In Depth Bienosaurus is a genus of armoured dinosaur that lived in China during the early Jurassic. Although only known from fragmentary skull and jaw fossils, Bienosaurus is thought to have been similar to Scelidosaurus. Further Reading - Primitive armored dinosaur from the Lufeng Basin, China, by Z. Dong. In Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, D. H. … Read more
In Depth Vespersaurus is a genus of noasaurine theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous. At the time of its description Vespersaurus is notable for two reasons. First is that the Vespersaurus holotype fossils were discovered in an area that back in the early Cretaceous was part of a huge desert, … Read more
In Depth Scutellosaurus was a relatively small ornithischian dinosaur that may have been primarily bipedal, though still having fore limbs developed enough for providing quadrupedal support for activities such as feeding. Scutellosaurus also had a covering of armoured scutes along its back that provided flexible yet tough armour to give some defence against the teeth … Read more
In Depth Reiszorhinus is a species of captorhinid reptile that lived in what is now Texas during the Permian. Further Reading - Reiszorhinus olsoni, a New Single-Tooth-Rowed Captorhinid Reptile from the Lower Permian of Texas. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(3):704-714. - S. S. Sumida, J. Dodick, A. Metcalf & G. Albright - 2010.
In Depth Proterochersis was an early terrestrial turtle that live in Europe during the late Triassic, as one well as one of the earliest appearances of a pleurodiran (side-necked) turtle. Further Reading – Proterochersis, eine pleurodire Schildkr�te aus dem Keuper. – Jahreshefte des Vereins f�r vaterl�ndische Naturkunde in W�rttemberg 80:13-30. – E. Fraas – 1913. … Read more
In Depth Although only described from a partial maxilla, Geminiraptor has still been a significant discovery since it was the first troodont dinosaur known to have lived in early Cretaceous North America. The name Geminiraptor was established to honour Celina and Marina Suarez, twin sisters and the geologists who discovered the Geminiraptor holotype specimen. Further … Read more
In Depth Serikornis is a genus of small anchiornithid dinosaur that lived in China during the late Jurassic. The holotype individual of Serikornis clearly shows the extent of feathers covering the body of this small dinosaur. What is surprising though is how much these feathers varied in relation to different parts of the body. A … Read more
In Depth Though the name means ‘Lewis’s crocodile’, Lewisuchus is actually a genus of silesaurid dinosauriforme. In simpler terms, Lewisuchus was closely related to the ancestors of the dinosaurs, though probably not an ancestor itself. Lewisuchus was a fairly small and lightly built predator that probably hunted for small animals such as lizards and primitive … Read more
In Depth Tsoabichi is a genus of caiman crocodile that lived in North America during the early Eocene. At the time of its description, Tsoabichi is the only caiman crocodile known to have lived north of Mexico. Further Reading - A new alligatorid from the lower Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming and the origin … Read more
In Depth Named after the title character in the 1942 film Bambi, Bambiraptor was a small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that has caused a lot of excitement in the science of palaeontology. Discovered by a fourteen year-old Wes Linster in 1993, the Bambiraptor holotype is of an exceptionally well preserved individual that is estimated to be around … Read more