In Depth Ischyrocyon appears to have been around mid-sized for one of the North American bear dogs being much bigger than some genera such as Temnocyon and Cynelos, but still much smaller than giants like Amphicyon. The type species name I. hyaenodus means ‘hyaena tooth’, a reference to the similarity of the teeth of Ischyrocyon … Read more
In Depth Pandoravenator is a genus of predatory dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Jurassic. Further Reading - A theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Ca�ad�n Calc�reo Formation of central Patagonia, and the evolution of the theropod tarsus. - Ameghiniana 54:506-538. - O. W. M. Rauhut & D. Pol - 2017.
In Depth Brachyceratops is regarded as a highly dubious genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that may represent the juvenile form of another already named genus, and indeed one specimen of Brachyceratops (USNM 14765, a sub adult referred to the original five juveniles) has already been moved to the Rubeosaurus genus. This would normally raise speculation that … Read more
In Depth When this genus was first discovered, only the posterior portion of an individual ankylosaur remained to be studied. It is thought the anterior half had been previously exposed by erosion and was now lost, though part of the skull and teeth were found. The rear half of the dinosaur, including the tail and … Read more
In Depth Fossils of this dinosaur were first noted and described in 1997, but it was not until 2021 until a new description portraying them as a distinct genus was published. Menefeeceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Menefeeceratops is thought to represent one of the … Read more
In Depth Carniadactylus was born out of the realisation that a pterosaur specimen that was attributed to Eudimorphodon actually represented a different genus. Aside from being smaller than Eudimorphodon, one of the main areas of difference is the proportionately longer legs of Carniadactylus. Since it has now been placed within the campylognathoididae, Carniadactylus is considered … Read more
In Depth Yixianornis clearly differs from most other early Cretaceous birds in that the wings are rounded instead of pointed. The tail of Yixianornis is also clearly formed into a pygostyle which allowed for a strong and flexible attachment for tail feathers, which could be fanned out in flight, and then packed tight when resting. … Read more
In Depth Gaviacetus is usually interpreted as a protocetid, a very primitive kind of whale that would have still possessed legs for terrestrial locomotion, though in the past Gaviacetus has also been considered to be a possible basilosaurid. However, at the time of writing there is little evidence to conclusively prove that Gaviacetus was a … Read more
In Depth Although very little fossil material has been found, Helioceratops has been identified as a basal (or primitive) form of ceratopsian dinosaur. This means that it is unlikely that Helioceratops sported the elaborate frill and horns of the larger quadrupedal ceratopsians that most people know. Although primitive, Helioceratops seems to have had a body … Read more
In Depth Lasasaurus was a genus of procolophonid parareptile (the type genus of the group being Procolophon) that live in Madagascar during the early Triassic. Further Reading - First procolophonid (Reptilia, Parareptilia) from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar - Comptes Rendus Palevol - J. Falconnet, M. Andriamihaja, �. L�ng & J. -S. B. Steyer - … Read more