In Depth The genus Pterodactylus was the first ever pterosaur named, however it suffered from the wastebasket taxon effect for the first fifty to hundred years of its history, and since this time many former species have been re-identified as being similar yet very distinct genera. Aerodactylus is yet another example of this, being originally … Read more
In Depth When first described Estesia was considered to be a member of the Varanoidea, the group that contains modern day monitor lizards (i.e. lace monitor, komodo dragon, etc). This relationship was based mostly upon the similarity of the jaws as well as the teeth which were sharp and recurved (curve to face the back … Read more
In Depth Notohypsilophodon is a genus of small ornithopod dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Notohypsilophodon is so named based upon a superficial similarity to the genus Hypsilophodon while also recognising the more southern occurrence of this individual. Notohypsilophodon is so far only known from the partial remains of a juvenile, … Read more
In Depth Caihong is a genus of anchiornithid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic. Caihong was a very small dinosaur, roughly about forty centimetres long in life. Caihong is noted for having feathers covering the entire body except for the snout and claws. Study of melanosome associated with Caihong show that in … Read more
In Depth Although known from other locations, Protorosaurus fossils are most common in Germany. This might suggest that Protorosaurus were more numerous there during the Permian, however it might also suggest that the conditions in Germany during the Permian were better for the fossilisation process to begin, therefore Germany might not have had a higher … Read more
In Depth Campinasuchus is a genus of sebecosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Unfortunately little is known about Campinasuchus, though the genus is thought to be related to Pissarrachampsa and Wargosuchus. Further Reading - Campinasuchus dinizi gen. et sp. nov., a new Late Cretaceous baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes) from the Bauru Basin, … Read more
In Depth Discovered in New Zealand, Mauisaurus was for a long time credited as one of the largest plesiosaurs. However in more recent times there have been doubts about the validity of fossils attributed to the genus since these have come from so many different locations. Mauisaurus also displays the long sharp teeth often seen … Read more
In Depth Sirindhorna is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in Thailand during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A New Basal Hadrosauroid Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Northeastern Thailand. - PLoS ONE 10 (12). - Masateru Shibata, Pratueng Jintasakul, Yoichi Azuma & Hai-Lu You - 2015.
In Depth Mei was named because it was found in a sleeping pose, not unlike birds today. Study of the bones has revealed they were not totally fused, meaning that the animal was a juvenile. Analysis of the stone the fossil was discovered in shows it to have been buried by volcanic ash. A second … Read more
In Depth Lapampasaurus is a late Cretaceous era genus of hadrosaur. Although only named from partial remains, the discovery is of yet another hadrosaur from South America. The continent of South America has long been assumed to have been isolated from North America during the Cretaceous, but the presence of hadrosaur genera such as Lapampasaurus, … Read more