In Depth The large size of Erythrosuchus meant that it was an apex predator capable of tackling large herbivores such as Kannemeyeria and Lystrosaurus that were active in at the same time and location. Erythrosuchus was probably a relatively slow moving predator, although given the types of large prey available, speed would not have been … Read more
In Depth Paraplacodus was very similar to another placodont named Placodus, hence the name which means ‘almost Placodus’, and as such it would have looked like a cross between a newt and a marine iguana with small teeth that protruded from the front of the mouth. These teeth would allow for a feeding behaviour where … Read more
In Depth Collilongus is a genus of archosauriform that lived in Poland during the Triassic. Little is known about Collilongus because so far the genus is only known from teeth. Further Reading - Archosauriform postcranial remains from the Early Triassic karst deposits of southern Poland. Palaeontologia Polonica 65:283-328. - M. Borsuk−Białynicka & A. G. Sennikov … Read more
In Depth Huangshanlong is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the mid Jurassic. Unfortunately, because only a couple of forelimb bones have been used to describe the genus, not much can be said about this dinosaur. The describers were of the opinion that Huangshanlong repesented a mamenchisaurid sauropod, a type of … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – A New Horned Crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. – PLoS One 5(2). – C. A. Brochu, J. Njau, R. J. Blumenschine & L. D. Densmore – 2010. – A new cranium of Crocodylus anthropophagus from Olduvai Gorge, northern Tanzania. – Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e … Read more
In Depth When described in 2015, Probrachylophosaurus made headlines around the world, when it was often dubbed ‘superduck’. This was because Probrachylophosaurus was proposed to be the transitional link between the non-crested genus Acristavus, and the later Brachylophosaurus which has a flat paddle shaped bony crest. Probrachylophosaurus itself has a much smaller triangular crest which … Read more
In Depth First discovered in 2009 and officially named in November 2013, stratigraphical analysis of the Lythronax holotype remains has led to them being estimated as being deposited around 80.6 to 79.9 million years ago. This makes Lythronax one of the oldest tyrannosaurids known in North America, and at least 2 million years older than … Read more
In Depth Qianzhousaurus is a genus of medium sized tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous, and at the time of its description, unlike any other tyrannosaur previously seen. Some Asian tyrannosaur genera such as Alioramus have been noted for having gracile builds and proportionately slightly longer snouts than their larger cousins … Read more
In Depth Diabloroter is a genus of microsaur that lived in North America during the Carboniferous period. A very small creature, Diabloroter were possibly hunters of small insects. Further Reading - Diabloroter bolti, a short-bodied recumbirostran ‘microsaur’ from the Francis Creek Shale, Mazon Creek, Illinois. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 1-12. - Arjan … Read more
In Depth Vulcanodon is easily one of the more popular dinosaur genera, and one that has had a number of ‘firsts’ attributed to it. However, our understanding of this genus and changed considerably since it was first described in 1972. The name Vulcanodon means ‘volcano tooth’ and is a reference to the discovery of Vulcanodon … Read more