In Depth Tristychius is often described as being similar to a dogfish, and featured a strongly upturned caudal fin. Like many other early prehistoric sharks, Tristychius had spines in front of both the first and second dorsal fins. The highly developed nature of these spines suggests that they were for defence rather than to support … Read more
In Depth Devincenzia was one of the larger terror birds but was still more gracile than some such as Brontornis. This implies that Devincenzia would have had a greater reliance upon speed and agility while hunting. Actually attacks upon prey may have been a series of heavy downward blows from its beak onto the head … Read more
In Depth Although not certain, Kelenken is a strong contender for the tallest ‘terror bird’ (phorusrhacid) known. This has seen Kelenken firmly placed within the Phorusrhacinae sub group of terror birds, and its remains suggest that it had a more gracile build when compared to the Brontornithinae group that contains large but more robust members … Read more
In Depth Palaeoniscum was a predatory fish from the late Permian. The genus displays the continuing trend towards faster swimming for a more active predatory lifestyle. Palaeoniscum still had however air sacs on the underside of its jaw which could be inflated at will. These would have acted like rudimentary swim bladders for controlling buoyancy … Read more
In Depth Phoeniconotius seems to have been a large flamingo that once lived along the shorelines of saline lakes and lagoons. Some parts of Phoeniconotius such as the skull and legs are not fully known, but the parts which have been studied have indicated a similarity to the genus Megapaloelodus, revealing that Phoeniconotius was at … Read more
In Depth Named in 2022, Bashanosaurus is one of the oldest stegosaurid dinosaurs that we know about, possibly even older than the previous ‘oldest’ stegosaur Adratiklit. Unfortunately though there is still some mystery about Bashanosaurus. The genus is based upon the partial remains of more than one individual, and also not from a fully grown … Read more
In Depth When you are presented with an image of a moa bird, chances are you are looking at Dinornis, which internationally is the most famous of the moa. This fame is mostly down to the immense size of Dinornis, individuals of which at full elevation of the neck could reach up to just over three and … Read more
In Depth Protohadros is a genus of medium to large ornithopod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Protohadros means ‘first hadrosaur)’, and reflects the idea at the time of its description that the genus may represent the earliest true hadrosaur in North America. However, since Protohadros has been named, several new … Read more
In Depth The Gogo Formation of Australia is easily one of the most important areas in the world concerning the study of Devonian era fish, and of these the genus Materpiscis is one of the most significant. The reason for this is that the holotype specimen of Materpiscis is a pregnant female with a single … Read more
In Depth First misidentified as a lobe finned fish, Pederpes is a very important entry into the fossil record as it represents the first tetrapod to evolve to a primarily terrestrial (land based) lifestyle. It also slots into a barren area of the fossil record referred to as Romer’s gap, an area where the transition … Read more