In Depth        The fossil material for Magericyon was originally described as a species of Amphicyon until a new study by Peigne et al†‬in†‬2008.†‬Magericyon was found to be different from Amphicyon by close study of the form and proportion of the teeth.†‬In naming the new genus the describers chose the name Magericyon … Read more
In Depth        Analysis of Obruchevichthys remains has struck up similarities with a tetrapod named Elginerpeton. This has revealed that Obruchevichthys was also a member of the early tetrapods, not a lobe finned fish as first thought. Along with Elginerpeton, Obruchevichthys predated the other tetrapods by an estimated 5-8 million years. Further Reading – Morphology and … Read more
In Depth        Jintasaurus is a genus of igaunodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous.†‬At the time of writing,†‬Jintasaurus has only been described from partial skull fragments,†‬though these seem to indicate that Jintasaurus was close to becoming a hadrosauroid,†‬a member of the group of dinosaurs that would eventually give … Read more
In Depth        Kembawacela is a genus of burrowing dicynodont that lived in Africa during the late Permian.†‬Aside from living in burrows,†‬Kembawacela would have roamed around looking for plants to eat.†‬There is some evidence for sexual dimorphism in Kembawacela due to not all of the fossil skulls having tusks.†‬The large development of … Read more
In Depth        Dunyu is a genus of jawless fish that lived in the waters around what is now China during the Silurian. Further Reading -†‬A new genus of eugaleaspidiforms†(‬Agnatha:†‬Galeaspidaâ€) ‬from the Ludlow,†‬Silurian of Qujing,†‬Yunnan,†‬Southwestern China.†‬-†‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica†‬50†(‬1â€)‬:†‬1â€â€“‬7.†‬-†‬Min Zhu,†‬Yu-Hai Liu,†‬Lian-Tao Jia†& … Read more
In Depth        The significant thing about the discovery of Juramaia is that here you have a placental mammal appearing thirty-five million years earlier than†‬the†‬previously known contender Eomaia,†‬a primitive mammal described in†‬2002†‬that was also discovered in Liaoning Province.†‬This has helped researchers who are slowly piecing together a more complete picture … Read more
In Depth        Austriadraco is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Austria during the late Triassic.†‬Austriadraco is also noted for bearing a resemblance to†‬the genera Arcticodactylus and†‬Eudimorphodon. Further Reading -†‬Comments on Triassic pterosaurs with discussion about ontogeny and description of new taxa.†‬-†‬Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciďż˝ncias†‬87â€(‬2â€)‬:669-689.†‬-†… Read more
In Depth        Clovesuurdameredeor is a genus of thalattosuchian†(‬sea crocodileâ€) ‬that lived in European seas during the mid Jurassic.†‬Clovesuurdameredeor is also another genus established after a major revision of the Steneosaurus genus that took place in†‬2020. Further reading -†‬Gharial skull from the Cornbrash of Closworth.†‬-†‬Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History … Read more
In Depth        The title of biggest known rodent often gets assigned to the related Phoberomysâ€;‬ however†‬the discovery of a new skull of Josephoartigasia†‬revealed that it was quite a bit larger.†‬These estimates however have to be based upon comparing the size of the skull of Josephoartigasia to those of other known rodents with … Read more
In Depth        At five to six meters long,†‬Wonambi would have been able to tackle any small to medium sized animal it chose.†‬The Aboriginal people living in Australia at the same time as Wonambi were certainly aware of the presence of large snakes and indeed warned their children about going to watering holes alone.†… Read more