In Depth The almost complete specimen of Monolophosaurus was first discovered in 1984. This exciting find was initially named ‘Jiangjunmiaosaurus’ after Jiangjunmiao, an abandoned inn near where the skeleton was found, but it was never an official name hence the lack of italics and its description as a nomen nudum (a name that is not … Read more
In Depth Unaysaurus is the first confirmed sauropodomorph dinosaur to be named from Brazil, though there is speculation that another genus named in 1999 called Teyuwasu might also be a sauropodomorph. The closest relative to Unaysaurus is thought to be the famous Plateosaurus from Germany. Further Reading - A new early dinosaur (Sauropodomorpha) from the … Read more
In Depth Jiangjunosaurus is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the earlier part of late Jurassic. Though Jiangjunosaurus is far from complete, this stegosaur is known to have had a skull that was elongated in proportion to its width. Jiangjunosaurus was found by itself, and because generals are buried in temples … Read more
In Depth Yimenosaurus is one of the more popular sauropodomorph dinosaurs thanks to the large number of fossils from several individuals that make up the genus. At the time of writing the only uncertainty concerning Yimenosaurus are the limbs, which have a distinct lack of representation. Yimenosaurus is also known to have easily attained sizes … Read more
In Depth Kamuysaurus is a saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived in Japan during the late Cretaceous. Although some parts of the skull and skeleton are missing, the holotype specimen of Kamuysaurus is still one of the best preserved dinosaur skeletons discovered in Japan. It is possible that this level of preservation came about from the … Read more
In Depth Although many people are familiar with the dinosaur Oviraptor, what they don’t realise is that its modern day reconstruction of this oviraptorid is often based upon the more abundant remains of Citipati. Named after two beheaded monks who appear in Tibetan buddhist folklore, Citipati is also one of the larger members of its … Read more
In Depth Limaysaurus was a medium sized rebbachisaurid sauropod that lived in Argentina during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading – Rebbachisaurus tessonei sp. nov. A new sauropod from the Albian-Cenomanian of Argentina; new evidence on the origin of the Diplodocidae. – Gaia, 11: 13-33. – J. O. Calvo & L Salgado – 1995. – Lower … Read more
In Depth Centrosaurus acquired its named from the numerous bony projections that run along the edges of its frill. Aside from these a large nasal horn extends upwards from the top of the snout, and a pair of small horns project from the eyebrow. Two more hornlets hook down from the top of the frill, … Read more
In Depth The holotype individual of Microvenator was first discovered by the famed American palaeontologist Barnum Brown in 1933. Brown noted that the holotype individual had what he thought was a disproportionately large head, and so came up with the name Megadontosaurus. A reference to the large head, but also the teeth found near it. … Read more
In Depth When first described in 1988 by Zhang Yihun this sauropod dinosaur genus was named as Protognathus. However it was soon realised that the name Protognathus had already been used to name a genus of beetle, so the dinosaur was renamed buy George Olshevsky to become Protognathosaurus in order to make it distinct from … Read more