In Depth Initially named in 1918, Notoceratops may not only be the first ceratopsian dinosaur named from South America, but all of Gondwana, the southern collection of landmasses that split from the Northern continents during the Mesozoic. Not everyone was initially convinced however, and even to this day some still question the validity of Notoceratops … Read more
In Depth Thanos is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the Cretaceous. If the name is familiar, that is because this dinosaur is named after the character that appears in the Marvel comics universe. Further Reading - New record of abelisauroid theropods from the Bauru Group (Upper Cretaceous), S�o Paulo … Read more
In Depth Cynosaurus is a genus of therapsid that lived in South Africa during the Late Permian, and is perceived to have been similar to Galesaurus. Cynosaurus should not be confused with the genus Cyonosaurus. Further Reading – Cranial morphology and phylogenetic analyses of Cynosaurus suppostus (Therapsida, Cynodontia) from the upper Permian of the Karoo … Read more
In Depth Malawisuchus is a genus of ziphosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. Malawisuchus has a number of interesting features, including mammal-like teeth which may have been used for processing tough plants, and muscle attachment points on the hip and rear limbs which suggest that Malawisuchus may have been able to … Read more
In Depth Kumimanu is a genus of penguin that lived in New Zealand during the Paleocene period. With a minimum height of one hundred and sixty centimetres, Kumimanu was huge for a penguin. This makes Kumimanu at least fifty centimetres taller than the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) which is the largest penguin alive today. Like … Read more
In Depth Taikicetus is a genus of baleen whale that lived in waters around Japan during the Miocene. Further Reading - A new species of Middle Miocene baleen whale from the Nupinai Group, Hikatagawa Formation of Hokkaido, Japan. - PeerJ 6:e4934. - Y. Tanaka, T. Ando & H. Sawamura - 2018.
In Depth In the closing years of the twentieth century a bone bed containing the remains of at least twenty-seven juvenile dinosaurs was excavated in South Africa. The 2022 study describing the genus (Forster et al.) considers these juveniles to represent everything from hatchlings to subadults, Possibly located at a nesting site. The 2022 description … Read more
In Depth The Mene genus is not extinct, it is actually a popular food fish with M. maculata being a regular catch. There are however up to seven extinct prehistoric species currently named. So far the largest species of Mene seems to have been M. purdyi which seems to have attained lengths of about 40 … Read more
In Depth Bannykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. The overall lack of fossil remains at the time of its description makes it hard to ascertain details about Bannykus, though the size of the leg bones alone suggest that Bannykus was among the larger known alvarezsaurs. Further … Read more
In Depth Mesonyx has been repeatedly identified as a wolf-like predator due to its similar size and overall appearance to modern wolves; although it’s important to mention that it was not directly related to modern wolves as Mesonyx appeared (and disappeared) long before the direct ancestors of them. Still, Mesonyx probably filled the same ecological … Read more