In Depth        Dactylosaurus was one of the smallest known pachypleurosaurs,†‬a group of marine reptiles with close associations to the nothosaurs,†‬though opinions differ†‬on if they should belong within the†‬Nothosauroidea or be separate to them.†‬Dactylosaurus may have been fed upon by other marine reptiles and large fish such as primitive sharks like … Read more
In Depth        The change from a terrestrial to more aquatic life that began with Pakicetus through Ambulocetus continued with the further developments of Protocetus.†‬The front limbs still had webbed toes,†‬but the rear limbs were already greatly reduced in size to the point of them being vestigial.†‬The caudal vertebrae towards†‬the end of … Read more
In Depth        Fostoria is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Australia during the Cretaceous. Further reading -†‬Fostoria dhimbangunmal,†‬gen.†‬et sp.†‬nov.,†‬a new iguanodontian†(‬Dinosauria,†‬Ornithopodaâ€) ‬from the mid-Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge,†‬New South Wales,†‬Australia.†‬-†‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology†‬39â€(‬1â€)‬:e1564757:1-18.†‬-†‬P.†‬R.†‬Bell,†‬T.†‬Brougham,†‬M.†‬C.†‬Herne,†… Read more
In Depth        Based upon the description of a partial skull,†‬the validity of the Stormbergia genus has been questioned as some have proposed that the skull may represent the fully grown adult form of Lesothosaurus.†‬If this is correct then Stormbergia would actually be a synonym to Lesothosaurus. Further Reading -†‬The†‘‬fabrosaurid‒ ‬ornithischian dinosaurs … Read more
In Depth        Khoratosuchus is a genus of crocodile that lived in Thailand during the Cretaceous. Further Reading -†‬Khoratosuchus jintasakuli gen.†‬et sp.†‬nov.,†‬an advanced neosuchian crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous†(‬Aptian-Albianâ€) ‬of NE Thailand.†‬Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Ecosystems in SE Asia.†‬-†‬The Geological Society of London,†‬Special Publication†‬315:175-187.†‬-†‬K.†… Read more
In Depth        ‬Otodus was bigger than any other carnivorous fish in the sea today,†‬being one and half times bigger than the largest recorded great white shark.†‬This large size however does not mean that Otodus was an apex predator as it would have had to share the seas with other predators such as Basilosaurus,†… Read more
In Depth        Chenanisaurus is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in North Africa towards the end of the Cretaceous period.†‬Chenanisaurus is named from†‬the description of a partial lower jaw,†‬and while this does not give us much to go on,†‬it does reveal a few things.†‬While the jaw is incomplete,†‬it … Read more
In Depth        Technosaurus is in simple terms a mess.†‬Described in†‬1984†‬by Sankar Chatterjee from an astralgus†(‬ankle boneâ€)‬,†‬a dorsal†(‬backâ€) ‬vertebrae,†‬two lower jaws and a premaxilla,†‬Techonosaurus was heralded as the earliest ornithischian†(‬bird hippedâ€) ‬dinosaur of the time.†‬Then in†‬1991another palaeontologist named Paul Sereno re-examined the fossils,†‬a study … Read more
In Depth        Whereas Smilodon is without doubt the most famous prehistoric big cat,†‬Dinofelis is the most notorious.†‬This notoriety comes from the long association of Dinofelis hunting and eating early hominids like Homo habilis,†‬Paranthropus and Australopithecus afarensis,†‬thought by some to be an ancestor to modern humans.†‬This predation reveals that Dinofelis was … Read more
In Depth        Ruhuhucerberus is a genus of gorgonopsid that lived in Tanzania during the Permian.†‬The Ruhuhucerberus type species was originally named as a species of Aelurognathus called A.†‬aughtoni,†‬but was split and elevated to genus level by Maisch in†‬2002.†‬A second species of Ruhuhucerberus,†‬R.†‬terror,†‬is now considered to be synonymous … Read more