In Depth Maraapunisaurus was originally described as a species of the sauropod dinosaur Amphicoelias, and based upon the discovery of a partial vertebra reported to be of massive proportions, as well as a distal end of a femur that was also of equally massive proportions. These bones are among the largest dinosaur fossils ever reported, … Read more
In Depth Microraptor was first presented to the world as part of the composite fossil called Archaeoraptor, where the tail of a Microraptor was added to the upper body of a Yanornis. Archaeoraptor was a scandalous fake that made headlines around the world, but in the aftermath of this, Microraptor would become known to science. … Read more
In Depth Koshisaurus is a genus of primitive hadrosauroid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous of Japan. At the time of writing all known remains of Koshisaurus are partial as well as probably representing juvenile or sub adult individuals, both of which are factors that make it difficult to ascertain how big this dinosaur could grow. … Read more
In Depth Wulagasaurus is one of many hadrosaurs that have been found from the Amur River region. Although the genus is represented by a collection of scattered fossils in a bone bed, Wulagasaurus seems to have been a saurolophine hadrosaurid that was possibly related to Maiasaura and Bachylophosaurus. Wulagasaurus was not the only new hadrosaur … Read more
In Depth Although the holotype specimen of Gobivenator was missing major bones of the limbs, some vertebrae and the tip of the snout, it remains one of the most complete late Cretaceous troodontid dinosaurs known from late Cretaceous Asia. Two areas that have been important to note during the description are that the parietal bones … Read more
In Depth Shingopana is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous. Shingopana is a small genus of titanosaur and one thought to have been similar to the genus Aeolosaurus, though the femur of Shingopana is proportionately shorter than that seen in Aeolosaurus. Further Reading - The second titanosaurian (Dinosauria: … Read more
In Depth The dromaeosaurids are a very popular group of dinosaurs that all share a few common features. These include reasonably lightweight build, long stiff tails for balance, legs and pelvis adapted for very fast running and a large sickle shaped claw on the second toe of each foot. Balaur however is a dromaeosaur with … Read more
In Depth Hagryphus is another one of those dinosaur genera that teases us about a prospect of being unusually large, yet known only from partial remains, in this case a hand. At about thirty centimetres long this hand is larger than that known for any other oviraptosaur with the sole current exception of Gigantoraptor. This … Read more
In Depth Daxiatitan is another one of the really big early Cretaceous sauropods from China. The holotype remains are considered to be from an individual twenty-one meters long, though Daxiatitan is also thought to have possibly also grown bigger than this. Daxiatitan was named after branch of the Huang He River. Another large sauropod with … Read more
In Depth When looking up what is the biggest dinosaur, people usually get presented with the image of a sauropod, but the exact owner of this title depends upon a number of factors, particularly the definition of largest be it by length, height or weight. Although incomplete, Sauroposeidon is thought to be one of the … Read more