In Depth While only known from teeth, Uatchitodon is still a very interesting genus as at the time of writing it is the earliest known venomous reptile. The teeth of Uatchitodon are recurved and serrated, perfect for slicing through flesh, but grooves in the teeth seem to be for the transference of salivary venom from … Read more
In Depth Trematochampsa is a genus of crocodile that lived in what is now Niger during the Late Cretaceous. A second species named in 1979 as T. oblita has now been reassigned to its own genus, Miadanasuchus. Trematochampsa is now considered to be more of a nomen dubium since these fossils are actually made up … Read more
In Depth During its taxonomic history Gwyneddosaurus has been identified as being several different types of animals, from a theropod dinosaur to a protosaur. Today however the wider consensus is that Gwyneddosaurus was a relative to the better known Tanystropheus, a marine reptile noted for having a particularly long neck. The type specimen of Gwyneddosaurus … Read more
In Depth The establishment of Bentonyx as a genus actually began in 2008 when a species of Rhynchosaurus, R. spenceri was re-named as its own genus called Fodonyx. Further study into the fossils that went into establishing the Fodonyx genus found that one of the skulls was actually different. In 2010 this skull was split … Read more
In Depth Fodonyx is a genus of rynchosaur that lived in England during the early part of the Mid Triassic. The genus was born out of the decision to move a species of the Rhynchosaurus genus on the basis of differences from the type species that by todays taxonomic standards would warrant a new … Read more
In Depth Pelagosaurus is a genus of thalattosuchian, more colloquially known as a ‘marine crocodile’ that lived in the waters around Western Europe during the early Jurassic. Exactly what kind of thalattosuchian Pelagosaurus is depends upon who you ask, with one group describing the genus as a primitive metriorhynchid, while others state that it is … Read more
In Depth Laganosuchus acquired its name from its flat ‘pancake like’ jaws. These had small but numerous teeth running across the edges. Laganosuchus is thought to have used these specialised jaws as a fish trap, laying in the water with its jaws open for extended periods until a fish swam in. Once this happened, the … Read more
In Depth First named in 2006, Razanandrongobe has largely been a mystery for researchers as the genus was only known from partial upper jaw bones. This made details about what kind of animal Razanandrongobe was very difficult to establish other than it was from some large kind of archosaur. However, new remains discovered and described … Read more
In Depth A significantly larger relative to the more famous Euparkeria, Vjushkovia was a mid-sized Triassic aged archosauromorph that hunted in ecosystems in what is now Russia. One former species of Vjushkovia named V. sinensia has now been renamed as Youngosuchus. Further Reading - Ein grosser Pseudosuchier aus der Orenburger Trias [A large pseudosuchian … Read more
In Depth Duerosuchus is a genus of relatively small crocodile that lived in Spain during the Eocene. Further Reading - Nuevo g�nero de Crocodylia del Eoceno medio de la Pen�nsula Ib�rica (Zamora, Espa�a): Duerosuchus piscator nov. gen., nov. sp. - Studia Geologica Salmanticensia 45 (2): 149–173. - L. A. Santiago & L. A. Andr�s - … Read more