In Depth Eoplesiosaurus was so named for its earlier appearance in the Jurassic that the far more famous Plesiosaurus. Eoplesiosaurus was still small when compared to the plesiosaurs that appeared later in the Jurassic, though it is noted as having a proportionately long neck when compared to some other genera. Further Reading - High Diversity, … Read more
In Depth Tetrapodophis is an interesting snake to say the least since it was the first snake genus known to still have all four legs to be named. For the most part these legs are on the border of being vestigial, yet still defined and functional enough to serve a gripping purpose. Tetrapodophis is also … Read more
In Depth Because of a current lack of fossils for this genus, the only thing that can be said with any certainty is that Kerberosaurus was a saurolophine hadrosaurid, the group of hadrosaurs noted to have solid head crests like those of Saurolophus. The skull remains of Kerberosaurus were discovered in a bone bed of … Read more
In Depth Tethysaurus is a primitive (basal) mosasaur that is considered to be related to Russelosaurus from North America and Yaguarasaurus from South America. Like these other two mosasaurs, Tethysaurus has a mixture of both primitive and advanced features that make it a primitive relative to other later mosasaur groups, although not as primitive as … Read more
In Depth At the time of the description in 2017, Zuul was the best preserved ankylosaurine ankylosaur ever found in North America. Not only was the skull and post cranial skeleton mostly complete, many of the armoured plates that adorned its back were still present. The type species name, Z. crurivastator, is Latin and basically … Read more
In Depth In 1937 a fossil collector named Allan Bennison discovered mosasaur fossils in California’s Mount Diablo Range. These fossils were first described by Charles Camp in 1942 and published as Kolposaurus; however this name is actually preoccupied as a synonym for Nothosaurus, hence the naming revision to Plotosaurus in 1951. The original fossils were … Read more
In Depth With fossils going back to the mid Jurassic, it comes as no surprise that Huayangosaurus is a more primitive stegosaur than better known genera from the late Jurassic. The skull of Huayangosaurus is broader than later forms which reveals it was not as well adapted to selective browsing. The premaxilla also still has … Read more
In Depth Panguraptor is the first genus of coelophysid dinosaur discovered on the Asian continent. Panguraptor was a small predator that would have hunted small animals. Panguraptor was also the second definitive dinosaur genus named from the Lufeng Formation, the first being Sinosaurus. Further Reading - The first well-preserved coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from Asia. - … Read more
In Depth Named after Kyrgyzstan where the holotype specimen was found, Kyrgyzsaurus has been identified as a drepanosaurid reptile. As such Kyrgyzsaurus would be expected to have been an arboreal reptile climbing through shrubs and the tree canopy with the aid of enlarged claws on the ends of its fingers and toes as well as … Read more
In Depth One of the troodonts, Byronosaurus aquired its name after being named after Byron Jaffe, a supporter of the American Museum of Natural History Paleontological Expeditions. One of the unearthed skulls of B. jaffei is the best persevered skull specimen of any troodont, and shows two adaptions that are unique among the currently known … Read more