In Depth Initially found in 1947 in an expedition by Swedish and Danish palaeontologists, the partial skull and lower jaws did not get named as their own genus until 2012. Ymeria has been speculated to have been similar to the much more famous Ichthyostega, though with noticeably smaller teeth that are also not as curved … Read more
In Depth The discovery of Xiaotingia caused some upset in the paleontological community because of its similarities to the world famous Archaeopteryx which has been hailed as the first bird since its discovery in 1861. This is because Xiaotingia is thought to be a dinosaur that is similar to a bird rather than a bird … Read more
In Depth Lazarussuchus was named after the figure of Lazarus of Bethany in the Bible, a person in the Gospel of John who was resurrected four days after his death by Jesus Christ. The relevance here is that the holotype remains of Lazarussuchus were found from a late Oligocene deposit, a period many millions of … Read more
In Depth Until 1970, Daspletosaurus was thought to be another specimen of Gorgosaurus. Both were active at the same time and location as one another, yet closer study of the Daspletosaurus revealed a much more powerful animal than the more lightly built Gorgosaurus. It has been surmised that the two predators may have focused their … Read more
In Depth Large and bioengineered Piranha have been staple components for B-movies since the 1970s, but to find real monster piranha that once really existed you just have to look into the fossil record of South America during the Miocene. Unfortunately the only currently known remains of Megapiranha are the teeth from the premaxilla, the … Read more
In Depth Onychonycteris existed during the Eocene, and is regarded as one of the most primitive bats known. So primitive is Onychonycteris that the fingers all still have large claws on their ends, and study of the skull and ear bones strongly suggests that Onychonycteris was incapable of using echolocation to find prey. This is … Read more
In Depth Vancleavea is a quite unusual genus of reptile as it is quite unlike any other known reptile. Vancleavea had a long body, thick bones, short limbs and a particularly dense and robust skull. Thick bones such as these are commonly seen in reptiles that spend lots of time swimming under the surface of … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Rhynchosaurus, R. brodiei was established as a distinct genus in 2016 and granted the name Langeronyx. As a rhynchosaur Langeronyx would have been a squat plant eating reptile that lived during the Triassic. Further Reading - The Early Evolution of Rhynchosaurs. - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. … Read more
In Depth Not much is known about this dinosaur except that the forelimbs appear to be quite large for a large carnivorous theropod. The discoverer theorised that it may of actually been quadrupedal, but this has since been refuted by other palaeontologists. Further Reading – [A new theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan … Read more
In Depth Qiupanykus is a genus of alvarezasurid dinosaur that lived in Asia towards the end of the Cretaceous. Eggs of oviraptorid dinosaurs found near the holotype skeleton of Qiupanykus have led the describers of the genus that maybe Qiupanykus, and perhaps other alvarezsaurs, used the stout claws on their forelimbs to punch holes in … Read more