In Depth Leptoceratops is similar in form to the earlier ceratopsian dinosaurs that would evolve into the larger members of the group such as Chasmosaurus and Anchiceratops. However Leptoceratops lived much later than these ancestral forms as indicated by its entry into the fossil record at a time which would have seen Leptoceratops living in … Read more
In Depth Equijubus seems to have been a primitive hadrosauroid from the early Cretaceous of China, though some have considered the genus to be more simply an iguanodont. Despite this, the skull of Equijubus lacks a palpebral bone, meaning that the eye did not have a bony projection jutting above it. Further Reading - The … Read more
In Depth Because of a current lack of fossils for this genus, the only thing that can be said with any certainty is that Kerberosaurus was a saurolophine hadrosaurid, the group of hadrosaurs noted to have solid head crests like those of Saurolophus. The skull remains of Kerberosaurus were discovered in a bone bed of … Read more
In Depth At the time of the description in 2017, Zuul was the best preserved ankylosaurine ankylosaur ever found in North America. Not only was the skull and post cranial skeleton mostly complete, many of the armoured plates that adorned its back were still present. The type species name, Z. crurivastator, is Latin and basically … Read more
In Depth With fossils going back to the mid Jurassic, it comes as no surprise that Huayangosaurus is a more primitive stegosaur than better known genera from the late Jurassic. The skull of Huayangosaurus is broader than later forms which reveals it was not as well adapted to selective browsing. The premaxilla also still has … Read more
In Depth Bactrosaurus is one of the earliest hadrosauroids known from Asia, and also one of the best known. Bactrosaurus still had three stacked teeth for each tooth in the maxilla, an iguanodont feature that reveals the ancestry of the genus. However, Bactrosaurus also has a number of hadrosauroid features, particularly those of lambeosaurines (hollow … Read more
In Depth Ouranosaurus similarities and differences to Iguanodon Although initially classed as an iguanodontid dinosaur, subsequent studies of Ouranosaurus fossils have revealed it to be a form of basal hadrosaur. Despite this, Ouranosaurus still bears some features that are similar to the more famous Iguanodon, specifically the forelimb. The hands of the forelimbs still have … Read more
In Depth When remains of Shantungosaurus were first found they were found in a bone bed of at least five individual dinosaurs. Though none of these were of a complete skeleton, composites of incorporating the bones of more than one individual have been assembled with the largest producing a hadrosaurid dinosaur just over sixteen and … Read more
In Depth Tethyshadros is without doubt one of the more interesting genera of hadrosauroid dinosaurs. For a start hadrosauroids are not particularly well known from Europe, though large ornithopod dinosaurs which were ancestral to them are. Tethyshadros also seems to have been a dwarf hadrosaur, growing to an average length of four meters. This reduction … Read more
In Depth After Mymoorapelta in 1994, Gargoyleosaurus was the second ankylosaur to be named from the Morrison Formation. Specifically Gargoyleosaurus is a polacanthine dinosaur and had an arrangement of bony armour and spikes across its back and sides. Gargoyleosaurus also had a large bony plate that covered its hips from above. This armour was an … Read more