In Depth Although only named from partial skull remains representing what seems to be a small dinosaur, Ajkaceratops has been one of the most important dinosaur discoveries of the early twenty-first century; it is the first ceratopsian dinosaur definitively proven to have come from Europe. Ceratopsian dinosaurs were very common across Asia and North America … Read more
In Depth At just over half a meter in length, Shuvuuia is not just one of the smallest alvarezsaurs, it is among the smallest known dinosaurs. It is thanks to this small size that the Shuvuuia holotype was so well preserved because it could be buried much more quickly than a larger dinosaur (larger dinosaurs … Read more
In Depth Although Alphadon is only named from teeth, these are very similar to possums. Combined with our current knowledge of other late Cretaceous mammals, palaeontologists have concluded that Alphadon was probably a possum-like mammal that fed upon a variety of insects and fruits. Additionally Alphadon is classed as a marsupial which means that young … Read more
In Depth Odontochelys translates to English as ‘toothed turtle with a half-shell’, and this is in reference to the fact that only the plastron (bottom half) of the shell is developed. How the shell formed though is a matter of debate amongst palaeontologists as some consider Odontochelys to be a transitory form in the evolution … Read more
In Depth Not a crocodile, Alrausuchus was a biarmosuchian therapsid. Alrausuchus was originally classified as a species of Biarmosuchus, B. tagax. Further Reading – Cranial morphology and evolution of Permian Dinomorpha (Eotherapsida) of Eastern Europe, M. F. Ivakhnenko – 2008.
In Depth Coelophysis is frequently used as an example of the early dinosaurs. Its bipedal stance from two legs that supported its body from underneath as opposed to sticking out to the sides, smaller arms and head mounted on an ‘S curved’ neck give it the distinctive theropod look. Coelophysis also had sharp recurved teeth … Read more
In Depth Gandakasia is a little known genus of primitive whale from Pakistan, and not surprising given that the genus was named only upon the description of teeth. Further Reading - Pal�ontologische und geologische Untersuchungen im Terti�r von Pakistan. - Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathewmatisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse 91:1-54. - R. Dehm & T. Oettingen-Spielberg - 1958.
In Depth Originally uncovered during the 1960s, the holotype teeth of Trimucrodon were originally thought to be from a small mammal. In 1973 however Richard Thulborn recognised that the teeth were actually from a small dinosaur, though his paper describing them and naming the genus did not actually get formally published until 1975. Today Trimucrodon … Read more
In Depth Cynognathus seems to be one of the most successful of the cynodonts, with a large number of fossil remains from a wide geographic distribution being all attributed to the genus. There is however some controversy over whether all of these fossils should be labelled as Cynognathus, as the genus does seem to have … Read more
In Depth Afrotapejara is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur that lived in North Africa at the time of the Early/Late Cretaceous boundary. Further Reading - new tapejarid (Pterosauria, Azhdarchoidea) from the mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Takmout, southern Morocco. - Cretaceous Research. - David M. Martill, Roy Smith, David M. Unwin, Alexander Kao, James McPhee … Read more