In Depth Notocolossus seems to be yet another genus of giant titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from South America, a continent that is now famous for the presence of such dinosaurs. The full length of Notocolossus is still speculative, but with an upper arm bone measuring 1.76 meters in length, it is fairly safe to say that … Read more
In Depth Confuciusornis is a genus of early bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. The interesting thing about the genus though is that even though it is clearly a primitive bird, it just doesn’t seem to quite fit within the established evolutionary transition of birds. The first birds appeared at least as … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately not only are pterosaur fossils rare in Australia they are usually very fragmentary; such is the case for Aussiedraco. The type specimen had been known for over thirty years before it was granted the name Aussiedraco and represents the front piece of the lower jaw. The jaw itself was thin like you … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description only known from a partial skull, Zaraapelta is a genus of ankylosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous. The Zaraapelta holotype skull was found in the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, indicating that Zaraapelta shared the same ecosystem as two other ankylosaurid genera called Tarchia and Saichania. … Read more
In Depth Arackar is a genus of titanosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Though only known from partial remains, Arackar was at the time of its description one of the most complete individual dinosaurs discovered in Chile. Further reading - Arackar licanantay gen. et sp. nov. a new lithostrotian (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – Third contribution to the Snake Creek Fauna. – Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 50:59-210. – W. D. Matthew – 1924. – The Ground Sloth Megalonyx from Pleistocene Deposits of the Old Crow Basin, Yukon, Canada. – Arctic (Calgary, Alberta: The Arctic Institute of North America) 53 (3): … Read more
In Depth Like in other ornithocherid pterosaurs the sharp teeth of Boreopterus project out to the sides with the largest near the tip of the snout, most notably the third and fourth pairs from the tip of the snout. When the teeth near the tips of the jaws meshed together they made for an effective … Read more
In Depth Hippidion is one of the first known horses to actually enter South America, but interestingly while it has been regarded as being directly descended from primitive forms such as Pliohippus, more modern analysis actually draws a link to the Equidae, the group that includes modern horses. One thing that makes Hippidion stand out … Read more
In Depth Despite the name, Borhyaena was in no way related to hyenas, but was instead one of the larger predatory marsupials that roamed South America during the early/mid Miocene periods. As the type genus of the Borhyaenidae, Borhyaena represents one of the main kinds of predators active in South America until they were ultimately … Read more
In Depth Potentially, Aetosauroides is one of the oldest aetosaurs currently known, and is comparable in age to other genera such as Stagonolepis and Aetobarbakinoides. In fact Aetosauroides has been suggested to be a synonym to Stagonolepis on more than one occasion, though the wider consensus is that it is actually a separate genus. As … Read more