In Depth 2014 saw the first instance of a dinosaur genus being described as coming from Venezuela. This genus was Laquintasaura, a small plant eating ornithischian dinosaur, fossils of which were discovered where a road was being cut into the Venezuelan landscape. However, when Laquintasaura was discovered, the teeth of small theropod dinosaurs were also … Read more
In Depth Whereas mosasaurs are usually represented by the larger forms such as Mosasaurus hunting and killing other marine reptiles, Yaguarasaurus as a plioplatercarpine would have used speed to hunt smaller and faster prey such as fish. To date even though the fossil material for Yaguarasaurus is largely incomplete, it still remains one of the … Read more
In Depth Datanglong was a mid to large sized theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous period. At the time of its description only the hip bones and dorsal vertebrae are known for this dinosaur, so we have to take a best guess as to what this dinosaur looked like. Unfortunately Datanglong … Read more
In Depth Dongyangosaurus is a genus of titanosaurid dinosaur that is known to have lived in China at some point during the earlier stages of the late Cretaceous, Though only known from partial remains, Dongyangosaurus has been confidently identified as a saltasaurid titanosaur, and similar in form to Saltasaurus which is known from South America. … Read more
In Depth A relative of genera such as Tanystropheus and Dinocephalosaurus, Augustaburiania may well represent one of the oldest known tanystropheid reptiles. Beyond this though it is hard to be certain about more exact details of the living animal due to the current lack of more complete remains. Further Reading - New tanystropheids (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) … Read more
In Depth Rativates is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new ornithomimid theropod from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. - B. McFeeters, M. J. Ryan, C. Schr�der-Adams & T. M. Cullen - 2016.
In Depth Tichvinskia was a small procoloniphid reptile that is known to have lived in Russia during the early Triassic. Further Reading - Novye Dannye o Melkikh Kotilosavrakh iz Permi i Triasa SSSR [New Data on Small Cotylosaurs from the Permian and Triassic of the USSR]. - Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR 108(3):547-550. - P. K. … Read more
In Depth Gobititan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. At the time of writing Gobititan is only known from caudal vertebrae and a partial hind limb, though from these it is possible to infer that Gobititan was a primitive titanosaur. This is because Gobititan is known to … Read more
In Depth The annoying thing about Amtocephale is that it is yet another pachycephalosaur genus that is known only from skull material, specifically the thick dome. The exciting thing about Amtocephale however is that at the time of its discovery it represents what might be the oldest known pachycephalosaur genus. Further Reading - A new … Read more
In Depth An early Cretaceous sauropod from Spain, Aragosaurus is considered to have been similar to the North American Camarasaurus in form. This means that the head would have been carried up high to enable Aragosaurus to browse upon the upper branches of trees, which were simply beyond the reach of low browsing dinosaurs. This … Read more