In Depth Camposaurus is very similar in appearance to the far more famous Coelophysis, so much so in fact that for just over ten years after the genus was named there was a lot of speclation that the genus was probably synonymous with Coelophysis. This speculation ended in 2011 however after a study by Martin … Read more
In Depth Rinconsaurus was a relatively small titanosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous period. Not too much is known about Rinconsaurus other than it appears to have had a more gracile (lightweight) build than some titanosaurs. Teeth associated with the type specimen are also termed chisel-like which means that Rinconsaurus probably … Read more
In Depth Haasiasaurus was originally named as Haasia in 1999, but when it realised that Haasia had already been used to name a genus of millipede, the mosasaur needed to be renamed, hence the change to Haasiasaurus in 2003. As a mosasaur, Haasiasaurus would have been a predator of fish and other marine reptiles. Further … Read more
In Depth Despite being known from only scant fossil material, Normannognathus seems to have been a dsungaripterid pterosaur, a group noted for specialising in shellfish. The teeth seem to have covered at least the entire front portion of the jaws with teeth being present in the tip, although it is unknown how far back they … Read more
In Depth Although Hyracodon looks a lot like a primitive horse, this genus actually represents a form of prehistoric rhino. Hyracodon is the type genus of the Hyracodontidae, a group of so called ‘running rhinoceroses that fulfilled a similar ecological niche as primitive horses such as Mesohippus. Hyracodon seem to have inhabited a variety of … Read more
In Depth Arminisaurus is a genus of pliosaurid plesiosaur that lived in Waters submerging what is now Germany during the early Jurassic. Arminisaurus is named after Arminius, a Germanic tribal chieftain who commanded the Germanic tribal alliance forces at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in which The Roman Empire suffered a major defeat. Further … Read more
In Depth Palaeomastodon is widely regarded as being one of the ancestors to modern day elephants. Remains of Palaeomastodon are usually just of skull and mandible fossils, but already the presence of two tusks in the upper jaw and attachment for a trunk can be clearly seen. Unfortunately no one knows exactly how long the … Read more
In Depth Triodus was similar to other sharks such as Xenacanthus and Orthacanthus, and it too also seems to have lived in the freshwater swamps and waterways that covered much of ancient Europe and North America. Fossil evidence of Triodus shows that it actively pursued prey like juvenile amphibians (still in their larval stages, they … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Lagosuchus (L. lilloensis), when clear differences were noted in the limb proportions were noted the genus Marasuchus was created. Marasuchus was a dinosauriform, a kind of reptile that was on the evolutionary route to dinosaurs, but not a dinosaur yet. Further Reading - Dinosaurian precursors from the … Read more
In Depth The name Prosaurolophus was decided for this genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur on the basis that it was believed to have been similar to but lived before another genus called Saurolophus. However, this interpretation is now somewhat more controversial with different palaeontologists citing Prosaurolophus as being more closely related to other varying genera other … Read more