In Depth In the early days of plesiosaur evolution back in the Jurassic, there were two main groups that were successful enough to become two of the main kinds of marine reptiles of the Mesozoic. These were long necked plesiosaurs such as Plesiosaurus and Cryptoclidus, and short necked pliosaurs (technically a sub group of plesiosaurs) … Read more
In Depth Himalayasaurus was named after the Himalaya Mountains where the holotype material was first discovered. The description of Himalayasaurus was based upon very incomplete post cranial remains and most interestingly teeth that were unlike any other Triassic aged ichthyosaur that had been seen at the time. These teeth were larger, more flattened and with … Read more
In Depth Hagryphus is another one of those dinosaur genera that teases us about a prospect of being unusually large, yet known only from partial remains, in this case a hand. At about thirty centimetres long this hand is larger than that known for any other oviraptosaur with the sole current exception of Gigantoraptor. This … Read more
In Depth Daxiatitan is another one of the really big early Cretaceous sauropods from China. The holotype remains are considered to be from an individual twenty-one meters long, though Daxiatitan is also thought to have possibly also grown bigger than this. Daxiatitan was named after branch of the Huang He River. Another large sauropod with … Read more
In Depth The skull of Euconcordia was originally described as Concordia in 2005. However, it was later established that Concordia had already been used, so in 2016 the skull was renamed Euconcordia. Whereas concordia roughly translates from Latin to English as ‘harmony’, Euconcordia would simply mean ‘true harmony’. Euconcordia lived in North America during the … Read more
In Depth Palvennia is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that is noted for having a very short rostrum. The orbit (skull opening for the eye) also seems quite large, though the original describers have noted that this may be due to the specimen being crushed while it was being fossilised. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs are noted for … Read more
In Depth When looking up what is the biggest dinosaur, people usually get presented with the image of a sauropod, but the exact owner of this title depends upon a number of factors, particularly the definition of largest be it by length, height or weight. Although incomplete, Sauroposeidon is thought to be one of the … Read more
In Depth ‘Wing snout’ may be an unusual name, but this one is in reference to the tall head crest of Pterorhynchus, which in itself is unusual by its very presence in a rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. This crest rose up from where the nostrils began, rising at a steep angle before curving round to join the … Read more
In Depth Nullotitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. With an estimated length of around twenty meters long for the holotype individual, Nullotitan was a big dinosaur, but a medium average amongst other titanosaurs. Further Reading - Paleontological discoveries in the Chorrillo Formation (upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian, … Read more
In Depth Guanlong is well-known among palaeontological circles as the first tyrannosaur, although new discoveries in the future may take this epithet away from Guanlong. The discovery of Guanlong lends support to the theory that the early origins of the tyrannosaurs can be traced back to Asia. From here fossil evidence from the discovery of … Read more