In Depth One of the earliest known ankylosaurs, Shamosaurus is regarded as being very similar to Gobisaurus, however there is enough fine detail differences in the skulls of the two genera that palaeontologists are confident in assigning these two ankylosaurs as separate genera. Unfortunately there are not yet enough remains to confidently estimate the size … Read more
In Depth The exact classification of Hauffiosaurus can vary depending upon the source, though most researchers concede that it is almost certainly a pliosaur. Further to this, specimens of the genus are superficially similar to the rhomaleosaurid pliosaurs. In fact, one former species of Macroplata, one of the best known rhomaleosaurids has been re-assigned to … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a nothosaur, Corosaurus is now identified as a pistosaurid, a kind of sauropterygian reptile that is related to but separate to the true nothosaurs. The pistosauroids are established around the type genus pistosaurus, and it may have been these kinds of marine reptiles that were actually ancestral to the plesiosaurs … Read more
In Depth A lot of painstaking work was undertaken by palaeontologists rebuilding this animal, and when they done they found out that they had the first ornithosuchian known from Brazil. Like relative genera, Dynamosuchus had a hooked notch in its upper jaw between the premaxilla and maxilla (the two tooth bearing bones of the upper … Read more
In Depth Catutosaurus is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived in waters around South America during the late Jurassic. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs like Catutosaurus were among the most successful marine reptiles of that time with fossils of them being found all over the world. Further reading - Catutosaurus gaspariniae , gen. et sp. nov. (Ichthyosauria, … Read more
In Depth Teleosaurus is commonly referred to as a prehistoric gharial (sometimes gavial) because of its long but very thin jaws that are lined with lots of small thin teeth. These jaws are perfect for snatching fish from the water as their thin form experiences reduced resistance from opening and closing while moving through the … Read more
In Depth Not a lot can be said about Pawpawsaurus because so far it is only known by a skull. However, another nodosaur from the Paw Paw Formation is Texasetes (which includes post cranial remains), which has been suggested as being a synonym to Pawpawsaurus. If this is true, then the current Pawpawsaurus fossil material, … Read more
In Depth From the outset the name Cryptoclidus does not sound all that special, but when you translate it to English to mean ‘hidden collarbone’ it raises a few eyebrows. The genus name is actually in reference to the very small clavicle that is buried within the shoulder girdle that controls the front limbs, or … Read more
In Depth Itasuchus is a genus of extinct notosuchian from the late Cretaceous of Brazil. Itasuchus is considered to have been similar to Barreirosuchus which is from slightly earlier during the late Cretaceous, and Caririsuchus which is known from the late early Cretaceous. All three of these genera are known from Brazil. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Barsboldia is so far only known from vertebrae and some fragmentary remains of other parts of the post cranial skeleton. At the time of writing no skull is known for the genus, yet the original describers still chose to class Barsboldia as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid dinosaur. Later studies however have cast doubts about … Read more