In Depth Fossils of Dinheirosaurus were first treated as belonging to Lourinhasaurus until new study ascertained that they were of a different genus. For some time afterwards there was still speculation that this was a mistake and that Dinheirosaurus should be regarded as a synonym to Lourinhasaurus, but even further study has now established without … Read more
In Depth Known form a small partial skull that was initially thought to belong to the genus Bernissartia, Koumpiodontosuchus was established as a distinct genus in 2015. Koumpiodontosuchus means ‘button toothed crocodile’, a reference to the small teeth seen in the skull. These show that as well as being small itself, Koumpiodontosuchus was a predator … Read more
In Depth The teeth of Hongshanopterus extend past the first third of the skull. Not only does this give Hongshanopterus more teeth than other istiodactylids, it is taken as a marker for Hongshanopterus being a basal member of the group. Further Reading – A primitive istiodactylid pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from the Jiufotang Formation (Early Cretaceous), northeast … Read more
In Depth Fosterovenator was a ceratosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. At the time of writing the only parts that are known for Fosterovenator are lower leg bones, but in the original description of this genus, the fossils were noted as being superficially similar to those of the genus … Read more
In Depth Nannopterygius was first described in 1871 by John Hulke, but as a species of Ichthyosaurus, I. enthekiodon. However, the Ichthyosaurus genus was once treated as a wastebasket taxon, and many former species of Ichthyosaurus have now been re-assigned as distinct genera. This is what happened later in the early twentieth century when another … Read more
In Depth In 2006 the palaeontologists M. Sadiq Malkani managed to name five titanosaurs from the Pab Formation of Pakistan, all described from caudal (tail) vertebrae. Malkani also named two new families of titanosaurs, the Pakisauridae and the Balochisauridae as homes for the new titanosaurs. Balochisaurus as you may have guessed is the type genus … Read more
In Depth Not a lot of information is currently available about Delapparentia, though as a relative to herbivorous dinosaurs like Iguanodon, a few things can be inferred. Delapparentia would have been a fairly large ornithopod dinosaur that would have balanced most of its body weight upon its rear legs, while the fore legs were reduced … Read more
In Depth With greatly elongated fingers the hands are a tantalising find for palaeontologists, but without the rest of the skeleton it is impossible to give an accurate insight into this creature’s life. One possible explanation is that Yixianosaurus lived like a modern day aye-aye. Aye-aye’s also have hands that have impressively long fingers which … Read more
In Depth Shweboemys is a genus of turtle that is known to have lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous. A former species of Shweboemys, S. gaffneyi, has now been renamed as a distinct genus called Brontochelys. Further Reading – A new fossil fresh-water tortoise from Burma. – Records of the Geological Survey of India … Read more
In Depth Sonorasaurus may look like an atypical brachiosaurid dinosaur (as in similar to the famous Brachiosaurus), but the genus actually represents the first known example of a brachiosaurid dinosaur in North America during the Cretaceous, specifically around the early/late Cretaceous boundary. This is yet further evidence that counters the now outdated theory that the … Read more