In Depth Sefapanosaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in South Africa during the late Triassic. Further Reading - A new basal sauropodiform from South Africa and the phylogenetic relationships of basal sauropodomorphs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174:589-634. - A. Otero, E. Krupandan, D. Pol, A. Chinsamy & J. Choiniere - … Read more
In Depth Agujaceratops originally started out as being assigned as a species to the genus Chasmosaurus, another and more common Campanian era ceratospian dinosaur. However closer analysis by Lucas, Sullivan and Hunt in 2006 of a partial skull revealed key differences between it and other Chasmosaurus fossils. This led to the material being removed from … Read more
In Depth Auroraceratops is a genus of neoceratopsian dinosaur, the kind of horned dinosaurs that were becoming more and more common during the early Cretaceous, the descendants of which would grow into the horned giants like Triceratops at of the late Cretaceous. One of the notable features about Auroraceratops is the rough rugose appearance of … Read more
In Depth Although certainly not the only dinosaur to be discovered in Brazil, Amazonsaurus was still the first discovered within the Amazon Basin. Amazonsaurus is confirmed as a diplodocoid sauropod, but the lack of fossil remains makes it difficult to tell what kind. One possibility is that Amazonsaurus might be a rebbachisaurid, a sub group … Read more
In Depth Zupaysaurus is often reconstructed with a pair of crests rising from the top of its skull like the more famous Dilophosaurus. Indeed, Zupaysaurus also has a similar upper jaw arrangement to Dilophosaurus with a notable gap between the teeth of the maxilla and premaxilla forming a small notch. However if a 2005 presentation … Read more
In Depth Amurosaurus has been based only upon very partial remains, though these were taken from a bonebed of multiple dinosaurs, and further remains are likely to be in there somewhere. Slowly the picture of a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid (the kind with a hollow crest) has been pieced together with an appearance similar to that of … Read more
In Depth The description of Velafrons is based upon the remains of a juvenile individual. This has allowed for an increased insight into how hadrosaurs developed as they grew up, though the case of Velafrons is a little different. Most hadrosaurs known from juvenile individuals show a proportionately large skull in relation to the body … Read more
In Depth It is a wonderful coincidence that the construction of a dinosaur museum would actually result in the discovery of a new dinosaur, Agilisaurus. In fact the remains of Agilisaurus are now on display in the very same museum, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum. The name Agilisaurus is in reference to its lightweight build and … Read more
In Depth The sauropodomorph dinosaurs are the missing links between earlier theropod dinosaurs, and later sauropod descendants. As a group they show a transition from a predatory carnivorous lifestyle, to an herbivorous one. Buriolestes is a sauropodomoprh dinosaur, yet the teeth and jaw structure are much more like those seen in meat eating theropod dinosaurs. … Read more
In Depth The problem with the genus Macrurosaurus is that it is only represented by two sets of caudal vertebrae that were both found separately and then later added together. This combined with the lack of other fossil remains for the genus mean that some palaeontologist consider the genus to be dubious because it would … Read more