In Depth Thapunngaka is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Australia during the early Cretaceous. The holotype of Thapunngaka is the anterior section of a lower jaw, and this makes establishing the body form and size of Thapunngaka very difficult and impossible to do with certainty. However, Thapunngaka does seem to have been a … Read more
In Depth Fossil remains of Stenorhynchosaurus were first discovered in 2000, and later excavation of the fossil site between 2004 and 2005 revealed an almost complete skeleton. Also in 2005, paleontologist Oliver Hempe came to the theory that this pliosaur possibly represented a species of the genus Brachauchenius. Later more detailed study however identified this … Read more
In Depth Discovered back in the early days of scientific palaeontology, Eudes-Deslongchamp named the species Poekilopleuron bucklandii in honour of William Buckland, the man who named the first ever known dinosaur Megalosaurus. Additionally Eudes-Deslongchamp thought that Poekilopleuron may actually be the same species of dinosaur as Megalosaurus, an idea shared by the palaeontologists Fredriech von … Read more
In Depth Fushanosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic. Further reading - A new titanosauriform dinosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from Late Jurassic of Junggar Basin, Xinjiang. - Global Geology (in Chinese). 38 (3): 581–588. X.-R. Wang, W.-H. Wu, T. Li, Q. Ji, Y.-X. Li & J.-F. Guo - … Read more
In Depth Genyodectes was first named in 1901 by A. S. Woodward who described it upon the basis of partial premaxilla and maxilla bones as well as a dentary. Because of the lack of other fossils the genus languished in relative obscurity for over a hundred years, with occasional references citing Genyodectes as a nomen … Read more
In Depth The most striking feature of Thalassodromeus is the highly ornate head crest, one of the largest known among pterosaurs. From the side this crest resembles the pharaoh crown that is often depicted in artwork of ancient Egyptian gods. It is for this reason that the type species is named T. sethi, after the … Read more
In Depth Termatosaurus was a genus of a phytosaur that lived in Europe at the end of the Triassic, an occurrence which was actually the inspiration for the genus name which means ‘end lizard’. The phytosaurs were crocodile-like reptiles, though they were not actually related to modern crocodiles. Further Reading – Beitr�ge zur Pal�ontologie W�rttemberg’s, … Read more
In Depth What information can be garnered about Hypselosaurus is that it was a medium sized titanosaur that lived in what is now Western Europe at the end of the Cretaceous period. Unfortunately it is very difficult to go beyond this because of the incomplete nature of recovered specimens (despite the popular image presented in … Read more
In Depth The teeth of Haopterus are quite robust. As well as extending for the first two thirds of the jaws they also point towards the back of the mouth. These teeth are well adapted for catching and holding onto fish, which seem to be the preferred diet of pterosaurs that belong to the Ornithocheiridae. … Read more
In Depth To realise the full meaning of the name Ludodactylus (toy finger), you may have to revisit your childhood. Whereas Pteranodon is by far the most easily recognised pterosaur by the general public, toys of it often have the presence of teeth in its jaws in order to make it look more ferocious. This … Read more