In Depth Hulsanpes is a dinosaur genus that is so far only known from a single partial foot. Over time Hulsanpes has been described as everything from a primitive bird to a dromaeosaur, but in modern times all that most researchers will go as far as say is that Hulsanpes is some kind of maniraptoran … Read more
In Depth Bihariosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. However some researchers have pointed out that there are no clearly distinctive features seen in current Bihariosaurus fossils other than what can be commonly seen in other ornithopod genera. Bihariosaurus is noted a being similar to Camptosaurus. Further … Read more
In Depth The sheer expanse of Plioplatecarpus remains in both Europe and North America indicate that this mosasaur was a predator that frequented the open ocean, and was not restricted to just hunting in shallow waters like some smaller mosasaurs have been presumed to have been. Additionally Plioplatecarpus had proportionately larger eyes than other mosasaurs … Read more
In Depth Mad props to Kenneth Carpenter for naming a dinosaur Gojirasaurus. For those not familiar with the name, Gojira is the name of probably the most famous Japanese giant monster of all time that in the western world is better known as Godzilla. A little more information for fans and film buffs, Gojira is … Read more
In Depth Kranosaura is a genus of archosauromorph that is thought to have been similar to the genus Triopticus in that Kranosaura also had a skull formed to create a dome shape. This dome structure would have been similar in form to the pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs that lived much later during the Cretaceous. Unfortunately at the … Read more
In Depth Othnielia was originally named as a species of Nanosaurus as N. rex back in 1877 by famed American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. This was based upon a femur (YPM 1875), but in 1977, a later palaeontologist named Peter Galton renamed the femur as well as some associated skeletal remains as the genus Othnielia, … Read more
In Depth Originally thought to represent a species of Prognathodon, Gnathomortis was established as a distinct genus of mosasaur in 2020. Further reading - Prognathodon stadtmani (Mosasauridae): a new species from the Mancos Shale (Lower Campanian) of western Colorado. - Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication. 99 (1): 275–294. - M. S. Kass - 1999. - … 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 Yixianopterus had numerous small concical teeth in its jaws that would have allowed it to pluck fish from the water. The pterosaur Avgodectes is considered by some to be a potential synonym of Yixianopterus, although at the time of writing this is still under debate. Further Reading – New pterodactyloid pterosaur from the … Read more
In Depth Redondavenator is a genus of sphenosuchid crocodylomorph that lived in the USA during the later stages of the Triassic. Only the anterior (forward) portion of the skull is known, though estimates of the complete skull result in a reconstructed length of at least sixty centimetres, and when combined with the post cranial remains, … Read more