In Depth Qijianglong is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the late Jurassic. At the time of writing the genus is only known from a single juvenile, yet this juvenile is already fifteen meters long. It is uncertain how big Qijianglong could grow, but at fifteen meters just for a juvenile, … Read more
In Depth Unlike other pareiasaurs, Scutosaurus’s orientation of the legs was more under the body as opposed to out to the side. This gave Scutosaurus a much taller stance and would be more suitable for a creature that may have spent its time searching for suitable vegetation to eat in the arid environment of the … Read more
In Depth Originally described as an anthracosaur amphibian, Tokosaurus has later been interpreted as a parareptile. In addition to this, Tokosaurus is also considered to be a possible synonym to the genus Macroleter. Further Reading - Nikteroletery iz Permskikh Otlozheniy Vostochnoy Evropy [Nycteroleters from the Permian of Eastern Europe]. - Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 1984(3):98-111. - G. … Read more
In Depth Toxochelys is a genus of sea turtle that lived during the late Cretaceous, and is also one of the most common sea turtles that lived in the Western Interior Sea Way, a shallow sea that once submerged the central portion of the North American Continent. As a genus, Toxochelys seems to be in-between … Read more
In Depth The genus Lorosuchus represents one of if not the most primitive sebecid crocodiles currently known. Lorosuchus is named after the Rio Loro Formation where the holotype fossils were discovered. Further Reading – A new sebecid mesoeucrocodylian from the Rio Loro Formation (Palaeocene) of north-western Argentina. – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163:S7-S36. … Read more
In Depth With the type species originally described as a species of Prosqualodon, Otekaikea became a recognised genus of toothed whale in 2015. Otekaikea is considered to be very similar to the genus Waipatia. Further Reading - Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (Latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. - … Read more
In Depth Pacifichelys is a genus of sea turtle that lived along the coastlines of Peru and California during the mid Miocene. The morphology of the skull suggests that Pacifichelys fed upon hard shelled organisms such as shelled molluscs and crustaceans. A former species of Euclastes, E. hutchisoni, has now been renamed as a species … Read more
In Depth Maofelis is a genus of nimravid that lived in China during the late Eocene. Nimravids are also known as ‘false-sabre-toothed cats’ and this is because while they share a resemblance to the machairodonts which are the ‘true sabre-toothed cats’, nimravids are not true cats, and therefore not members of the Felidae, which machairodonts … Read more
In Depth The discovery of Gilmoreosaurus began in 1923 when the first fossil remains were discovered. These remains were however referred to the genus Mandschurosaurus as a new species, which is where they remained until a study by Brett-Surman in 1979 saw them re-identified as a distinct genus separate from Mandschurosaurus. Later in 1995, two … Read more
In Depth With bone features similar to the genus Mycterosaurus, yet different enough to be distinct, Dendromaia is a genus of varanopid pelycosaur that lived in North America during the Carboniferous. Dendromaia was described from the description of two individuals on a fossil bearing rock slab, one large, the other much smaller with slightly differing … Read more