In Depth        Pakicetus may well be the oldest known ancestor to modern whales,†‬and along with other animals such as Ambulocetus,†‬represent the group of terrestrial carnivores that began developing adaptations for a wholly aquatic lifestyle.        Due to its transitional nature,†‬it is hard to say with certainty how Pakicetus lived.†‬Its ear structure is … Read more
In Depth        Athabascasaurus is a member of the Platypterygiinae,†‬a wide ranging group of ichthyosaurs that were active in both hemispheres.†‬Other similar ichthyosaurs include Sveltonectes,†‬Aegirosaurus,†‬Platypterygius and Caypullisaurus amongst others. Further Reading – A new Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) ichthyosaur genus from the Clearwater Formation, Alberta, Canada. – Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences … Read more
In Depth        Fossils of Xinjiangovenator were once attributed to the genus Phaedrolosaurus,†‬however Phaedrolosaurus was originally described from a single tooth with additional lower limb bones referred to the genus upon the basis that they were found near the tooth within the same fossil bearing formation.†‬In†‬2005†‬Rauhut and Xu separated these remains from … Read more
In Depth        Tetracynodon is a genus of therocephalian therapsid that is noted as having lived through†‬the Permian/Triassic extinction event,†‬something that was probably the most dramatic extinction level event recorded in our planets history,†‬even more devastating than the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs.†‬One thing of note is that the Permian species … Read more
In Depth        The holotype fossils of Kenomagnathus were originally thought to be of the genus Haptodus until they were formally described†‬as a distinct genus†‬in†‬2020.†‬Although only partially preserved,†‬the size of the lacrimal bone suggests that Kenomagnathus would have had large eyes.†‬As a hunter,†‬these large eyes might have helped Kenomagnathus … Read more
In Depth        Leptalestes is a genus of metatherian mammal that lived in North†‬America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading -†‬A revision of†“‬pediomyidâ€â€ť ‬marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America.†‬-†‬Acta Palaeontologica Polonica†‬52â€(‬2â€)‬:217-256.†‬-†‬B.†‬M.†‬Davis†‬-†‬2007.
In Depth        Not too much is known about Sarkastodon because so far†‬as†‬only the skull and jaw are known for certain.†‬The size and construction of these skulls however strongly suggest that in life Sarkastodon would have been a very large,†‬powerful animal and is often likened to being like a bear.†‬Like many … Read more
In Depth        At the time of its description Haplocheirus was the oldest†‬known†‬alvarezsaur by an impressive sixty-three million years before the previous record holder.†‬This places Haplocheirus firmly within the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic revealing that the alvarezsaurs began at least this far back rather than the early Cretaceous period as previously thought.†… Read more
In Depth        Lycaenops acquired its name from the striking similarity between it and modern wolves.†‬Although Lycaenops itself was what is loosely termed a mammal like reptile,†‬its similarity to wolves is most likely a case of convergent evolution.†‬Some sources about prehistoric animals also go one further and claim that Lycaenops also hunted in … Read more
In Depth        Lusonectes was named from a combination of Luso†(‬Portugeseâ€)‬,†‬and nectes†(‬swimmerâ€)‬,†‬and at the time of its naming it was the only plesiosaur genus named from a Portugese deposit.†‬However Europe during the Jurassic was more a collection of islands rather than the single large land mass it is today,†‬so it … Read more