In Depth Sahonachelys is a genus of side-necked turtle that lived in Madagascar during the late Cretaceous. The name Sahonachelys means ‘frog turtle’, a reference to the frog-like appearance of the face. Sahonachelys is thought to have been a specialised suction feeder. This is evidenced by upper and lower jaw surfaces that face each other, … Read more
In Depth A little known theropod from the mid Jurassic of China, Shidaisaurus was so far only been described from partial remains. However, the Shidaisaurus remains were discovered along with the remains of several other individual dinosaurs, and the partial remains of an unknown theropod skull found nearby with the skeletal remains of a sauropod … Read more
In Depth Thoracosaurus is a medium-large gharial-like crocodile that lived during the late Cretaceous through to the Paleocene. Fossils of Thoracosaurus are usually associated with North American and European fossil deposits, but remains from other places such as India have also been reported. The sheer number of Thoracosaurus fossils seems to indicate that the genus … Read more
In Depth Tianchisaurus was originally dubbed (but never officially named) Jurassosaurus because in the same year that it was named, the very first Jurassic park film was released. Incidentally, the name Jurassosaurus was suggested by Steven Spielberg who produced and directed the film. Dong rejected the name Jurassosaurus in favour of Tianchisaurus, but kept the … Read more
In Depth First named in 2006, Razanandrongobe has largely been a mystery for researchers as the genus was only known from partial upper jaw bones. This made details about what kind of animal Razanandrongobe was very difficult to establish other than it was from some large kind of archosaur. However, new remains discovered and described … Read more
In Depth Titanosaurs like most sauropod dinosaurs are usually only known from partial remains such as one or two legs, a sequence of vertebrae or the occasional isolated skull. This is because their inherent large size makes it unlikely that the whole body will be buried and preserved before scavengers and environmental effects scatter the … Read more
In Depth Dicraeosaurid sauropods (as typified by Dicraeosaurus) are noted for having proportionately shorter necks, but even out of all these Brachytrachelopan has the shortest. This is in stark contrast to other sauropod types in other parts of the world such as Mamenchisaurus and Sauroposiedon which all show a progression towards a longer neck specialisation. … Read more
In Depth What would otherwise be an unassuming little fossil dinosaur, it is near impossible to talk about Sciurumimus without bringing up the subject of feathered dinosaurs. Exquisitely well preserved upon a slab, examination of the holotype specimen of a juvenile Sciurumimus under ultraviolet light revealed the presence of primitive protofeathers that would have covered … Read more
In Depth Barracudasauroides was named from fossils that were originally attributed to Mixosaurus as M. panxianensis. Barracudasauroides itself represents a transitional ichthyosaur similar to Mixosaurus which is seen as a link between primitive and advanced ichthyosaurs. Since its naming Barracudasauroides is sometimes confused with another ichthyosaur that is named Barracudasaurus that is also from the … Read more
In Depth Reconstructions of Lanzhousaurus are sketchy at best, but with a jaw length of one meter, it is near certain that in life Lanzhousaurus would have been a very large ornithopod dinosaur. Following this trend, the teeth that have been preserved in the lower jaw are also unusually large, and at fourteen centimetres in … Read more