In Depth        Not only is Eocursor one of the earliest known ornithischian dinosaurs,†‬it is also one of the most completely preserved,†‬and for this reason the genus has become something of a benchmark when studying early ornithischian dinosaurs.†‬The holotype specimen of Eocursor was of an individual approximately one meter long,†‬though because of … Read more
In Depth        Triadobatrachus is one of the earliest frogs to appear in the fossil record.†‬So primitive is Triadobatrachus that this frog has substantially more vertebrae,†‬fourteen in total when compared to a range of four to nine vertebrae in modern frogs.†‬A short tail was also retained in adulthood.†‬Triadobatrachus has been found in … Read more
In Depth        Liaodactylus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic.†‬Liaodactylus is noted for having numerous small teeth in comb-like structures that meshed together when the jaws closed.†‬This would have allowed Liaodactylus to feed by filtering out small invertebrates from water and soft sediment. Further Reading -†‬Earliest … Read more
In Depth        Also known as the ‘Ginsu shark’, Cretoxyrhina was one of the biggest sharks of its time, considerably bigger even than its contemporary Squalicorax. Cretoxyrhina was near the top of the food chain, and it had a diet that included almost anything that was in front of it, including mosasaurs. There is also strong … Read more
In Depth        Vegasaurus is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in the waters around what we now know as Antarctica during the late Cretaceous.†‬It should be remembered at this stage that during the late Cretaceous Antarctica was closer to the equator than it is today,†‬and the climate and water temperature would have … Read more
In Depth Emeus was originally named as a species of Dinornis,â€Â ‬D.†‬crassus,†‬by Richard Owen in†‬1846,†‬but ten years later the ornithologist Ludwig Reichenbach elevated this species to its own genus.†‬ Almost this exact sequence of events happened with another moa genus named Anomalopteryx.        Also known as the Eastern Moa,â€Â ‬Emeus was very much like its larger relative Dinornis,†‬however,†‬while Dinornis is … Read more
In Depth        Rugosuchus is a genus of crocodile the lived in China during the early half of the Late Cretaceous. Further Reading -†‬Cranial anatomy of a new crocodyliform†(‬Archosauria:†‬Crocodylomorphaâ€) ‬from the Lower Cretaceous of Song-Liao Plain,†‬northeastern China.†‬Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences†‬38:1653-1663.†‬-†‬X.-C.†‬Wu,†‬Z.-W.†‬Cheng†& ‬A.†‬P.†‬Russell†… Read more
In Depth        Erlianomys is a genus of myodont rodent that lived in Mongolia during the Eocene. Further Reading -†‬Erlianomys combinatus,†‬a primitive myodont rodent from the Eocene Arshanto Formation,†‬Nuhetingboerhe,†‬Nei Mongol,†‬China.†‬-†‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica†‬48†(‬2â€)‬:†‬133â€â€“‬144.†‬-†‬Q.†‬Li†& ‬J.†‬Meng†‬-†‬2010.
In Depth        When the skull of Torvoneustes was originally described it was thought to belong to a species of Metriorhynchus,†‬M.†‬superciliosus.†‬However the later discovery of post cranial remains led to the conclusion that the skull remains did not belong to that species of Metriorhynchus,†‬and they were re-described as a new species of … Read more
Discovery and species During†‬1935†‬the palaeontologist Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald visited a Chinese apothecary shop in Hong Kong and discovered an unusually large molar,†‬a tooth similar to the large flat ones that you have towards the back of your mouth.†‬ Fossils like this are often found in Traditional Chinese medicine where … Read more