In Depth The name of the dinosaur Cathartesaura can be quite confusing. Broken down it can read as ‘Cathartes lizard’, with ‘Cathartes’ a reference to the Cathartes genus which includes the modern day turkey vulture. The full genus and species name of the Turkey vulture however is Cathartes aura, and when you remove the space … Read more
In Depth The type specimen of Nopcsaspondylus, a dorsal vertebra, was first described by Franz Nopsca in 1902, who referred it to the now dubious sauropod genus Bothriospondylus, quite surprising when you consider that the Bothriospondylus type material came from England. This vertebrae was renamed as Nopcsaspondylus in 2007, with the identification that it represents … Read more
In Depth Although it seems to have lived towards the end of the Jurassic, Suuwassea appears to have been a basal diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that was more primitive in form than other better known sauropods such as Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. This would make Suuwassea a late surviving form. At an estimated length approaching fifteen meters, … Read more
In Depth Hailing from Croatia, Histriasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, and a close relative to the genus Rebbachisaurus. Further Reading - Remains of Sauropoda (Reptilia, Saurischia) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Hauterivian/Lower Barremian) limestones of SW Istria (Croatia). - Geologica Croatica 51(2):105-134. - F. M. Dalla Vecchia - 1998.
In Depth Dyslocosaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Jurassic. It is unknown exactly where the type fossils of Dyslocosaurus are known from as when they were first discovered they only had ‘Lance Creek’ written on them. There is a Lance Formation that is named after … Read more
In Depth Atlantosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, though his first choice of name was Titanosaurus. However, Titanosaurus had actually been established as a genus name by Richard Lydekker earlier that same year, so Marsh renamed his fossils as Atlantosaurus. At the time of their original naming, the two vertebrae that are … Read more