In Depth Gongpoquansaurus is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Gongpoquansaurus mazongshanensis (L�, 1997) comb. nov. (Ornithischia: Hadrosauroidea) from the Early Cretaceous of Gansu Province, northwestern China. - Hadrosaurs 73-76. - H.-l. You, D.-Q. Li & P. Dodson - 2014.
In Depth Iguanacolossus acquired its name from its similarity to another dinosaur named Iguanodon. Although Iguanacolossus might not actually have been any bigger than the largest examples of Iguanodon, it might still have been the largest ornithopod plant eating dinosaur alive in North America at this stage of the Cretaceous, with the only plant eaters … Read more
In Depth Although many of the placodonts had shells only a few like Henodus and Placochelys had single shells that covered the entire body, while others like Cyamodus had two shells. Henodus has one of the most well developed single shells of all placodonts made up by a fusion of a large number of scutes … Read more
In Depth Fresnosaurus was a late Cretaceous era elasmosaurid plesiosaur that seems to have the signature feature of this group of a very long neck proportionately greater than in earlier and more primitive plesiosaur forms. Like with these other genera, Fresnosaurus was probably a specialist hunter of fish and soft bodied cephalopods like squid. Fresnosaurus … Read more
In Depth Preondactylus is another contender for earliest pterosaur although new discoveries are constantly challenging this. One feature that confirms the basal placement of Preondactylus is the short wings, since as pterosaurs evolved the wings became proportionately larger. The hind legs are also very long in relation to the total body length. The diet of … Read more
In Depth Bayannurosaurus is a genus of iguanodont dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A large-sized basal ankylopollexian from East Asia, shedding light on early biogeographic history of Iguanodontia. - Science Bulletin 63:556-563. - X. Xu, Q.-W. Tan, Y.-L. Gao, Z.-Q. Bao, Z.-G. Yin, B. Guo, J.-Y. Wang, L. … Read more
In Depth Traukutitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Traukutitan was named after Trauku, an Araucanian mountain spirit. The species name T. eocaudata is a reference to the primitive appearing form of the caudal vertebrae. There is speculation that Traukutitan was a lognkosaurian titanosaur, and this … Read more
In Depth Asprosaurus is the first genus of Mesozoic aged lizard to be discovered on the Korean peninsula. At the time of its description Asprosaurus is only known from fragmentary fossils, but still researchers have speculated that it may be a prehistoric relative of the Gila Monster. Further Reading - The first lizard fossil (Reptilia: … Read more
In Depth Khaan is a genus of small oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous. Studies into Khaan individuals may have revealed differences between males and females. On some specimens, the caudal (tail) vertebrae have reduced chevrons, and this has been seen as a sign of a female. The reduced chevrons at … Read more
In Depth Among the pterosaurs Quetzalcoatlus is usually treated as one of if not the largest known pterosaur, and so for a long time any large pterosaur bones of the azdharchid line (which Quetzalcoatlus belongs to), were usually attributed to the genus. These included the growing numbers of large azdharchid pterosaur bones that were being … Read more