In Depth In 1939 Friedrich von Huene named a new species of the phytosaur Francosuchus, F. trauthi based upon a small fragment of rostrum. A new study conducted in 2013 by Butler however found this fragment to simply no be diagnostic enough to warrant its inclusion within the Francosuchus genus, and gave it is own … Read more
In Depth Rukwasuchus is a genus of crocodile that lived in Tanzania during the Cretaceous. Rukwasuchus was named after Lake Rukwa, something the genus has in common with the titanosaur genus Rukwatitan. Further Reading - A new crocodyliform from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation, southwestern Tanzania. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(3):576-596. - Jospeh J. … Read more
In Depth Aside from being the first tapejarid pterosaur discovered outside of Brazil, Sinopterus also represents one of the earliest and most complete. Sinopterus had a toothless bony beak and bony crest that runs from the premaxilla to the middle of the skull. The crest is then thought to extend upwards. Sinopterus is thought to … Read more
In Depth Paranthodon remains were first described when they were incorrectly included with the remains of a parieasaur named Anthodon. The inclusion of these remains also gave the incorrect identification for Anthodon as a dinosaur instead of a parieasaur until 1912 when Robert Broom separated an upper jaw from the genus. While Broom correctly identified … Read more
In Depth Aphrosaurus seems to have been a middle sized lightweight elasmosaurid plesiosaur. Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs (those similar to Elasmosaurus) are known for having proportionately long legs, and like with others, half of the total length of Aphrosaurus was neck. This neck was one of the primary feeding adaptations that would have allowed it to reach … Read more
In Depth Sometimes confused with the similarly named ichthyosaur Eurhinosaurus, Eurhinodelphis was a Miocene era cetacean that resembled a long snouted dolphin. Another similarity to dolphins is the asymmetrical brain which means one side was different than the other. Additionally Eurhinodelphis had extremely well developed hearing and is considered to have possibly hunted by echolocation. … Read more
In Depth Bonnerichthys is a genus of very large filter feeding fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. By becoming a filter feeder of plankton, Bonnerichthys had access to a near limitless supply of food, while expending very little energy in gathering it, meaning that more calories could go into building and maintaining a large … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description, Archaeovenator is the oldest known varanopid amniote. In like Archaeovenator would have resembled a small lizard, and it may have hunted for invertebrates as it scampered around the Carboniferous forests. Further Reading - Archaeovenator hamiltonensis, a new varanopid Synapsida: Eupelycosauria from the Upper Carboniferous of Kansas, R. … Read more
In Depth Protarchaeopteryx was so named because of a superficial similarity to the genus Archaeopteryx. However today, Protarchaeopteryx is seen as a very primitive member of the Oviraptosauria, and one that bears a strong resemblance to the genus Incisivosaurus. Protarchaeopteryx was a small dinosaur, and one that probably specialised in hunting small animals like lizards … Read more
In Depth Rileyasuchus was originally named as Rileyia, but was changed to Rileyasuchus when it was realised that Rileyia had been used to name a genus of hymenopteran insect. Aside from this Rileyasuchus has had a problematic taxonomic history with speculation that fossils of the dinosaur Thecodontosaurus may be mixed in with it. In addition … Read more