In Depth Gryposuchus was initially known as Ramphostoma neogaues until the addition of the second species in 1912 when it was realised that Ramphostoma was already used and actually a synonym for a genus of blind snakes called Leptotyphlops. Although a synonym, Ramphostoma could not be applied as it was first used in 1860 and … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Protoceratops, P. kozlowskii, Breviceratops was established as a distinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur in 1990. There has been much speculation that Breviceratops may actually be synonymous with the genus Bagaceratops, though some researchers have pointed out notable differences between the holotype of Breviceratops and the known specimens … Read more
In Depth Redondasaurus was a large phytosaur that is known to have lived in the USA during the late Triassic period. The largest known skull at the time of writing is about eighty centimetres long, and is very robustly formed. This alone indicates that Redondasaurus was a predator of large vertebrates, perhaps lurking in Late … Read more
In Depth Muttaburrasaurus is one of the best known dinosaurs to come from Australia, though it was the inclusion of Muttaburrasaurus in an episode of the TV series Walking with Dinosaurs that brought it to the attention of a worldwide audience. Muttaburrasaurus is named after the town Muttaburra situated in Queensland, Australia where the holotype … Read more
In Depth Originally named as Lisboasaurus mitracostatus, L. mitracostatus was renamed as Lusitanisuchus in 2004. Lusitanisuchus is a genus of crocodylomorph that lived in Portugal during the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Upper Jurassic lizards from central Portugal. Contribui��o para o conhecimento da Fauna do Kimerridgiano da Mina de Lignito Guimarota (Leiria, … Read more
In Depth Although Deinonychus was first discovered in 1931, it would not be until the 1960s with the advent of more discoveries that it would get named and studied in detail. These studies helped lead to one of the most radical ideas put forward in the field of palaeontology; at least some of the dinosaurs … Read more
In Depth Campylodoniscus was originally named by Friedrich von Huene in 1929 as Campylodon ameghinoi. However, it was later realised that the genus name Campylodon had already been used to name a type of fish. Therefore in 1961, Haubold and Kuhn created a new genus named Campylodoniscus. Because of the lack of good fossils remains, … Read more
In Depth Back in 1860 a partial lower jaw of a dinosaur was collected by A. J. Hogg, which later in 1874 was named as a species of Iguanodon, I. hoggi by Richard Owen. More than a hundred years later the jaw was thought to represent a European specimen of Camptosaurus, but later still in … Read more
In Depth Erketu is a genus of sauropod that is noted for having a very long neck in proportion to the rest of the body. So extreme was this neck that it likely took up at least half of the total body length. Despite this, other genera such as Mamenchisaurus may have had an even … Read more
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