In Depth Although only known from incomplete skull and lower jaw material, Zhuchengtyrannus was still almost certainly one of the largest of the Asian tyrannosaurines. Also, even though the teeth of the holotype are not particularly well preserved, there are more as yet unidentified teeth that are known from that location that may yet prove … Read more
In Depth Sinornithosaurus was especially well preserved, and not only were the presence of feathers clearly revealed; they showed indications of having differing colours for different body areas. The feathers, while not exactly like those of modern birds, are still more advanced than in other species, including some of the later dromaeosaurids. This is significant … Read more
In Depth In life Procaimanoidea would have lived like a small alligator feeding upon a variety of animals from fish such as Diplomystus, to invertebrates like freshwater shrimp. The main evidence for this comes from the two different kinds of teeth in the jaws, sharper conical teeth in the front, and more rounded teeth in … Read more
In Depth The skull of Bistahieversor has many features that are considered primitive for the tyrannosaurid group, but most importantly, a noticeable depth that is lacking in other, and later, tyrannosaurid species. This is significant because it was once thought that only the later and more advanced tyrannosaurids, like Tyrannosaurus itself, had deeper snouts. The … Read more
In Depth Like many early discovered pterosaurs the taxonomic history of Cycnorhamphus is quite muddled. Initially assigned to Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur discovered that ended up being treated like a wastebasket for almost any discovered pterosaur remains, Harry Seeley redesignated the specimen Cycnorhamphus. However another palaeontologist, Felix Plieninger, cited mistakes in the description and in … Read more
In Depth Tropeognathus was first named in 1987 after the description of a pterosaur skull that had been purchased from a fossil dealer. In 2002 a set of lower jaws was further attributed to the genus, and most recently at the time of writing a third specimen was added in 2013, and this was the … Read more
In Depth The skull that is the holotype of Calsoyasuchus is incomplete with quite a few pieces missing. However CT scanning of the skull has revealed the presence of an intricate network of air passages and a double walled secondary palate; a feature of modern crocodiles. How Calsoyasuchus fits into the development of modern crocodiles … Read more
In Depth Sail-backed rauisuchian archosaurs are not especially well known, but they do seem to have existed in reasonably high numbers, although it is also important not to confuse them with the earlier sail-backed pelycosaurs of the Permian such as Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. Upon is initial discovery and description, Lotosaurus was thought to have been … Read more
In Depth Holotype fossils of Vivaron were first discovered in 2009, however they were at first thought to represent further remains of the famous Postosuchus. The addition of two prong-like projections to the rear of the maxilla which connect to the jugal have actually revealed that these fossils do not belong to Postosuchus, but a … Read more
In Depth Sinusonasus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Sinusonasus means ‘wave nose’, and this name was given after the way the snout on the holotype skull has an undulating profile kind of like a wave. The tail vertebrae of Sinusonasus are also noteworthy in that the … Read more