In Depth Jinanichthys was a small fish that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Remains of Jinanichthys have been found inside a specimen of the early Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis, indicating that Jinanichthys were at least occasional prey for these birds. Further Reading - Jura-Cretaceous ichthyofaunas from Sankeyushu section of Tonghoa, Jilin - F.-Z. Ma … Read more
In Depth Chlynovia is a genus of ictidosuchid therocephalian therapsid that lived in Russia during the Permian. Further Reading - New material on Scaloposaurians (Reptilia, Theriodontia) from the Upper Permian of the Kotelnich Locality, Kirov Region. - Paleontological Journal 34 (supplement 2). - L. P. Tatarinov - 2000.
In Depth Minicynodon is a genus of small cynodont that lived in South America during the late Triassic. Further Reading - La fauna local de Faxinal do Soturno, Tri�sico Tard�o de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. - Revista Brasileira de Paleontolog�a 13(3):233-246 - J. F. Bonaparte, C. L. Schultz, M. B. Soares & A. G. … Read more
In Depth Every now and then in palaeontology an animal comes along that just doesn’t seem like it should have existed at all. Macrauchenia is one such individual creature due to a very bizarre mix body features that have ended up in a mix-match of different creature parts. To begin first imagine a four legged … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Wiehenvenator were first discovered in 1998 around the Wiehen Hills in Germany. When compared to some other theropod dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, these fossils were noted as being of a potentially huge size which led to estimates of up to fifteen metres in length being recorded in popular media for many … Read more
In Depth Although discovered in 1972, Gallimimus was a relatively little known dinosaur until its appearance in the 1993 movie blockbuster Jurassic Park. In one of the more famous scenes of this film a whole herd of Gallimimus gets chased by the Tyrannosaurus before one slips and is killed by this predator. Although science fiction, … Read more
In Depth Gryposaurus has a long standing and convoluted association with the genus Kritosaurus to the point that in the 1920‘s Gryposaurus was actually regarded as a synonym to Kritosaurus. Later study has since interpreted Gryposaurus as a distinct genus, but this thinking has had the effect of emptying most of the known material for … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - Pliocene Bovidae (Mammalia) from the Hadar Formation of Hadar and Ledi-Geraru, Lower Awash, Ethiopia, Denis Geraads, Ren� Bobe & Kaye Reed - 2012.
In Depth Chalicotherium is the type genus of the Chalicotheriidae, strange herbivores that look like hybrids between horses and ground sloths. The horse comparison comes from the shape of the head that is similar in form and proportion to that of a horse, while the body is supported upon two long front limbs and two … Read more
In Depth Silutitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South-East Asia during the early Cretaceous. Further reading - The first dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Hami Pterosaur Fauna, China -. Scientific Reports. 11 (1). - Xiaolin Wang, Kamila L. N. Bandeira, Rui Qiu. Shunxing Jiang. Xin Cheng, Yingxia Ma & Alexander W. … Read more