In Depth The end five caudal (tail) vertebrae of Nomingia are fused together to form a pygostyle like that of birds. In birds, the pygostyle serves as the attachment point for the tail flight feathers, and in Nomingia the pygostyle probably had a similar function. However as an oviraptosaur, Nomingia would not have been capable … Read more
In Depth Although named in 2010, the skull of Diabloceratops was discovered in 2002. The first thing about the skull of Diabloceratops is that it has two large horns that rise from the top of its neck frill, that then curve slightly to the sides. These ‘Devil horns’ are the reason why Diabloceratops got its … Read more
In Depth When it comes to the study of ceratopsian dinosaurs, it is the genus Psittacosaurus that has the most significance. The remains of literally over four hundred individuals are known, a few of these complete, articulated and with soft tissue remains such as skin and feather impressions. It is also possible to study the … Read more
In Depth Gyposaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that technically does not exist anymore. Two species have been named, the type species G. capensis from South Africa, and G. sinensis from China. Doubts were cast upon the validity of the type species in 1976 when a study by Galton and Cluver came to the … Read more
In Depth Plateosaurus is probably the best understood sauropodomorph dinosaur currently known, and also one of the oldest dinosaur genera. Named in 1837, Plateosaurus actually predated the creation of the Dinosauria by Richard Owen in 1842, though the genus missed out on being one of the defining dinosaur genera (instead Owen used Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and … Read more
In Depth Rinchenia was originally described as a species of Oviraptor by Rinchen Barsbold in 1986, but a later re-evaluation identified the species as a distinct genus. Unfortunately for Oviraptor, this removed the only skull were the crest is preserved, meaning that reconstructions of Oviraptor are now based upon Rinchenia. This might not be a … Read more
In Depth Hulsanpes is a dinosaur genus that is so far only known from a single partial foot. Over time Hulsanpes has been described as everything from a primitive bird to a dromaeosaur, but in modern times all that most researchers will go as far as say is that Hulsanpes is some kind of maniraptoran … Read more
In Depth Bihariosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. However some researchers have pointed out that there are no clearly distinctive features seen in current Bihariosaurus fossils other than what can be commonly seen in other ornithopod genera. Bihariosaurus is noted a being similar to Camptosaurus. Further … Read more
In Depth Mad props to Kenneth Carpenter for naming a dinosaur Gojirasaurus. For those not familiar with the name, Gojira is the name of probably the most famous Japanese giant monster of all time that in the western world is better known as Godzilla. A little more information for fans and film buffs, Gojira is … Read more
In Depth Othnielia was originally named as a species of Nanosaurus as N. rex back in 1877 by famed American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. This was based upon a femur (YPM 1875), but in 1977, a later palaeontologist named Peter Galton renamed the femur as well as some associated skeletal remains as the genus Othnielia, … Read more