In Depth Although only named from the description of hind legs, Alnashetri has been identified as an alvaresauroid. These small theropods are noted for having short stubby arms with single claws pointing out, which may helped them to feed upon certain types of prey like insects. This remains unknown for certain with Alnashetri since at … Read more
In Depth Astrodon has been a troublesome genus of sauropod dinosaur, partly because of the lack of complete remains for the genus which was initially primarily named from the teeth. Astrodon also has an uncertain relationship with the genus Pleurocoelus, with some authors considering the two to be synonymous, to just some species of Pleurocoelus … Read more
In Depth The original bones of Mochlodon were first discovered in 1859, but were not formerly identified until 1870. When named by Emanuel Bunzel, the remains were identified as those of a new species of Iguanodon. However, by this time Iguanodon was being treated as a ‘wastebasket taxon’ for any remains that had a superficial … Read more
In Depth Talos is so far only known from a partial post cranial skeleton that is mostly represented by the rear limbs. However when these remains are scaled to the same proportions as other more complete troodontid genera, a rough estimate of around two meters in length can be attained for the animal. Like other … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Wiehenvenator were first discovered in 1998 around the Wiehen Hills in Germany. When compared to some other theropod dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, these fossils were noted as being of a potentially huge size which led to estimates of up to fifteen metres in length being recorded in popular media for many … Read more
In Depth Although discovered in 1972, Gallimimus was a relatively little known dinosaur until its appearance in the 1993 movie blockbuster Jurassic Park. In one of the more famous scenes of this film a whole herd of Gallimimus gets chased by the Tyrannosaurus before one slips and is killed by this predator. Although science fiction, … Read more
In Depth Currently considered to be a megalosauroid theropod, Piatnitzkysaurus was a smaller medium sized theropod of the Jurassic. As a predator Piatnitzkysaurus probably hunted other small dinosaurs and possibly even those slightly larger than itself. It is also almost a certainty that Piatnitzkysaurus would scavenge the carcasses of dead dinosaurs when able, since scavenging … Read more
In Depth The holotype remains of Murusraptor were first recovered across 2001 and 2002, but were not described in a scientific paper until 2016. Murusraptor is identified as a megaraptoran theropod dinosaur, and one of potentially large size. The holotype individual of Murusraptor has been estimated to have been just short of six and a … Read more
In Depth Named after the Pan American Energy Co. which funded the work that led to the naming of this titanosaurian dinosaur, Panamericansaurus seems to have been a close relative to the genera Aeolosaurus, Pitekunsaurus and Gondwanatitan, and hence is included within the aeolosaurid titanosaurs with them. Further Reading Further reading - Panamericansaurus schroederi gen. … Read more
In Depth Lajasvenator is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the Early cretaceous. Carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs have a reputation for being some of the largest predatory dinosaurs, but Lajasvenator is at the opposite end of the scale, and represents perhaps one of the smallest carcharodontsaurid known. Further Reading - An Early … Read more