In Depth Heterodontosaurus is one of more popular ornithischian genera thanks to the mixture of teeth in the mouth. Heterodontosaurus had blade-like incisor teeth and chisel-like molar teeth within the mouth for processing food by slicing and grinding respectively. The show stealing features of the mouth however are the large tusks in the anterior (front) … Read more
In Depth Vectaerovenator is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the early cretaceous. Because the only fossil known for Vectaerovenator at the time of its description only consist of a few vertebrae, there is much we do not know about this dinosaur, including what kind of theropod dinosaur it was. Since the naming … Read more
In Depth Tianzhenosaurus is a genus of relatively small ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous, though a specific point of time during the late Cretaceous is unavailable at the time of writing. There has however been speculation that Tianzhenosaurus may actually be synonymous with the genus Saichania. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth Sumpalla ia a genus of ichthyosaur that lived in the waters around South America during the late Jurassic. The holotype fossil of Sumpalla was originally assigned to the Aegirosaurus genus, before being re-described in 2021. Further reading - Morphological disparity in the evolution of the ophthalmosaurid forefin: new clues from the Upper Jurassic … Read more
In Depth Today Cryptosaurus is considered to be a genus of ankylosaur, though because it is only known by a partial femur the genus is considered dubious because it would be almost impossible to assign further remains to the genus. When first described by Harry Govier Seeley, Cryptosaurus was thought to have been a relative … Read more
In Depth Onychodus is a genus of large predatory fish that seems to have had a near global distribution during the Devonian period. Onychodus was a lobe-finned fish with a pair of tooth whorls that grew large tusk-like teeth. Onychodus was probably an ambush predator that would quickly dart out from cover to snatch unsuspecting … Read more
In Depth Tupuxuara was a diurnal pterosaur that lived close to the sea, and is thought to have hunted for fish. The elaborate crest shows evidence of an extensive network of blood vessels. Although possibly for thermoregulation, a more likely scenario is that Tupuxuara flushed blood into its crest to produce a striking and vivid … Read more
In Depth Originally thought to be a basal azdarchid, Eoazhdarcho is now placed in the Chaoyangopteridae, the group that includes Chaoyangopterus. This group still falls within the azdarchoidea, and with a 1.6 meter wingspan, Eoazhdarcho is one of the smaller members of the group. Eoazhdarcho has a toothless beak possibly indicating a similar stork lifestyle … Read more
In Depth The first specimen of Styxosaurus was of a skull and twenty cervical (neck) vertebrae, but was initially described as a species of Cimoliasaurus (C. snowii) by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1890. Williston then shifted it over as a species of Elasmosaurus in 1906 as E. snowii. Later study by Samuel Paul Welles led … Read more
In Depth A type of proto mammal, Haramiyavia is currently the best known genus of the Haramiyida. Even so, Haramiyavia is still only known from partial jaw remains. Further Reading - Haramiyids and Triassic mammalian evolution. - Nature 385:715-718. - F. A. Jenkins, S. M. Gatesy, N. H. Shubin & W. W. Amaral - 1997. … Read more