In Depth Superficially Qinglongopterus has been found to be very similar to Rhamphorhynchus, the pterosaur that is the type genus of the Rhamphorhynchidae and to which Qinglongopterus is thought to be the most closely related. This however hints that both Qinglongopterus and Rhamphorhynchus represented their evolutionary limit as they are separated by many millions of … Read more
In Depth Nurhachius is perhaps most closely related to Istiodactylus even though the two are geographically separated by several thousand miles. However Nurhachius has a different skull which is lower with a slightly curved lower jaw. Nurhachius is named after the first khan of the Qing dynasty, who once ruled from the area where Nurhachius … Read more
In Depth Sapeornis is named from a combination of SAPE and the Ancient Greek ‘ornis’ which means bird. SAPE is actually an acronym for the Society of Avian Palaeontology and Evolution. Also in 2002 another genus of bird named Omnivoropteryx was created by Stephen Czerkas and Qiang Ji. Omnivoropteryx was established as being separate to … Read more
In Depth Along with Microraptor, the discovery of Yanornis was born out of the Archaeoraptor scandal. Named after the Yan Dynasty, Yanornis features several features that are common to modern birds including the absence of the prefrontal bone, a bone that separates the lacrimal bone in front of the eye from the frontal bone that … Read more
In Depth Just thirty years before its description, the concept of dinosaurs evolving into birds was still a very controversial theory that did not have universally wide acceptance in academic circles. However, since the opening of fossil beds in China, new discoveries have slowly but steadily been made, each one adding more and more weight … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading- The Dance of Tusks: Rediscovery of Lower Incisors in the Pan-American Proboscidean Cuvieronius hyodon Revises Incisor Evolution in Elephantimorpha. – PLOS ONE. – Dimila Moth�, Marco P. Ferretti, Leonardo S. Avilla & S. Leonardo – 2016.
In Depth Calcarichelys was a relatively small late Cretaceous turtle but one with a highly specialised shell. Instead of the usual concave curve across the back, a series of enlarged spikes ran down the middle of the back. These are taken as being almost certainly a defensive adaptation to make it more difficult for predators … Read more
In Depth Xixiasaurus is a troodont genus thought to possibly be closely related to Byronosaurus and Urbacodon. Part of this reasoning is that the teeth of Xixiasaurus lacked serrations. Care should be taken not to confuse Xixiasaurus with the alvarezsaur genus Xixianykus that is also known from the same formation as Xixiasaurus. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth ‘Discovered’ in a museum draw and named after the Venta River, Ventastega is a partially preserved amphibian tetrapod. Although very poorly preserved, there have been enough skeletal elements recovered to show that Ventastega had legs. These post cranial elements along with the quite well preserved skull suggest that Ventastega was more amphibian than … Read more
In Depth