In Depth Yamaceratops is a genus of primitive ceratopsian dinosaur that when first described was thought to have lived in the early Cretaceous, though later study has now revealed Yamaceratops to have lived during the late Cretaceous. Yamaceratops is named after Yama, a Tibetan Buddhist deity combined ‘ceratops’ which means horned face. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Mantellisaurus was originally described as a species of Iguanodon, I. atherfieldensis, but in 2007 Gregory S. Paul renamed the species as new genus. Paul chose the name Mantellisaurus in honour of Gideon Mantell, the man who discovered and named Iguanodon. Mantellisaurus was capable of movement in either a quadrupedal or bipedal posture, and … Read more
In Depth Discosaurus is a genus of plesiosaur that is known to have swam in the waters of the Western Interior Seaway during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - [Descriptions of a number of fossil reptiles and mammals] . - Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 5:325-328. - J. Leidy - 1851. … Read more
In Depth Pumiliopareia was a fairly small parieasaur though one that was not completely defenceless. The skin of Pumiliopareia was the housing for a multitude of osteoderm armour, though bony plates that floated within the skin that could stop the teeth and claws of most predators. Further Reading Further reading- A taxonomic revision of pareiasaurian … Read more
In Depth Irritator is proof that palaeontologists do have a sense of humour even if it is a dry one. The holotype specimen of Irritator was a skull that had been artificially elongated by illegal fossil collectors in the hope of increasing its monetary value (plainly speaking, to get more money for the fossil). Before … Read more
In Depth Although officially named in 2003, the first confirmed remains of Rajasaurus were found in between 1982 and 1984 by Suresh Srivastava. However there is an outside chance that the first remains may have actually been discovered way back in 1923 with the naming of Lametasaurus. Lametasaurus though is now considered to ba a … Read more
In Depth Mycterosaurus was a varanopid pelycosaur that lived in the USA during the Permian. The small size of Mycterosaurus is suggestive that this genus was as predator of small vertebrates and possible larger invertebrates. As a member of the Varanopidae, Mycterosaurus would have been a relative of such genera as Varanops, Varanodon and Varanosaurus. … Read more
In Depth Not a lot has been recovered for this dinosaur, but what we do have for Chaoyangsaurus allows us to identify this as a small ceratopsian dinosaur, What is really significant about this is that Chaoyangsaurus lived during the late Jurassic, which indicates to us that the ceratopsian dinosaurs that would be among the … Read more
In Depth Kronosaurus is one of the more famous fossil discoveries to come from Australia, and as a huge short-necked pliosaur, Kronosaurus would have been an apex predator of the waters it swam in. The teeth of Kronosaurus are conical and up to thirty centimetres long, although most of that was root with up to … Read more
In Depth When it comes to popularity Triceratops is only eclipsed by Tyrannosaurus, and even then there are a considerable portion of people who actually prefer Triceratops over the aforementioned apex predator. Yet despite its frequent depiction from toys to dinosaur books, films and other media, there is still a lot of controversy and misconception … Read more