In Depth        Pholidogaster gets its name from scales that ran along its belly and has an overall morphology that it similar to Greererpeton. The legs are underdeveloped and unsuitable for a terrestrial lifestyle, and the tail is long and flattened for greater efficiency in the water. Pholidogaster also possessed fangs for seizing prey. Further Reading … Read more
In Depth        The story of Ornithodesmus can be a confusing one as for a long time the genus was credited with being a pterosaur,†‬whereas we now know this was a mistake.†‬It all began in†‬1887†‬when Harry Govier Seeley described a set of six sacral vertebrae that he thought belonged to a bird.†… Read more
In Depth        Arenysaurus was a late Cretaceous hadrosaurid dinosaur,†‬and of extra significance†‬since†‬it was a lambeosaurine.†‬This means that Arenysaurus had a hollow crest on its head,†‬and lived in a time when lambeosaurine hadrosaurs had been largely replaced by saurolophine hadrosaurs in other parts of the world like in North America. Further … Read more
In Depth        While palaeontologists are certain that Dracopelta was an ankylosaur,†‬no one knows for certain if†‬the genus was a nodosaurid or an actual ankylosaurid†(‬an actual member of the Ankylosauridaeâ€)‬.†‬Nodosaurid is perhaps the most likely answer given that we know that out of these two groups nodosaurids appeared first.†‬Ankylosaurids by contrast … Read more
In Depth        Agudotherium is a genus of cynodont therapsid that lived in South America during the late Triassic. Further Reading -†‬A New Prozostrodontian Cynodont†(‬Eucynodontia,†‬Probainognathiaâ€) ‬from the Upper Triassic of Southern Brazil.†‬-†‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.†‬40†(‬3â€)‬:†‬e1782415.†‬-†‬Micheli Stefanello,†‬Leonardo Kerber,†‬Agustin G.†‬Martinelli,†& ‬Sďż˝rgio Dias-Da-Silva†‬-†‬2020.
In Depth        Jinzhousaurus is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous.†‬With an estimated length of about seven meters,†‬Jinzhousaurus was a medium to large sized hadrosauroid dinosaur,†‬and is noted for having a skull that grew out to a substantial width at the back,†‬while a small crest … Read more
In Depth        Sacabambaspis was an early jawless fish,†‬but one that seems to have had a lateral line.†‬A lateral line is a series of sensory organs that allow the fish to detect the movement of other†‬organisms around them,†‬and is seen in modern fish.†‬Sacabambaspis was probably similar to other jawless fish such … Read more
In Depth        Sinocoelurus is a dubious genus given that it is only based upon the description of teeth,†‬making this a tooth taxon.†‬The only thing that can be said about Sinocoelurus with any confidence is that given the size of the teeth,†‬the holotype individual would have been a small theropod. Further Reading -†… Read more
In Depth        Adinophis is a genus of madtstoiid snake that lived in Madagascar during the Ceretaceous.†‬Relatives genera of Adinophis include Wonambi,†‬Menarana,†‬Sanajeh, Yurlunggur, Madtsoia and Gigantophis.†Further Reading -†‬New snakes from the Upper Cretaceous†(‬Maastrichtianâ€) ‬Maevarano Formation,†‬Mahajanga Basin,†‬Madagascar.†‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology†‬34â€(‬5â€)‬:1080-1093.†‬-†‬A.†‬C.†‬Pritchard,†‬J.†‬A.†‬McCartney,†… Read more
In Depth        Not a lot is known about Eshanosaurus,†‬yet it has still managed to be a controversial dinosaur.†‬Thought to be one hundred and ninety-six million years old,†‬the partial dentary of Eshanosaurus†(‬currently the only part knownâ€) ‬goes as far back as the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic.†‬The describers of the dentary … Read more