In Depth Foraminacephale is a genus of small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Fossil material of Foraminacephale was originally assigned to the Stegoceras genus as the species S. brevis, but became the basis of a new genus in 2016 (Schott & Evans). Several partial skulls of Foraminacephale are are … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Isfjordosaurus other than it was a basal ichthyosaur from the early Triassic. Further Reading – Phylogeny of the Ichthyopterygia. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(3):473-496. – R. Motani – 1999.
In Depth Proexochokefalos is a genus of marine crocodile that lived in European waters during the Jurassic. Further Reading - The phylogenetics of Teleosauroidea (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia) and implications for their ecology and evolution. - PeerJ. 8: e9808. - Michela M. Johnson, Mark T. Young & Stephen L. Brusatte - 2020
In Depth Sinomacrops is a genus of anurognathid pterosaur that lived in South-East Asia during the Jurassic. Even when compared to other anurognathids, Sinomacrops seems to have been tiny and was probably a hunter of insects. When compared to other anurognathid genera, Sinomacrops seems to have been similar to another tiny pterosaur called Batrachognathus. Further … Read more
In Depth The taxonomic history of Erectopus is a little muddled, but to begin with Erectopus was named as a species of Megalosaurus, M. superbus. This was in 1882 when Henri-�mile Sauvage added fossil remains to a private collection owned by Louis Pierson that had first been described in 1875 by Charles Barrois. Then when … Read more
In Depth Like with Rapator and Ozraptor, Kakuru has been named from a single bone. Also like with Raptor, the type specimen of Kakuru has been turned to opal. The exact classification of Kakuru has been hard to establish because of the lack of identifiable remains. What can be said is that Kakuru was likely … Read more
In Depth Pisanosaurus is easily one of the oldest ornithischian dinosaurs that are currently known to science. Unfortunately the holotype specimen is very fragmentary, and details such as the orientation of the pubic bone are still unknown. Despite this the basic orithopod body form can still be clearly seen, Pisanosaurus is a good indicator for … Read more
In Depth In terms of size Marshosaurus was a middle of the range theropod but one that seems built for strength. Aside from the fairly robust skull, the short but thick humerus of the arms indicates that Marshosaurus was adapted for holding onto and physically subduing its prey. A right ilium (hip bone) of Marshosaurus … Read more
In Depth Xiyunykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. In terms of alvarezsaur evolution, Xiyunykus shows an intermediate development between primitive ancestors and more developed descendents. Care should be taken not to confuse the Xiyunykus with the similarly named alvarezsaur Xixianykus. Further Reading - Two early Cretaceous … Read more
In Depth A relative of the famous Tyrannosaurus, Dynamoterror lived further south in what is now the New Mexico area of the USA. Described after a pain staking process of re-combined the partial remains of the holotype, Dynamoterror was revealed to have been a medium/large nine meter long predatory dinosaur. This is smaller than the … Read more