In Depth Mansourasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa during the late Cretaceous. The discovery of Mansourasaurus was significant in itself because North African fossil beds often do not yield remains of larger dinosaurs like sauropods. This is partly because the harsh arid conditions of North Africa will often … Read more
In Depth The lightly built skull of Abrosaurus (which is the inspiration for the name ‘delicate lizard’) clearly indicates that it was a macronarian sauropod, similar to genera such as Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus. Camarasaurus in particular has been considered to be a very close relative of Abrosaurus because they both seem to represent basal (primitive) … Read more
In Depth Triunfosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the early Cretaceous. Described only from an ischium and tail vertebra, Triunfosaurus was originally described as a titanosaur. Further Reading - A new basal titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. - Journal of South American Earth Sciences … Read more
In Depth The holotype fossils of Antetonitrus were originally found in 1981, but were thought to be further fossils of the genus Euskelosaurus. It was not until over two decades later that they would be correctly described as a distinct genus. Antetonitrus is a very interesting sauropod dinosaur, as while it was quadrupedal (walked on … Read more
In Depth The creation of the Bellusaurus was born out of the discovery of a bonebed of at least seventeen individuals. Features on some of these fossil such as the lack of fusion on some parts means that these individuals are probably juveniles and therefore not fully grown. It has also led to speculation that … Read more
In Depth Yunmenglong is a genus of somphospondylin sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Although the skeleton of the holotype is incomplete, Yunmenglong is considered to have been related to other genera such as Erketu and Qiaowanlong. Further Reading A new sauropod dinosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Cretaceous of … Read more
In Depth Europasaurus was a macronarian sauropod which means it was similar in form to such dinosaurs as Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus. However Europasaurus itself was much smaller than either of these two genera, in fact it is one of the smallest dinosaurs of its kind. The small size of Europasaurus has been interpreted as a … Read more
In Depth Rinconsaurus was a relatively small titanosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous period. Not too much is known about Rinconsaurus other than it appears to have had a more gracile (lightweight) build than some titanosaurs. Teeth associated with the type specimen are also termed chisel-like which means that Rinconsaurus probably … Read more
In Depth Gigantosaurus is a little known and currently dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur. The fossils that are assigned to the genus could come from a sauropod, but they were all found disarticulated and separately, raising the notion that they could be from more than one individual. The state of preservation also means that it … Read more
In Depth A very small sauropod, Rayososaurus is considered to be very similar to another genus called Rebbachisaurus. Because Rayososaurus is from South America and Rebbachisaurus is from Africa, this has given rise to the notion that these two continents were joined for much longer than previously thought back in the Cretaceous. Further Reading – … Read more