In Depth Lusitanosaurus is widely regarded as a dubious genus because of the lack of fossils that were used to describe it. The maxilla in question was originally thought to be from a stegosaur, but today it is considered to be from an ankylosaurian. Beyond this it is hard to infer anything further other than … Read more
In Depth One of the earliest known ankylosaurs, Shamosaurus is regarded as being very similar to Gobisaurus, however there is enough fine detail differences in the skulls of the two genera that palaeontologists are confident in assigning these two ankylosaurs as separate genera. Unfortunately there are not yet enough remains to confidently estimate the size … Read more
In Depth Not a lot can be said about Pawpawsaurus because so far it is only known by a skull. However, another nodosaur from the Paw Paw Formation is Texasetes (which includes post cranial remains), which has been suggested as being a synonym to Pawpawsaurus. If this is true, then the current Pawpawsaurus fossil material, … Read more
In Depth Tatankacephalus is a genus of nodosaur that lived in what is now Montana during the early Cretaceous period. Best known from an incomplete skull, Tatankacephalus has been interpreted as a close relative to the better known nodosaurid dinosaur Gastonia. A different genus of nodosaurid dinosaur from the same location as Tatankacephalus is Sauropelta, … Read more
In Depth Gobisaurus is very similar to another earlier named ankylosaur called Shamosaurus, yet there are enough differences in the skull features to be certain that these are separate genera, but ones that seem to be closely related. New analysis of the Ulansuhai Formation has also indicated that Gobisaurus may have lived around the Turonian … Read more
In Depth When Richard Owen first established the Dinosauria, and thus creating the term dinosaur in 1842, Hylaeosaurus was one of the three genera used to establish the group (the others were Megalosaurus and Iguanodon). Several species of Hylaeosaurus have been named over the years, but the only species currently thought to be valid is … Read more
In Depth Ziapelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now the USA during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. At the time of the genus description Ziapelta is only known from a single partial skull and some osteoderms, the bony plates that grew within the skin as a form … Read more
In Depth Bienosaurus is a genus of armoured dinosaur that lived in China during the early Jurassic. Although only known from fragmentary skull and jaw fossils, Bienosaurus is thought to have been similar to Scelidosaurus. Further Reading - Primitive armored dinosaur from the Lufeng Basin, China, by Z. Dong. In Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, D. H. … Read more
In Depth Tianchisaurus was originally dubbed (but never officially named) Jurassosaurus because in the same year that it was named, the very first Jurassic park film was released. Incidentally, the name Jurassosaurus was suggested by Steven Spielberg who produced and directed the film. Dong rejected the name Jurassosaurus in favour of Tianchisaurus, but kept the … Read more
In Depth Discovered by Reverend William D. Fox in 1865, Polacanthus has been frustratingly ill preserved with only the hind quarters and parts of armour well preserved. The skull is also unknown, and for this reason modern reconstructions are based upon comparisons with other similar dinosaurs like Gastonia. What can be ascertained is that Polacanthus … Read more