In Depth Jinyunpelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia around the early/late Cretaceous boundary. The presence of Jinyunpelta at that time suggests that it was among the first ankylosaurid dinosaur genera to have evolved a tail club. Further Reading - The most basal ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Albian-Cenomanian of China, with … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately like with so many other Australian dinosaurs, Atlascopcosaurus is based upon the description of very incomplete remains, in this case part of a jaw. This jaw was been compared to other dinosaur types which has yielded the conclusion that Atlascopcosaurus was probably a member of the Euornithopoda. Also a very rough estimate … Read more
In Depth Baurusuchus is a genus of terrestrial crocodile that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. The genus is noted for having a strong similarity to the genus Cynodontosuchus, though Baurusuchus was notably bigger and with stronger and more robust teeth. There has been past speculation that Baurusuchus may be a synonym to … Read more
In Depth There are some fossil animals that just seem to be born to confuse us, and Longisquama is certainly one of these. The partial post cranial remains of this diapsid reptile seem to belong to a fairly small lizard. What really makes this creature bizarre however are the long appendages that seem to attach … Read more
In Depth Simosuchus is a genus of small and probably vegetarian crocodile that lived in Madagascar during the late Cretaceous. The vegetarian theory about the diet comes from study of the teeth and jaws which are much better suited to processing plant material than flesh. Simosuchus also exhibits a greatly reduced tail, quite possibly because … Read more
In Depth Euskelosaurus may have been quite specialised for a sauropodomorph dinosaur since the shaft of the femur is physically twisted. This led in 1979 to a palaeontologist by the name of Heerden to suggest that Euskelosaurus might have been bow legged instead of just growing straight down like similar sauropodomorphs. The twisting of the … Read more
In Depth Asilisaurus were a kind of reptile that was very close to the evolutionary line that led to the development of the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Although established upon very fragmentary fossil remains, the genus indicates a possible earlier development of dinosaurs back to the mid Triassic rather than the late Triassic. This also helps … Read more
In Depth Wuerhosaurus is currently the latest surviving known member of the stegosaur group. In being so, the temporal range of these kinds of dinosaurs has been significantly extended up to the middle Cretaceous, forty-five million years after their Jurassic heyday. Unfortunately Wuerhosaurus is only represented by partial remains, making accurate reconstruction of this stegosaurid … Read more
In Depth The problem with most dinosaur remains from the Cambridge Greensand is that they are incomplete representations of a living animal, and collections of fossils can often be the mixed up remains of more than one genus. In the past the genus of Anoplosaurus has been accused of being partially composed of ornithopod dinosaur … Read more
In Depth Brachypterygius initially started out as a species of Ichthyosaurus, I. extremus, but in 1922 palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene renamed the species as a distinct genus. This is actually a reflection of how the Ichthyosaurus genus was once used as a wastebasket taxon with almost any ichthyosaur remains being referred to it upon the … Read more