In Depth Afrovenator is one of the most complete theropod dinosaurs so far discovered in Africa, the harsh environmental conditions of which can quickly erode fossils exposed to the elements. Since this time Afrovenator has had a muddled taxonomic history with it being described as a relative of Spinosaurus, Eustreptospondylus, Dubreuillosaurus, Megalosaurus and even Allosaurus. … Read more
In Depth With an estimated length of around three meters long Anserimimus was towards the smaller end of the scale in terms of ornithomimosaur size. Other related dinosaurs from the same area such as Gallimius would have been at least double this size, while the very incomplete Deinocheirus would have been even larger than this. … Read more
In Depth Atsinganosaurus is named from the Ancient Greek word atsinganos which means ‘gypsy’, and is a reference to a proposed east to west migration for these dinosaurs. The known remains of Atsinganosaurus are fragmentary but in otherwise a good state of preservation. Unfortunately the overall lack of them means that it is hard to … Read more
In Depth Initially considered to be a Southern population of Massospondylus, Adeopapposaurus was established as an independent genus in 2009. Adeopapposaurus is an unusual sauropodomorph since it appears to have had a keratinous beak to its mouth. If correct, then this may have been a feeding specialisation for snipping off foliage from plants. Further Reading … Read more
In Depth With its incredibly long neck Omeisaurus is both a relative and possible comtempory to the more famous Mamenchisaurus. However previous Upper Shaximiao Formation fossils of Omeisaurus are now considered indeterminate. If Omeisaurus really does only exist in Lower Shaximiao deposits, then it may confirm that Mamenchisaurus replaced Omeisaurus since the former is only … Read more
In Depth Xingtianosaurus is a genus of caudipterid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new caudipterid from the Lower Cretaceous of China with information on the evolution of the manus of Oviraptorosauria. - Scientific Reports. 9: Article number 6431. - Rui Qiu, Xiaolin Wang, Qiang Wang; Ning Li, … Read more
In Depth Epichirostenotes was originally discovered in 1923 before being described in 1997 as a specimen of Chirostenotes pergracilis by Hans-Dieter Sues. Further study and description in 2011 saw this specimen described as its own genus. The type species E. curriei is in honour of the palaeontologist Philip Currie. Although only known from incomplete material, … Read more
In Depth The large number of well-preserved Shunosaurus individuals that have been recovered has revealed much about Shunosaurus making it perhaps the most complete sauropod genus known. This material has also allowed palaeontologist to confirm as well as speculate upon new theories for other sauropods that are not as well represented as Shunosaurus. However, despite … Read more
In Depth Dicraeosaurus was relatively small by sauropod standards, but was still a bit larger than Amargasaurus, so far the only other known member of its group. Dicraeosaurus sported a double row of spines down its back that are similar to those seen on the back of Amargasaurus. We cannot be certain what these spike … Read more
In Depth Originally thought to be a juvenile of a species of Megalosaurus, Nuthetes was later established as a distinct genus. Today Nuthetes is thought to represent a possible dromaeosaurid dinosaur, but the key word here is ‘possible’. So far Nuthetes is only known from teeth and a fragment of jawbone, making such things as … Read more