In Depth Like with Liaoningosaurus, Zhongyuansaurus was first described as a nodosaurid, but later identified as an ankylosaurid. Further study has identified Zhongyuansaurus as the most basal (primitive) ankylosaurine, the group of ankylosaurs that contains the more advance forms that began to appear as the Cretaceous progressed. So basal in fact was Zhongyuansaurus, that it … Read more
In Depth Mercuriceratops is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the Cretaceous. Unfortunately not much is known for certain about Mercuriceratops, however, it has been speculated to have been comparable to Chasmosaurus in size. Further Reading - A new chasmosaurine from northern Laramidia expands fill disparity in ceratopsid dinosaurs. … Read more
In Depth Like with many dinosaurs, the remains of Elaltitan were originally described as belonging to another genus. Originally assigned by Bonarparte and Gasparini to Antarctosaurus in 1979, the remains were later described as Argyrosaurus by Jaime Powell. Later study of the remains by Philip Mannion and Alejandro Otero led to several key differences being … Read more
In Depth Once considered a transitional form between archosaurs and lizards, palaeontologists are no longer as certain as they once were as to exactly how Prolacerta were related to these groups. One key observation is that the teeth are rooted deep and fused to the bones, and not loosely implanted like the teeth of known … Read more
In Depth Kukufeldia is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that is known only from a partial jawbone. Most researchers have considered the genus to be a nomen dubium while others have proposed a synonymy with Barilium. Further Reading - A new basal iguanodont (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) of England. - Zootaxa, 2569: … Read more
In Depth Polysternon is a genus of bothremydid turtle that is known to have lived in Western Europe during the latest stages of the Cretaceous. Further Reading - The youngest species of Polysternon: A new bothremydid turtle from the uppermost Maastrichtian of the southern Pyrenees. - Cretaceous Research 35: 133–142 - J. Marmi, �.H. Luj�n, … Read more
In Depth Caulkicephalus had to be reconstructed from several fragments before it could be classified. Once pieced together the form of an ornithocheirid pterosaur was easy to see including the specialised fish catching dentition. Although only the replacement teeth that are still within the jaw have been preserved, the size of the actual teeth can … Read more
In Depth Tienshanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the late Jurassic. At twelve meters long Tienshanosaurus seems to have been fairly small for a sauropod dinosaur. In the past there has been some confusion concerning the validity of the genus, with the genus Euhelopus being considered to be a … Read more
In Depth The scattered fossils of Anzu were first being found as far back as 1998, and in time four individual discoveries were pieced together to form one oviraptorid. Anzu now has a enough fossils to reveal the skull as well as around seventy-five/eighty per cent of the total post cranial skeleton. This has now … Read more
In Depth Smilosuchus was originally assigned as a large species of Leptosuchus and was classed as the species Leptosuchus gregorii. A key characteristic of the species was the pronounced nasal crest that supported the nostrils (the nostrils in phytosaurs were higher up the snout in front of the eyes, rather than on the end of … Read more