In Depth        In†‬2006†‬the palaeontologists M.†‬Sadiq Malkani managed to name five titanosaurs from the Pab Formation of Pakistan,†‬all described from caudal†(‬tailâ€) ‬vertebrae.†‬Malkani also named two new families of titanosaurs,†‬the Pakisauridae and the Balochisauridae as homes for the new titanosaurs.†‬Balochisaurus as you may have guessed is the type genus … Read more
In Depth Named in honour of the palaeontologist Jim Eyles,†‬the Eyles‒ ‬Harrier is an extinct harrier,†‬and one that grew to a particularly large size for the kind of bird of prey that it was.†‬ The Eyles‒ ‬Harrier is often considered to have been similar to the modern day Swamp Harrier†(‬Circus approximansâ€)‬,†… Read more
In Depth        Not a lot of information is currently available about Delapparentia,†‬though as a relative to herbivorous dinosaurs like Iguanodon,†‬a few things can be inferred.†‬Delapparentia would have been a fairly large ornithopod dinosaur that would have balanced most of its body weight upon its rear legs,†‬while the fore legs were reduced … Read more
In Depth        With greatly elongated fingers the hands are a tantalising find for palaeontologists, but without the rest of the skeleton it is impossible to give an accurate insight into this creature’s life. One possible explanation is that Yixianosaurus lived like a modern day aye-aye. Aye-aye’s also have hands that have impressively long fingers which … Read more
In Depth        Shweboemys is a genus of turtle that is known to have lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous.†‬A former species of Shweboemys,†‬S.†‬gaffneyi,†‬has now been renamed as a distinct genus called Brontochelys. Further Reading – A new fossil fresh-water tortoise from Burma. – Records of the Geological Survey of India … Read more
In Depth        Sonorasaurus may look like an atypical brachiosaurid dinosaur†(‬as in similar to the famous Brachiosaurusâ€)‬,†‬but the genus actually represents the first known example of a brachiosaurid dinosaur in North America during the Cretaceous,†‬specifically around the early/late Cretaceous boundary.†‬This is yet further evidence that counters the now outdated theory that the … Read more
In Depth        Originally described as belonging to a species of Megalosaurus in†‬1884,†‬Friedrich von Huene renamed the fossils of teeth and vertebrae to Altispinax in†‬1923.†‬This name reflects the size of the neural spines of the vertebrae,†‬fossils that were later attributed to the genus after it was established upon the description of … Read more
In Depth        Mendozahippus is a mammal genus that lived in South America during the Oligocene. Further Reading -†‬Mendozahippus fierensis,†‬gen.†‬et sp.†‬nov.,†‬new Notohippidae†(‬Notoungulataâ€) ‬from the Late Oligocene of Mendoza†(‬Argentinaâ€)‬.†‬- Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology†‬30â€(‬6â€)‬:1805-1817.†‬-†‬E.†‬Cerdeďż˝o†& ‬B.†‬Vera†‬-2010.
In Depth        Ankylorhiza is a genus of dolphin known to have lived in waters around eastern North America during the Oligocene.†‬Ankylorhiza was one of the larger toothed whales for its time and would have likely been a predator of everything from fish to other large marine creatures,†‬possibly even whales.†‬The incisor teeth of … Read more
In Depth        A symmetrodont mammal from the Early Cretaceous of China,†‬Maotherium would have been a small predatory of insects.†‬Maotherium was named after the Chinese politician Mao Zedong. Further Reading -†‬A new symmetrodont mammal with fur impressions from the Mesozoic of China.†‬-†‬Acta Geologica Sinica†‬77â€(‬1â€)‬:7-14.†‬-†‬G.†‬W.†‬Rougier,†‬Q.†‬Ji†… Read more