In Depth Noasaurus is the type genus of the noasauridae, a side group of theropod dinosaurs that are thought to have had the same immediate origins as the abelisaurids (such as Abelisaurus and Aucasaurus). Noasaurus however is only known by very partial remains which makes it difficult to ascertain specific details about this dinosaur. At … Read more
In Depth It’s hard to imagine how a dinosaur can be named from just a single portion of a leg bone, but this is what happened with Ozraptor. Although incomplete, in 2005 the palaeontologist Oliver Rauhut noted that this tibia does have a vertical median ridge on the astragalar groove. Previously Ozraptor was labelled as … Read more
In Depth The first Masiakasurus remains were described in 2001, and a second set of remains were recovered in 2011. This has allowed some of the original gaps including the premaxilla to be included with the overall morphology. The most striking feature of Masiakasaurus is the way the front teeth point forward and out of … Read more
In Depth Dahalokely is so far only known by very incomplete remains, but if it’s identification as an abelisauroid is correct, then it certainly was very small for its type. Alternatively, if Dahalokely turns out to be a noasaur, a group of theropods closely related to abelisaurs, then it would be expected to have a … Read more
In Depth When the dinosaur Afromimus was first described in 2017 it was as an ornithomimosaur, however a later study in 2019 led to Afromimus being described as an abelisaur, specifically a noasaurid. Unfortunately Afromimus is still only known from partial remains, making details of this dinosaur difficult to know for certain. Further Reading - … Read more