In Depth Initially thought to be one of the most primitive birds in the fossil record, later studies have depicted Jinfengopteryx as a small troodontid theropod dinosaur. This new interpretation has been derived from observation of the form of the skull and the presence of an enlarged sickle claw on the second toe of each … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Steneosaurus, S. obtusidens was renamed as a distinct genus in 2017. The describers created the name Lemmysuchus which means ‘Lemmy’s crocodile’. This was in honour of Ian Fraser Kilmister, the lead singer and founder of the band Mot�rhead, who everyone knew as Lemmy. Lemmysuchus was a thalattosuchian, … Read more
In Depth Struthiosaurus seems to have been fairly common across Europe during the Late Cretaceous, a time when much of continental Europe was more like an island chain. Originally based upon fragmentary Austrian material, many genera named by Harry Govier Seeley late in the nineteenth century have now been synonymised with Struthiosaurus. This combined with … Read more
In Depth Named in 2016 from a single specimen, Viavenator is another of the growing number of South American abelisaurid dinosaurs that are known to us. At a glance Viavenator does not seem to be anything special apart from being another abelisaur, however the authors of the paper describing this dinosaur have identified a combination … Read more
In Depth Gamerabaena is a genus of baenid turtle that lived in North America towards the end of the Cretaceous period. Gamerabaena is named after the fictional kaiju Gamera, a gigantic turtle-like monster that has featured in a whole series of Japanese monster films in a similar fashion as Godzilla. Further Reading - A new … Read more
In Depth Superficially Sanjuansaurus was probably similar to Herrerasaurus in general appearance, but some skeletal features seem to have been slightly more primitive. Sanjuansaurus lived in the same time and location as its more famous relative Herrerasaurus which would suggest that this form held an important place in their ecosystem. Neither Sanjuansaurus nor Herrerasaurus would … Read more
In Depth Pakasuchus is a genus of small notosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. What are most notable about Pakasuchus are the teeth which are multicusped and very mammal-like, so much so that they look more like those of a mammal than a crocodile. Pakasuchus seems to have lacked large osteoderms … Read more
In Depth Little is known about Wannanosaurus, but the skull specimen found appears to have been from a fully grown adult as the bones that make up the skull show signs of being fused together. Wannanosaurus is considered a primitive member of the pachycephalosaurs because it has a flat skull roof and enlarged openings when … Read more
In Depth The holotype fossils of Sellacoxa were originally found in 1873 by John Hopkinson not far from Hastings. They were re-named as a distinct genus of iguanodont dinosaur in 2010 by Kenneth Carpenter and Yusuke Ishida at the same time that they named another genus called Torilion. However, earlier in 2010 another paper written … Read more
In Depth Yunnanosaurus is one of the best represented sauropodomorph (previously known as prosauropods) dinosaurs not only in China, but the entire world, with the fossils remains of over twenty individual Yunnanosaurus so far known. This has allowed palaeontologists to become familiar with most aspects of this genus including the realisation that Yunnanosaurus would have … Read more