In Depth Larachelus was a pan-cryptodiran turtle, and the appearance of the genus in early Cretaceous era rocks of Spain has helped reveal the range and diversity pan-cryptodiran turtles. Further Reading - Larachelus morla, gen. Et sp. Nov., a new member of the little-known European Early Cretaceous record of stem cryptodiran turtles - Journal of … Read more
In Depth An early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur from South America, the precise size of Amargatitanis is hard to establish due to lack of remains. The name Amargatitanis is a reference to its discovery in the La Amarga Formation, and its titanosaurian lineage. Other sauropods known from the La Amarga Formation include Zapalasaurus and the similarly … Read more
In Depth Brasileodactylus may have had a crest on the back of its head, and this is why Ludodactylus has been suggested as a synonym of Brasileodactylus. Both pterosaurs have very similar skulls, but Ludodactylus has a crest similar in appearance to that of Pteranodon. If Brasileodactylus is proven to have a crest like Ludodactylus … Read more
In Depth Atychodracon was originally named as a species of Plesiosaurus back in 1846 when the first specimen was described by Samuel Stuchbury. At this time Plesiosaurus had fast become a wastebasket taxon with any fossils remotely similar to Plesiosaurus being almost immediately attributed to the genus as a new species. Many former species of … Read more
In Depth One of the smaller South American titanosaurs, Tapuiasaurus is also one of the few titanosaur genera where skull fossils are also known. Further Reading - A Complete Skull of an Early Cretaceous Sauropod and the Evolution of Advanced Titanosaurians. - PLoS ONE 6 (2): e16663. - Hussam Zaher, Diego Pol, Alberto B. Carvalho, … Read more
In Depth Petrolacosaurus is the first diapsid known in the fossil record. The teeth are small and sharp suggesting insectivorous feeding, like the vast majority of the other small reptiles of the time. Also like many of the early diapsids, it was superficially similar to today’s small lizards. Petrolacosaurus is very similar to another reptile … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Analong were originally assigned to the Chuanjiesaurus genus until they were granted their own distinct genus in 2020. Analong was a mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the mid Jurassic. Further Reading A revision of the referred specimen of Chuanjiesaurus anaensis Fang et al., 2000: a new early branching … Read more
In Depth Lourinhanosaurus is a tantalising enigma for palaeontologists as although vastly incomplete the remains seem to reveal a sinraptorid theropod (the theropod group typified by Sinraptor). If true then this would make Lourinhanosaurus the first sinraptorid to be discovered outside of China, but other palaeontologists have suggested that Lourinhanosaurus might also be a megalosauroid … Read more
In Depth Anchisaurus was originally named Megadactylus polyzelus by Edward Hitchcock; however after his death it was realised that that Megadactylus had already been used to name another creature, and so it could not be used. Later in 1885, the famous American palaeontologists Othniel Charles Marsh renamed the fossils Anchisaurus, as well as identifying the … Read more
In Depth Because of the scant material available, Alectrosaurus is not very well known. The only thing that can be said about it with any confidence is that it was a tyrannosauroid, the superfamily that includes the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. Further elaboration on this is not currently possible and the exact position of Alectrosaurus within … Read more