In Depth Cetiosauriscus is often confused with the similarly named Cetiosaurus, and this is no accident. The name Cetiosauriscus means ‘whale-lizard-like’, a reference to Cetiosaurus which itself means ‘whale-lizard’, so when Friedrich von Huene named the genus in 1927, he was actually saying that Cetiosauriscus was similar to Cetiosaurus. When the genus was first named … Read more
In Depth Found almost complete, Heyuannia was the first oviraptorid to be discovered within the borders of mainland China, specifically Guangdong Province. Up until the description of Heyuannia, other Asian oviraptorids were all discovered in Mongolia. Going by the holotype individual, Heyuannia seems to have been a small mid-sized genus of oviraptorid. The skull of … 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 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 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
In Depth A poorly known genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur, Pararhabdodon fossils were initially thought to be from a species of the genus Rhabdodon. New study resulted in the establishment of a new genus, Pararhabdodon, with the description being based upon the caudal (tail) vertebrae. Early fossil assignment for the genus was mostly vertebrae with a … Read more
In Depth Tangvayosaurus is a genus of titanosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Laos during the early Cretaceous. Named from partial remains, fossils from a species of the Titanosaurus genus, ‘Titanosaurus’ falloti that is known from the same fossil bearing Formation that the Tangvayosaurus holotype fossils are known from, however some paleontologsts have … Read more
In Depth Like with most flat headed pachycephalosaurs, the genus Dracorex may well represent a juvenile of another genus. This is because there seems to be an emerging pattern where pachycephalosaurs had flat heads when they hatched out of the eggs, but growing into domes as the dinosaur grew to adulthood. In this respect Dracorex … Read more
In Depth Kaijiangosaurus is only known from very fragmentary remains, so it is difficult to establish exactly where it belongs in relation with other dinosaurs. Further remains have been attributed to the genus but are currently undescribed, but some palaeontologists have leaned towards a classification within the Megalosauridae (the theropod dinosaur group typified by Megalosaurus). … Read more