In Depth In a nutshell Kotasaurus is one of the most primitive sauropod dinosaurs discovered. So primitive is Kotasaurus that the genus still possesses features that are known in sauropodomorph dinosaurs. This led to a lot of initial confusion over whether Kotasaurus was an advanced sauropodomorph, or a primitive sauropod, though today the interpretation of … Read more
In Depth Oromycter is a genus of caseid pelycosaur that lived in Oklahoma during the Permian. As a caseid, Oromycter would have been related to genera such as Casea and Cotylorhynchus. Further Reading - Oromycter, a New Caseid from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(4):905-910. - R. R. Reisz - … Read more
In Depth After Mymoorapelta in 1994, Gargoyleosaurus was the second ankylosaur to be named from the Morrison Formation. Specifically Gargoyleosaurus is a polacanthine dinosaur and had an arrangement of bony armour and spikes across its back and sides. Gargoyleosaurus also had a large bony plate that covered its hips from above. This armour was an … Read more
In Depth Mauriciosaurus is a genus of polycotylid plesiosaur known to have lived in waters of what would have been the southern portion of the Western Interior Seaway, the shallow sea that once submerged the middle portion of North America. The holotype specimen of Mauriciosaurus was found in Mexico, and has proven to be a … Read more
In Depth The only known example of the pterosaur Feilongus is incomplete and has been damaged in the fossilisation process. Only the skull, mandible and parts of the braincase are preserved. What can be gleamed from the fossil is that Feilongus had a large overbite with the upper jaw extended up to 2.7 centimetres beyond … Read more
In Depth When first described in 1979, Mussaurus was only known from juvenile individuals, and until 2013 this was supposedly the case. However in 1980 the adult were actually described, they had just been classed under the genus Plateosaurus. With a re-evaluation of these in 2013, Mussaurus is also known from adult remains, and the … Read more
In Depth One of the monkey lemurs from Madagascar, Hadropithecus is often described as being similar to its relative Archaeolemur in behaviour and lifestyle. Hadropithecus was a powerfully built lemur that seems to have been best adapted to a cursorial life on the ground. Lemurs as we know them today usually have long arms and … Read more
In Depth Although only fragmentary remains are known Ilokelesia has been identified as a basal abelisaurid. Like many South American dinosaurs, Ilokelesia had been named using the Mapuche language from a combination of the works ‘ilo’ (flesh) and ‘kelesio’ (lizard). Further Reading – A basal Abelisauria Novas, 1992 (Theropoda–Ceratosauria) from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. … Read more
In Depth Wightia is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. Wightia is named after the Isle of Wight which is situated on the southern coast of England. Further Reading - First tapejarid pterosaur from the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group: Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the United Kingdom. - Cretaceous … Read more
In Depth Named after a demon that appears in Mapuche mythology, Gualicho is a medium sized genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the early stages of the late Cretaceous. Gualicho would have been a predator of other smaller and similarly sized dinosaurs. Gualicho was named as a genus in 2016, and … Read more