In Depth Named after the Polish word for dragon, the full name Smok wawelski is actually in reference to a dragon that was said to live in a cave near the fossil site. Since the remains were first dug up in 2007, and first described in 2008, Smok has been referred to as a saurischian … Read more
In Depth Terrestrisuchus was a small crocodylomorph that was well suited to life on land. The legs were fairly long and supported the body from underneath rather than from the sides and the feet were digitigrade, meaning that Terrestrisuchus walked on its toes. This meant that Terrestrisuchus was a fairly quick and agile predator of … Read more
In Depth Shuvosaurus was described from the discovery of a skull that had no teeth but a well-developed beak-like anterior portion. Because of this, Shuvosaurus was at the time considered to possibly be an ancient ancestor to the ornithomimosaurs, a group of dinosaurs that at the time of writing are only known from Cretaceous era … Read more
In Depth While loricatan paracrocodylomorphs are fairly well known from the Santa maria Formation, Dagasuchus is the first rauisuchian genus known from the Santacruzodon assemblage zone, something which has enabled this genus to fill an evolutionary gap. So far Dagasuchus is only known from a partial hip which make reconstructions fairly difficult. However since the … Read more
In Depth Similar to the genera Lagerpeton and Dromomeron, Ixalerpeton is a genus of dinosauromorph that is noted for having rear limbs that are proportionately long to the body. Ixalerpeton would have been a small and agile dinosauromorph, possibly hunting for insects. Ixalerpeton was named alongside the dinosaur Buriolestes. Further Reading - A Unique Late … Read more
In Depth Smilosuchus was originally assigned as a large species of Leptosuchus and was classed as the species Leptosuchus gregorii. A key characteristic of the species was the pronounced nasal crest that supported the nostrils (the nostrils in phytosaurs were higher up the snout in front of the eyes, rather than on the end of … Read more
In Depth Asilisaurus were a kind of reptile that was very close to the evolutionary line that led to the development of the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Although established upon very fragmentary fossil remains, the genus indicates a possible earlier development of dinosaurs back to the mid Triassic rather than the late Triassic. This also helps … Read more
In Depth Nicrosaurus is another one of the phytosaurs, reptiles that have a striking similarity to modern crocodiles, although the position of the nostrils higher up the snout and in front of the eyes is a dead giveaway that Nicrosaurus is a phytosaur (crocodiles have their nostrils on the tips of their snouts). Nicrosaurus is … Read more
In Depth Kongonaphon is a genus of ornithodiran archosaur that lived in Madagascar during the Triassic. As far as Triassic archosaurs go Kongonaphon was tiny, and in itself the holotype specimen is a rare example of such a small creature. Kongonaphon also had small conical teeth, which combines with the small overall body size, suggests … Read more
In Depth Xilousuchus is one of the oldest known archosaurs and like many other primitive forms it has a sail upon its back. This has seen Xilousuchus placed within the Ctenosauriscidae group of sail backed rauisuchian archosaurs that are typified by the genus Ctenosauriscus, although Xilousuchus is actually thought to be more closely related to … Read more