In Depth In the closing years of the twentieth century a bone bed containing the remains of at least twenty-seven juvenile dinosaurs was excavated in South Africa. The 2022 study describing the genus (Forster et al.) considers these juveniles to represent everything from hatchlings to subadults, Possibly located at a nesting site. The 2022 description … Read more
In Depth Bannykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. The overall lack of fossil remains at the time of its description makes it hard to ascertain details about Bannykus, though the size of the leg bones alone suggest that Bannykus was among the larger known alvarezsaurs. Further … Read more
In Depth Yet another oviraptosaur from the late Cretaceous of Asia, the partial remains of Luoyanggia make it hard to establish an accurate size for the genus, though it is noted to be towards the smaller end of the oviraptosaur size spectrum. Luoyanggia is usually placed within the Oviraptoridae, the same assignment as the original … Read more
In Depth Because of the fragmentary nature of Rhamphocephalus specimens it is hard to determine the kind of pterosaur that it was in life. Also the poor preservation of the specimens have led many to doubt if they actually represent a new genus, in fact the term wastebasket taxon has been applied to Rhamphocephalus much … Read more
In Depth Opisthodontosaurus is a genus of captorhinid reptile that lived in what is now Oklahoma during the Permian. Further Reading - A new captorhinid reptile from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma showing remarkable dental and mandibular convergence with microsaurian tetrapods. - The Science of Nature 102(9-10):50. - R. R. Reisz, A. R. H. LeBlanc, … Read more
In Depth Staurikosaurus may have been only a small theropod dinosaur, but it is also one of the earliest known confirmed dinosaurs. By the time of the Carnian, the first definitive theropods were roaming around South America and hunting other animals. At a little over two meters long, Staurikosaurus was probably a predator of smaller … Read more
In Depth Named after the city of Tamba in Japan, Tambatitanis is a genus of titanosaur that lived in what is now Japan during the early Cretaceous. Though so far only known from partial remains, the anterior caudal (tail) vertebrae of the holotype specimen have already caused a stir amongst palaeontologists because the neural spines … Read more
In Depth Malarguesaurus was a titanosauriform sauropod that lived in Argentina during the earlier stages of the late Cretaceous. Though only known from partial remains, Malarguesaurus has been considered to be similar to the genera Phuwiangosaurus and Ligabuesaurus. Further Reading - Malarguesaurus florenciae gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosauriform (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper … Read more
In Depth A member of the Silesauridae (and hence relative of Silesaurus), Sacisaurus was a late Triassic dinosauriform from South America. Although much of the skeleton of Sacisaurus is still unknown, the parts which have been recovered and studied have revealed traits that are similar to ornithischian dinosaurs. Better known as ‘bird hipped’ dinosaurs, ornithischians … Read more
In Depth Honghesaurus is a genus of pachypleurosaur that lived during the Middle Triassic. Further Reading - A long-tailed marine reptile from China provides new insights into the Middle Triassic pachypleurosaur radiation. - Scientific Reports. 12 (1) - Guang-Hui Xu, Yi Ren, Li-Jun Zhao, Jun-Ling Liao & Dong-Hao Feng - 2022.