In Depth A relatively small and unassuming pliosaur, Peloneustes shows a dental specialisation where the teeth were not as sharp as other presumably piscivorous (fish eating) marine reptiles. The blunter teeth would have instead been better suited for cracking the shells of cephalopods like belemnites and ammonites so that Peloneustes could easily eat the soft … Read more
In Depth Compared to some larger Cretaceous crocodiles such as Deinosuchus, Allodaposuchus was actually quite small, but it still would have been a serious danger to the smaller dinosaurs that were running across Europe during the Cretaceous. Given the speed of smaller ornithopod dinosaurs the best chance that Allodaposuchus had of making a kill would … Read more
In Depth Macrocnemus is a genus of extinct archosauromorph that seems to have had a wide distribution during the Triassic given that fossils of the genus are known from central Europe and China. Further Reading - Macrocnemus nicht Macrochemus. Centralblatt fur Mineralogie. - Geologic und Palaeontologie; Stuttgart. 1931 Abt B 655–656. - F. Nopcsa - … Read more
In Depth Aardonyx is a very special sauropodomorph as it represents the transitional stage between bipedal ancestors and quadrupedal descendants. This change is most evident when examining the legs, which show adaptations for a slower, yet more powerful method of walking. These changes combined with an increasingly quadrupedal method of weight bearing would allow the … Read more
In Depth Not much can be said about Comodactylus because it is only known from a fourth metacarpal, the hyper extended finger that made up the outer trailing edge of the wing. The prooportions of the bones have at least indicated that Comodactylus belongs within the Rhamphorhynchoidea group of pterosaurs, although if the size estimates … Read more
In Depth The fact that Albertaceratops has large and well developed brow horns on what is in essence a centrosaurine skull has led to the thinking that Albertaceratops is a basal centrosaurine ceratopsian. Later members of the group would develop considerably reduced brow horns. Albertaceratops had no nasal horn but instead had a bony growth … Read more
In Depth Ashleychelys is a genus of sea turtle that lived during the Miocene. Further Reading - Oligocene Pancheloniid Sea Turtles from the Vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(1):80-99. - R. E. Weems & A. E. Sanders - 2014.
In Depth Pelecanimimus is a special dinosaur as it is considered to be one of if not the earliest known ornithomimosaur. Pelecanimimus also stands out from later forms because of the large number of teeth that are still present within its mouth, around two hundred and twenty in total. These teeth are thought to have … Read more
In Depth Because of the way the teeth were arranged, Liaoxipterus was initially thought to have been a filter feeder of the ctenochasmatid group of pterosaurs, however Liaoxipterus had a lower number of teeth than others members of this group. Later studies in 2006 and 2008 respectively have now placed Liaoxipterus into the istiodactylid pterosaur … Read more
In Depth Since it dates from the early Permian, Acleistorhinus is the earliest anapsid known. The teeth are numerous, small and pointed, suggesting that it hunted for insects. Viewed from above, the skull is triangular from the eyes leading to the front tip. The back of the skull is wide resulting in the orbits being … Read more