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
In Depth Although named in 2010, the skull of Diabloceratops was discovered in 2002. The first thing about the skull of Diabloceratops is that it has two large horns that rise from the top of its neck frill, that then curve slightly to the sides. These ‘Devil horns’ are the reason why Diabloceratops got its … Read more
In Depth When it comes to the study of ceratopsian dinosaurs, it is the genus Psittacosaurus that has the most significance. The remains of literally over four hundred individuals are known, a few of these complete, articulated and with soft tissue remains such as skin and feather impressions. It is also possible to study the … Read more
In Depth Ancient animals, especially pterosaurs are often known from only a few bones, and then often poorly preserved. The pterosaur Hamipterus however is very different. Not only is the complete animal known, but fossil remains of dozens, maybe even hundreds have been discovered. These include soft tissue impressions and eggs. This has all come … Read more
In Depth Pterodactylus has the honour of being the first pterosaur known to science, although the type of creature that it really was, was still largely unknown at the time of its discovery. Many scientists inferred that it was more like a bat, or something between a bat and a bird. Some even put forward … Read more
In Depth Brachysuchus was originally named as a species of Angistorhinus, A. megalodon, but was raised to its own genus in 1929. As a phytosaur Brachysuchus would have resembled a crocodile, though evolutionally speaking there was no direct link to them. Further Reading - Description of the skull of a new form of phytosaur with … Read more