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
In Depth Sahitisuchus is a genus of sebesuchid crocodile that lived in South America during the Paleocene/Eocene. Sahitisuchus is thought to have been semi aquatic and as a sebesuchis would have been related to genera such as Sebecus, Langstonia and Zulmasuchus. Further Reading - A new sebecid from the Paleogene of Brazil and the crocodyliform … Read more
In Depth It could be said that Jobaria is a sauropod that doesn’t know what it is due to a mix of different traits. The vertebrae of Jobaria are very simple in form which has led to some suggestion that Jobaria is a primitive sauropod. Study of other areas however has led to speculation that … Read more
In Depth Broomisaurus was originally named as Scymnorhinus planiceps by Robert Broom in 1913, however the genus name Scymnorhinus had already been established, so the name Broomisaurus was given to this gorgonopsid by Joleaud in 1920. Because Broomisaurus is only known from fragmentary remains the genus has often been listed as a Nomen dubium because … Read more
In Depth Palaeomolgophis is a genus of amphibian that lived in Scotland during the Carboniferous. Palaeomolgophis displays a severe reduction in the size of its limbs which has led to speculation that Palaeomolgophis might have been fully aquatic. Further Reading - Studies on Early Tetrapods I. The Lower Carboniferous Microsaurs. - Philosophical Transactions of the … Read more
In Depth The type genus of the Gomphotheriidae, Gomphotherium is quite a bizarre prehistoric elephant that is quite different from the ones that we know today. Gomphotherium still had two tusks protruding down from the upper jaw, but they were recurved, which means that they gently curved towards the body rather than away like in … Read more
In Depth Iberospondylus is a genus of temnospondyl amphibian that lived in the Iberian Peninsula of Spain during the late Carboniferous. Two interesting points about Iberospondylus are that the genus is one of the oldest known, and extends the range of such creatures living in Spain by forty-five million years. Additionally, fossils of Iberospondylus have … Read more