In Depth Talenkauen is a genus of small to medium sized ornithopod dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Noted for being similar in overall build to the much older Dryosaurus from North America, some of the most notable features of Talenkauen include an arrangement of oval plates that run alongside the … Read more
In Depth Named in 2015 alongside Kuttanacaiman and Caiman wannlangstoni, Gnatusuchus was a small genus of caiman crocodile that lived in what is now Peru during the Miocene. The part of Peru that Gnatusuchus is known from would have been an expanse of freshwater swamp at this time, and in this swamp there seems to … Read more
In Depth Gueragama is a genus of iguanian lizard that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A stem acrodontan lizard in the Cretaceous of Brazil revises early lizard evolution in Gondwana. - Nature Communications 6:8149:1-8. - T. R. Sim�es, E. Wilner, M. W. Caldwell, L. C. Weinsch�tz & A. W. … Read more
In Depth Hualianceratops is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in China during the Late Jurassic. Identified as a member of the Chaoyangsauridae group of ceratopsians, Hualianceratops would have been a small and bipedal herbivore. Further Reading - A new taxon of basal ceratopsian from China and the early evolution of Ceratopsia. – … Read more
In Depth Sinankylosaurus is a genus of ankylosaur that lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous. Though only known from partial remains, the presence of Sinankylosaurus again illustrates the similarity of animal fauna between Asia and North America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new ankylosaurian from the Late Cretaceous strata of Zhucheng, … Read more
In Depth Clevosaurus is a genus of small lepidosaurian lizard that as a genus had a near global dsitribution during the Triassic and early Jurassic. Further Reading – A new Triassic rhynchocephalian from Gloucestershire. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Zoology, Botany, and Geology 4:591-594. – W. E. Swinton – 1939. – The Osteology and … Read more
In Depth Dromaeosauroides is what is called a ‘tooth taxon’ as so far this dinosaur only has fossil teeth attributed to it. These teeth seem to come from a dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur, and this is reason why for the name which means Dromaeosaurus-like. Comparison of these teeth to those of other dromaeosaurids suggests that Dromaeosauroides … Read more
In Depth Fossils pertaining to Tatenectes were originally assigned as a species of Cimoliasaurus (C. laramiensis) by W. C. Knight in 1900. Then in 1912 they were moved over to Tricliedus (as T. laramiensis) by Mehl. Then in 2003 fossils pertaining to this species were established as a new genus by O’Keefe and Wahl. However … Read more
In Depth Venenosaurus, meaning ‘poison lizard’ acquired its name from being discovered in the Poison Strip Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, while the type species, V. dicrocei, is in honour of Tony DiCroce, the person who first discovered the remains. Other sauropod dinosaurs from the Cedar Mountain Formation, albeit from different Members, include Abydosaurus, … Read more
In Depth Although only described from a skull Zarafasaura was one of the last surviving elasmosaurid plesiosaurs active around North Africa, a region that in the past has yielded very little in the way of plesiosaur remains. Part of this problem is Africa’s harsh climate that can quickly erode and damage exposed fossils. The discovery … Read more