In Depth A very large prehistoric crocodile Sarcosuchus was initially only known from teeth and osteoderms. In 1964 the first skull was discovered and the type species could then be established. However it was not until the closing years of the twentieth century that more complete material including vertebra, ribs and other parts of the … Read more
In Depth Pitekunsaurus was a titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. At the time of writing Pitekunsaurus is usually considered to be an aeolosaurine titanosaur, and as such a relative of such genera as Aeolosaurus, Panamericansaurus and Gondwanatitan. The type species name P. macayai is in honour of Luis Macaya … Read more
In Depth Lurdusaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in North Africa during the Early Cretaceous, and one that helped reveal that some ornithopods at least were growing to large sizes. Lurdusaurus is noted for being approximately nine meters long featuring a neck that is longer than most other ornithopods of its kind … Read more
In Depth Phuwiangosaurus was first named as a titanosaurid dinosaur in 1994, and was the first named sauropod dinosaur known to have come from Thailand. The name Phuwiangosaurus translates as ‘Phu Wiang lizard’ and is a reference to the district of Phu Wiang District of Thailand. The species name P. sirindhornae was in honour of … Read more
In Depth Although not very well known, Tianyuraptor is important to many palaeontologists because it is often regarded as a transitional form that links northern and southern genera of dromaeosaurids. Tianyuraptor is noted for having a smaller than usual furcula and arms that are proportionately much smaller than those of other dromaeosaurid genera. Overall, Tianyuraptor … Read more
In Depth Body features, swimming and feeding behaviour Shonisaurus is a firm favourite amongst researchers of marine reptiles, not just because of its large size but because it is known from so many remains, best known from the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada, USA. These represent individuals of all ages and also reveal a rather … Read more
In Depth Kryptops is a little known genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa during the Early Cretaceous. At the time of the original description in 2008, Kryptops was considered to be the most primitive known abelisaurid. Kryptops was described from a partial maxilla (main and posterior tooth bearing bone in the … Read more
In Depth Bagualosaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Triassic. Bagualosaurus seems to have been somewhat transitional in form in that the skull and tooth arrangement are like those of later sauropodomorph dinosaurs such as Plateosaurus and Efraasia, yet the main body of Bagualosaurus is more theropod-like, … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Eudimorphodon, Arcticodactylus is a genus of small pterosaur that was flying in the skies above Greenland during the late Triassic. Back when Arcticodactylus lived, Greenland was much warmer that what it is today. Further Reading - Comments on Triassic pterosaurs with discussion about ontogeny and description of … Read more
In Depth Latirhinus should not be confused with Altirhinus, as not only do they have similar sounding names (only difference being the position of the ’l’ and ’a’ at the start), both were hadrosaurs and both were named after the enlarged bony protuberances on their snouts. Latirhinus was a form of saurolophine hadrosaur, a type … Read more