In Depth The Liliensternus holotype was originally described in 1934 as a species of Halticosaurus by Friedrich von Huene. However a later palaeontologist named Samuel Paul Welles concluded that this species was actually different beyond the species level and created the genus of Liliensternus for it instead. Further complication to the history of the genus … Read more
In Depth If there has ever been a genus that has been a serious source of confusion for people, it’s Scansoriopteryx. We’ll start with the correct name for this genus regarding whether it should be Scansoriopteryx or Epidendrosaurus. We are certain that both of these genera are one and the same and therefore synonymous. However, … Read more
In Depth Named in 2005, Baurutitan seems to have been a fairly large titanosaur that lived in Brazil during the last stage of the Cretaceous. Further Reading - Description of a titanosaurid caudal series from the Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. - Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 63(3):529-564. - A. W. A. … Read more
In Depth Eomamenchisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the middle Jurassic. Further Reading - A new mamenchisaurid dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yuanmou, Yunnan Province, China. - Acta Geologica Sinica 82(1):17-26. - J. L�, T. Li, S. Zhong, Q. Ji & S. Li - 2008.
In Depth The modern history of the sauropod dinosaur Barosaurus begins in 1889 with the discovery of the first Barosaurus fossils by a Ms E. R. Ellerman in South Dakota. Six caudal (tail) vertebrae were subsequently recovered by the famous American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh later that year, though other remains were left at the … Read more
In Depth Pilmatueia is a genus of dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Early Cretaceous. Analysis of known vertebrae of Pilmatueia show enlarged neural spines which have led to the idea that Pilmatueia would have been similar to the much better known Amargasaurus. Further Reading - A new dicraeosaurid sauropod from … Read more
In Depth Shishugounykus is a genus of small alvareszaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Jurassic. Further Reading - A new alvarezsaurian theropod from the Upper Jurassic Shishugou Formation of western China. - Scientific Reports, 9: 11727. - Z. Qin, J. Clark, J. Choiniere & X. Xu - 2019.
In Depth The name of the dinosaur Cathartesaura can be quite confusing. Broken down it can read as ‘Cathartes lizard’, with ‘Cathartes’ a reference to the Cathartes genus which includes the modern day turkey vulture. The full genus and species name of the Turkey vulture however is Cathartes aura, and when you remove the space … Read more
In Depth Lingwulong is a genus of dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Jurassic. At the time of writing, Lingwulong is known from the remains of several individuals representing differing growth stages. Further Reading - A new Middle Jurassic diplodocoid suggests an earlier dispersal and diversification of sauropod dinosaurs. - Nature Communications. … Read more
In Depth Living in the late Triassic, Ingentia is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that already shows thickening of bones and a growth to a large stocky size, a foreshadowing of the huge sizes that sauropod dinosaurs would attain in the Jurassic. Since being named Ingentia is regarded as being similar in form to other … Read more