In Depth        Although not very well known,†‬Jaxartosaurus possesses a hollow helmet shaped crest on top of its skull similar to the better known Corythosaurus.†‬Because this crest is hollow,†‬Jaxartosaurus had been confidently assigned to the Lambeosaurinae group of hadrosaurs which are typified by their hollow crests.†‬The crest of Jaxartosaurus like its lambeosaurine … Read more
In Depth        Ulemosaurus is very much like the therapsid Moschops,†‬not only in the type of creature that it was,†‬but also in the fact that its skull was also up to ten centimetres thick.†‬Its possible that like in the related Moschops,†‬this bone thickness allowed for head butting or head pushing contests.        Although … Read more
In Depth        Fossils of this titanosaur were found near lake Rukwa in the Rukwa Valley of Tanzania,†‬so the eventual name of Rukwatitan was really just a foregone conclusion.†‬At about nine meters long,†‬the holotype appears to indicate that Rukwatitan was a fairly small genus of titanosaur.†‬One area of note is that the … Read more
In Depth        When first described the prehistoric whale Livyatan was actually named Leviathan after the biblical sea monster.†‬Unfortunately however Leviathan had already been used to name a mastodon now known as Mammut†(‬Leviathan is actually a synonym to this genus,†‬but still cannot be usedâ€)‬.†‬As such the Hebrew word for Leviathan,†‬Livyatan,†‬is … Read more
In Depth        Laosaurus is today considered to be a dubious genus of dinosaur.†‬Though previously considered to be a hypsilophodont†(‬relative of Hypsilophodonâ€)‬,†‬most of the fossil remains once attributed to Laosaurus have ended up being considered to be other genera such as Orodromeus,†‬Dryosaurus and Othnielosaurus.†‬What few fossils that are still assigned to … Read more
In Depth        Although only known from partial remains,†‬Tataouinea has been identified as a rebbachisaurid sauropod,†‬and one that is closely related to genera such as Nigersaurus,†‬which are also known to have been present in North Africa during the early Cretaceous.†‬The fossils of Tataouinea have revealed in life the bones of Tataouinea would … Read more
In Depth        Paramachairodus is a genus of sabre-toothed cat that lived during the Miocene/Pliocene.†‬The Paramachairodus genus represents one of the first true sabre-toothed cats to appear. Further Reading -†‬Aspects of the functional morphology in the cranial and cervical skeleton of the sabre-toothed cat Paramachairodus ogygia†(‬Kaup,†‬1832â€) (‬Felidae,†‬Machairodontinaeâ€) ‬from the Late Miocene … Read more
In Depth        When first discovered only the top part of the skull of Majungasaurus was known.†‬This fragment revealed a dome like structure which was taken to be indicative of a pachycephalosaur.†‬Further fossil material would reveal the truth about Majungasaurus being a carnivorous theropod,†‬although this was not the first time that a carnivorous … Read more
In Depth        The tiny holotype fossil of Hadrocodium has been considered to represent a very primitive ancestor of modern mammals,†‬though it is not a mammal in itself.†‬This means that there are many unanswered questions about this little creature,†‬specifically concerning the biology of the metabolism and exactly how much like a true mammal … Read more
In Depth Further Reading A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 587. – C. A. Brochu & G. W. Storrs – 2012.