In Depth Xilousuchus is one of the oldest known archosaurs and like many other primitive forms it has a sail upon its back. This has seen Xilousuchus placed within the Ctenosauriscidae group of sail backed rauisuchian archosaurs that are typified by the genus Ctenosauriscus, although Xilousuchus is actually thought to be more closely related to … Read more
In Depth Acrocanthosaurus immediately sticks out from other large theropods with its high dorsal spines than run from the neck to the tip of the tail. There have been many artistic representations for this structure from the spines standing proud from the body, to supporting a flap of skin. Modern thinking however comes from the … Read more
In Depth One of the most notable details of Rebbachisaurus are the tall neural spines of the vertebrae, which either stood proud from the back, or supported a sail or hump that ran along the spine. Aside from this Rebbachisaurus was a fairly generic diplodocid sauropod with a large build, long neck and whip-like tail. … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Ophthalmosaurus (O. chrisorum) a 2010 study saw the specimens elevated to the level of a distinct genus of ichthyosaur. Arthropterygius was also considered to be similar to Caypullisaurus, but not all researchers have followed this and instead treat Arthropterygius as a basal (primitive) member of the Ophthalmosauridae. … Read more
In Depth Deltavjatia was originally named as a species of Pareiasuchus (itself largely treated as a synonym to Pareiasaurus), and then later as species of Anthodon. Then in 1987 Deltavjatia was established as a distinct genus by Lebedev. Deltavjatia was a fairly standard pareiasaur, though the genus is noted as having several primitive features. Further … Read more
In Depth Dyrosaurus was a long snouted crocodile that had jaws filled with numerous, thin recurved teeth. These kinds of teeth are indicative of a piscivorous (fish eating) lifestyle. At up to six meters long, Dyrosaurus were large when compared to modern crocodiles, though positively tiny when compared to some North African Mesozoic crocodiles like … Read more
In Depth The remains of the crocodile Voay were first described as a species of Crocodylus (C. robustus) back in 1872 by Grandidier and Vaillant, however later study found that the remains were nearer to the dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus, although not close enough to be included with this genus either. For this reason C. A. … Read more
In Depth Narindasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar during the mid Jurassic. Fossils of this dinosaur were first discovered in 1906, but were not given their own distinct genus till 2020. Before that time they had still been studied, with growth ring analysis suggesting that this sauropod dinosaur did not … Read more
In Depth Anasazisaurus is currently only known from a single skull, but one that has a flange of bone rising from the top of its snout. Because this crest is solid, Anasazisaurus has been identified as a saurolophine hadrosaurid. The skull of Anasazisaurus was once attributed to the genus Kritosaurus, but because the skull contains … Read more
In Depth Atrociraptor has been described from very incomplete remains, but two clear observations can be made about this dinosaur. One is that the snout appears to be both deeper and shorter than most other dromaeosaurs, something that could indicate a strong bite due to larger muscles and the outer teeth being placed closer to … Read more