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 Euclastes is a genus of marine cryptodiran turtle that lived from the late cretaceous to the early Paleocene. Euclastes is noted for having a partial secondary palate, and a mouth suited for crushing the shells of armoured animals such as crustaceans and shelled molluscs. A former species, E. hutchisoni, has now been reassigned … Read more
In Depth Because the skull of Westphaliasaurus is so far unknown it is impossible to say for certain what the diet of Westphaliasaurus was. However most of the early Jurassic plesiosaurs were dedicated hunters of fish and possibly also squid, prey animals that would become a staple part of the diets of plesiosaurs throughout the … Read more
In Depth Hydrotherosaurus is comfortably placed within the Elasmosauridae, a group of plesiosaurs noted for having proportionately long necks. Also like these other genera, Hydrotherosaurus had long pointed teeth, but these seem to have projected more to the sides rather than just up and down. This however is quite a common feature seen in piscivorous … Read more
In Depth Liaochelys is a genus of cryptodiran turtle that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new eucryptodiran turtle from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China. - Zootaxa 2676:45-56. - C. -F. Zhou - 2010.
In Depth The holotype tooth of this genus was originally described by the German palaeontologist Werner Janensch in 1920 as belonging to the genus Labrosaurus. The first reassignment came about when Labrosaurus was declared to be a synonym of Allosaurus, but the teeth in question were not seen to be similar to those known for … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - A new sauropod dinosaur of Cretaceous from Jingshan, Zhejiang province. - Vertebrata PalAsiatica 39(4):272-281. - F. Tang, X.-M. Kang, Z.-S. Jin, F. Wei & W.-T. Wu - 2001.
In Depth Sveltonectes is a member of the Platypterygiinae ichthyosaurs due to is resemblance to others of this group such as Platyptergius. This group is nested within the Ophthalmosauridae which is typified by the genus Ophthalmosaurus. Sveltonectes stands out from its relatives for its even more streamlined, lightweight build, as well as possessing differently formed … Read more
In Depth Yizhousaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Jurassic, and is a rare example of such a dinosaur where the skull is known, and in an almost perfect state. Further Reading - A new sauropodiform dinosaur with a ‘sauropodan’ skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Kronosaurus, K. boyacensis, was re-described as a distinct genus Monquirasaurus, in 2021. Monquirasaurus was a large pliosaur that swam around in the waters around Central America during the early Cretaceous. Monquirasaurus would have easily been among the larger oceanic predators of this time and easily capable of … Read more