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
In Depth Very little is known about Asiaceratops because the currently known fossils of this dinosaur are so fragmentary that some researchers have even questioned the validity of the genus. Further Reading - [Mesozoic ceratopsian dinosaurs and crocodiles of central Asia]. In: Bogdanova and Khozatskii (eds.), Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Modern Palaeontology pp 144-154. … Read more
In Depth Samrukia is a genus that illustrated the dangers of naming prehistoric creatures by only partial remains. The original describers of Samrukia (Naish et al.) had a single jawbone that was first thought to belong to an ovirapotosaurian theropod dinosaur, but then later thought to belong to a bird. This raised a lot of … Read more
In Depth Labidosaurikos should not be confused with the similarly named Labidosaurus, another captorhinid that lived in the same approximate locations as Labidosaurikos. In fact the name Labidosaurikos means ‘similar to Labisosaurus‘. Labidosaurikos seems to have been a bit larger and heavier than its relative, and is noted for having a robust and fairly ornate … Read more