In Depth Originally described as belonging to a species of Megalosaurus in 1884, Friedrich von Huene renamed the fossils of teeth and vertebrae to Altispinax in 1923. This name reflects the size of the neural spines of the vertebrae, fossils that were later attributed to the genus after it was established upon the description of … Read more
In Depth The forward dentition of Coloborhynchus was quite special with the front two teeth pointing forwards, and the immediate three pairs of teeth behind them pointing to the sides. This tooth arrangement would have made it much easier for Coloborhynchus to catch and carry fish out of the water. The remaining teeth behind the … Read more
In Depth It is something of a paradox that one of the most popular dinosaurs of all time is understood by some of the most incomplete fossil remains. What can be gleaned from the available fossil material is that Ankylosaurus was one of if not the largest of the group. The incomplete fossil evidence however … Read more
In Depth Arganaceras was a pareiasaur that lived in Morocco during the late Permian. Like relative genera, Arganaceras would have been quadrupedal herbivores. A particularly close relative of the genus may have been Elginia. Further Reading - Les pareiasaures (Amniota, Parareptilia) du Permien sup�rieur du Bassin d’Argana, Maroc - N.-E. Jalil & P. Janvier - … Read more
In Depth Taurovenator is a genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous. At the time of writing, Taurovenator is only known from partial skull remains. Further Reading - New theropod fauna from the Upper Cretaceous (Huincul Formation) of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. - New Mexico Museum of Natural History … Read more
In Depth Edgarosaurus seems to have been one of the first polycoylid plesiosaurs to swim in the late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, a shallow sea that submerged much of central North American during the Cretaceous. Like its relatives, Edgarosaurus had a typical plesiosaur body but a short neck an elongated jaws, features reminiscent of the … Read more
In Depth It is quite surprising when you think about how Aublysodon is represented in so many dinosaur books and internet sources even though back when it was described in 1868 it was only from teeth. Still this was a sign of the times back then with other discoveries such as Troodon, which was also … Read more
In Depth Keichousaurus looks like a miniature plesiosaur, and indeed many have looked into the possibility that it may either be a direct ancestor, or representative of an ancestral form that led to the evolution of the giant plesiosaurs. As well as resembling the later plesiosaurs, Keichousaurus may have moved like them too, using their … Read more
In Depth The problem with Lonchodectes is that the genus continues to be treated somewhat like a wastebasket with the most fragmentary remains being attributed to it, which explains the broad temporal range of Lonchodectes in the fossil record. The reason for this is mostly down to is taxonomic history with the first sets of … Read more
In Depth Once considered a possible nodosaurid, Aletopelta was confirmed as an ankylosaurid when it was formally described in 2001. This interpretation came about mainly from study of the osteoderm armour which is more like the armour of known ankylosaurs and less like that of nodosaurs. By extension Aletopelta would be assumed to have had … Read more