In Depth Caudipteryx the animal. Caudipteryx is one of the most primitive oviraptosaurs so far known to us, only the genus Incisivosaurus is known to be older at the time of writing. The skull of Caudipteryx can be easily described as being box-like, and the jaws are already formed into a beak. Teeth are still … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - The evolution of fossoriality and the adaptive role of horns in the Mylagaulidae (Mammalia: Rodentia), Samantha S. B. Hopkins - 2005. – A new species of Ceratogaulus from Nebraska and the evolution of nasal horns in Mylagaulidae (Mammalia, Rodentia, Aplodontioidea). – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. – Jonathan J. M. Calede … Read more
In Depth Nakonanectes is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that would have hunted in the Western interior seaway during the late Cretaceous period. Nakonanectes is noted for having short cervical vertebrae and an estimated length of only about five and a half meters at most for the holotype individual. This is small for an elasmosaurid … Read more
In Depth Docodon was a small animal that lived in North America during the late Jurassic. Though known mostly from teeth and jaw material, we can tell that Docodon had very complex teeth for the time, and that these may have been used to process a variety of things from insects to seeds and other … Read more
In Depth Chonecetus is a whale genus that is usually attributed to the Aetiocetidae a group of primitive ancestors of Baleen whales. There has however been speculation that Chonecetus might be a member of the Archaeoceti, a more ancient group of toothed predatory whales that included genera such as Dorudon and Basilosaurus. If the latter … Read more
In Depth The name Pareisactus means ‘intruder’, and this came about from the observation that out of several hundred hadrosaur bones, a single fossil of a scapula (shoulder blade) belonging to a rhabdodont dinosaur was found. This scapula was subsequently used to name the genus Pareisactus. Like hadrosaurs, rhabdodonts like Pareisactus were plant eating dinosaurs. … Read more
In Depth Chilcacetus is a genus of toothed whale that lived in the waters around South America during the Miocene. Further Reading - A new archaic homodont toothed cetacean (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the early Miocene of Peru. - Geodiversitas 37(1):79-108. - O. Lambert, C. de Muizon & G. Bianucci - 2015.
In Depth Neuquenraptor was very nearly the first dromaeosaurid dinosaur to be discovered on the South American continent. First discovered in 1996, the holotype specimen was unofficially named Araucanoraptor argentinus in 1997. Also in 1997 another dromaeosaurid genus named Unenlagia was named from the same formation, and because this genus had a proper description, Unenlagia … Read more
In Depth Rubeosaurus originally started out as a species of Styracosaurus that was based upon partial skull remains, a partial parietal bone recovered in 1928 and a slightly more complete second specimen consisting of left and right nasal and horncore, left premaxilla, partial left orbital with horncore and almost complete right parietal with two spikes. … Read more
In Depth Cachiyacuy is recognised as one of the earliest known occurrences of the Caviomorpha, a group of rodent mammals that is best known today for including chinchillas and guinea pigs. Another caviomorph from the same Formation as well as being named in the same year as Cachiyacuy is Canaanimys. Further Reading - Middle Eocene … Read more