In Depth Leptonectes is the type genus of Leptopterygiidae group of ichthyosaurs that had specialised upper jaws that protruded beyond the end of the lower jaw. This group of ichthyosaurs are sometimes envisioned using these snouts to stir up sediment on the sea floor to find buried prey, however because their jaws resemble those of … Read more
In Depth Muraenosaurus was a Jurassic era plesiosaur similar to the much more famous Plesiosaurus, although Muraenosaurus actually seems to have had a proportionately longer neck. This is likely an adaptation that would have helped it to catch fish. It’s probable however that Muraenosaurus itself was targeted by large Jurassic era pliosaurs such as Liopleurodon, … Read more
In Depth With a weight estimate of 0.5-0.75 kilos, Fruitadens is by far one of the smallest known dinosaurs. Recovered specimens are thought to represent juveniles and sub adults that are almost fully grown. In appearance Fruitadens is considered to have been similar to Heterodontosaurus, although it may have been closer to Echinodon and Tianyulong … Read more
In Depth Kourisodon was first described from fossil remains discovered in British Columbia, though since this time more partial remains from Japan have been attributed to the genus. Not only does this significantly expand upon the known geographical range of Kourisodon, but it indicates that Kourisodon existed from the Santonian of the Canadian deposits, all … Read more
In Depth After Stegosaurus itself, Kentrosaurus is easily the best known of the stegosaurs. Many herbivores were known to have herded, and support for this in Kentrosaurus comes from the massive collection of bones from the Tendaguru beds. Like other Stegosaurs, Kentrosaurus was considered to be a low browser, although it’s considered possible for Kentrosaurus … Read more
In Depth Since the closing decades of the twentieth century literally thousands of fossil bones of hadrosaurid dinosaurs have been found in Alaska. Initially considered to be lambeosaurines (the type with bony head crests), there were later determined to be saurolophines, specifically similar to Edmontosaurus. Most of these remains however have come from juveniles which … Read more
In Depth Phosphorosaurus is a genus of halisaurine mosasaur known to have lived during the latest stage of the Cretaceous. Halisaurine mosasaurs like Phosphorosaurus were the smaller end of the scale in terms of size, but would have been fast and nimble predators of other creatures such as fish and perhaps cephalopods such as squid. … Read more
In Depth The type genus of the Pachypleurosauria, Pachypleurosaurus would have been a relative of the more famous nothosaurs, yet still be distinct enough to not be classed as a nothosaurine. It should be remembered however that both nothosaurines and pachypleurosaurines are still both classified as nothosauroids due to their physical similarities. The name Pachypleurosaurus … Read more
In Depth Yurgovuchia was a small dromaeosaurine theropod that is often described as being ‘coyote sized’. Although Yurgovuchia is only known from very incomplete remains, mapping the known bones to the proportions of related but better preserved dromaeosaurs has yielded a rough estimate of around two and a half meters, though much of this figure … Read more
In Depth Pontosaurus was a semi aquatic lizard with an extremely elongated body that features a laterally compressed tail around twice the length of the body. Pontosaurus is so snake-like that it is considered to represent the form of reptiles that were ancestral to snakes, though was probably not the ancestor due to its late … Read more