In Depth Mirischia is a genus of compsognathid dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the early Cretaceous. Mirischia means ‘wonderful ischia’, and this dinosaur acquired this name because the two ischia (bones of the pelvis) show an oval foramen (opening) in the left bone, and a notch in the same position on … Read more
In Depth The dinosaur genus Titanosaurus is a bit of a paradox. As the first titanosaur named it is treated as the type genus of the Titanosauria, a group of more advanced sauropod dinosaurs that began to appear at the end of the Jurassic and later established themselves as some of the most common types … Read more
In Depth Patagosaurus is one of the earliest sauropods known to have roamed South America, however it’s usually the Cretaceous genera such as Amargasaurus, Saltasaurus and Argentinosaurus that usually get all of the attention. At eighteen meters long Patagosaurus was big for a mid-Jurassic era sauropod, yet it was not as advanced as the sauropods … Read more
In Depth Hailing from China’s world famous Yixian Formation, Sinovenator was a fairly small genus of troodontid dinosaur. Due to the small size, Sinovenator is perceived to have been a predator of smaller animals such as lizards and mammals. Further Reading - A basal troodontid from the Early Cretaceous of China. - Nature 415:780-784. - … Read more
In Depth Given that compsognathids usually grow to just over one meter in length, Sinocalliopteryx is the veritable giant of the group being even larger than others such as Huaxiagnathus. This large size meant that Sinocalliopteryx was not satisfied with the small lizards and mammals usually associated with their smaller kin, and is a notion … Read more
In Depth Patagotitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America towards the end of the Early Cretaceous. Titanosaurs are often known by only a handful of fossils, but Patagotitan has proved to be an exception. At the time of writing Patagotitan is known from the partial post cranial remains of at … Read more
In Depth There is little doubt that Paralititan sits comfortably amongst some of the biggest sauropod dinosaurs that are known to us. Though the skeleton of Paralititan is largely incomplete, the humerus (upper ‘arm’ bone) is known to have reached a length of one hundred and sixty-nine centimetres long, something that at the time of … Read more
In Depth Phuwiangvenator is a genus of megaraptoran dinosaur that hunted in what is now Thailand during the Early Cretaceous. Phuwiangvenator was named alongside another theropod dinosaur called Vayuraptor, also present in the Sao Khua Formation. Care should be taken not to confuse Phuwiangvenator with Phuwiangosaurus, a titanosaurian dinosaur known from the same formation as … Read more
In Depth Veterupristisaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Africa during the late Jurassic. So far Veterupristisaurus is only known from a few vertebrae, but comparisons to Acrocanthosaurus have yielded an estimated range for the holotype individual of Veterupristisaurus of between eight and a half and ten meters in length. This … Read more
In Depth Kelmayisaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Kelmayisaurus is currently only known by partial upper and lower jaws, and because of this the exact size of Kelmayisaurus is still unknown. There are still reports of a second species named K. “grandis” approaching sizes of up … Read more