In Depth Mambawakale is a genus of paracrocodylomorph that lived during the Triassic. Further Reading - A new pseudosuchian archosaur, Mambawakale ruhuhu gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. - The Royal Society. 9 (2). - Richard J. Butler, Vincent Fernandez, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Jo�o Vasco Leite & David J. … Read more
In Depth A very fascinating discovery, Caelestiventus has helped add to our knowledge of Triassic age pterosaurs greatly. Most Triassic age pterosaurs are known from relatively incomplete remains so one with has skull and jaw material like Caelestiventus is rare indeed. The Caelestiventus holotype fossil is also among the first discovered in North America, most … Read more
In Depth The full type species name for this dinosaur is Lepidus praecisio which means ‘fascinating fragment’. This is because while not many fossils of this dinosaur are known, we can observe that the astragalus (talos) and calcaneum are fused into one, which is a trait of neotheropod dinosaurs. At the same time however, the … Read more
In Depth Before this genus was named, Koreanosaurus was the informal name given to a theropod dinosaur, though because no formal description for these theropod fossils was published, the name Koreanosaurus was still available. Henceforth, Koreanosaurus is now a valid genus of ornithopod dinosaur. Koreanosaurus is a possible relative of the genera Orodromeus, Oryctodromeus and … Read more
In Depth Juravenator was a small predatory dinosaur active in the late Jurassic of Europe. It appears to have been a fleet footed hunter that specialised in either invertebrates or small vertebrates like lizards. The scleral rings of Juravenator show similarities with nocturnal birds strongly suggesting that Juravenator was most active at night. The holotype … Read more
In Depth Penghusuchus is a genus of tomistomine crocodile that lived in what is now Taiwan during the late Miocene. Penghusuchus is noted as having a similarity to the modern day false gharial as well as Toyotamaphimeia which lived in Japan during the Pleistocene. With a skull length up to 85 centimetres long, Penghusuchus would … Read more
In Depth Research into Platecarpus has arguably advanced our understanding of the mosasaurs more than any other genera, part of this being down to the number of known Platecarpus fossils. Some of these specimens of Platecarpus are so well preserved that they actually reveal impression of soft tissues of body parts like the internal organs. … Read more
In Depth Contectopalatus was originally described as a species of Ichthyosaurus, the type genus of the Ichthyosauria that in the early days of palaeontology was treated as a catch all wastebasket taxon for any and all ichthyosaur fossils. Later study saw Ichthyosaurus atavus assigned to the Mixosaurus genus upon the grounds of overall similarity to … Read more
In Depth Although only known from a partial skull, Ovoo represents not only one of the smallest monitor lizards to ever live, but also one of the earliest appearances of a monitor lizard. Unfortunately because Ovoo is only known from an incomplete skull, it is very difficult to estimate the full body size of Ovoo … Read more
In Depth Brochuchus is a genus of crocodile that lived in Africa during the Miocene. The genus Brochuchus was named after Christopher A. Brochu in recognition for his work on cocodylians and associated animals. Further reading - New specimens of ‘Crocodylus’ pigotti (Crocodylidae) from Rusinga Island, Kenya, and generic reallocation of the species. - Journal … Read more