably convergent features or traits from an ancestral … Read more
In Depth Riabininohadros is a genus of large ornithischian dinosaur that lived on Europe towards the end of the Cretaceous period. Further Reading - Riabininohadros, a New Genus for the Ornithischian Dinosaur Orthomerus weberae (Ornithopoda, Iguanodontia) from the Late Cretaceous of Crimea. - Paleontological Journal. 54 (3): 112–114. - A. V. Lopatin & A. O. … Read more
In Depth Initially described as a species of Melanorosaurus, M. thabanensis was elevated to its oven genus level and named Meroktenos in 2016. Meroktenos is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that once lived in Africa during the late Triassic. Further Reading - New material and revision of Melanorosaurus thabanensis, a basal sauropodomorph from the Upper … Read more
In Depth Although first discovered in Angola, it’s entirely plausible that Angolasaurus had a wider distribution since it was a marine creature and had the freedom of the ocean to travel. As a plioplatecarpine mosasaur, Angolasaurus is considered to be related to Platecarpus, Plioplatecarpus and Selmasaurus amongst others. Further Reading – O Neocretacio e o … Read more
In Depth The holotype fossils of Pneumatoraptor are noted for containing numerous air cavities, which in turn inspired the name Pneumatoraptor which means ‘air thief’. The type species name is in honour of Geza Fodor, the person who provided funding for the expedition the expedition that recovered the Pneumatoraptor remains. Pneumatoraptor was a small maniraptorian … Read more
In Depth Dapingfangornis is a genus of enantiornithe bird that lived in China during the Cretaceous. Further Reading - New Eoenantiornithid Bird from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Western Liaoning, China. - Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 80(1):38-41. - L. Li, Y. Duan, D. Hu, L. Wang, S. Cheng and L. Hou - 2006.