In Depth Fossils pertaining to Tatenectes were originally assigned as a species of Cimoliasaurus (C. laramiensis) by W. C. Knight in 1900. Then in 1912 they were moved over to Tricliedus (as T. laramiensis) by Mehl. Then in 2003 fossils pertaining to this species were established as a new genus by O’Keefe and Wahl. However … Read more
In Depth Meherrinia is an extinct genus of river dolphin that lived in the United States during the late Miocene. Study of the holotype remains has revealed that Meherrinia may be an example of a river dolphin that actually inhabited a marine environment, living in salt water as opposed to fresh water. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Venenosaurus, meaning ‘poison lizard’ acquired its name from being discovered in the Poison Strip Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, while the type species, V. dicrocei, is in honour of Tony DiCroce, the person who first discovered the remains. Other sauropod dinosaurs from the Cedar Mountain Formation, albeit from different Members, include Abydosaurus, … Read more
In Depth As a primitive Eocene era horse Orohippus is thought to have primarily been a browser, which means it ate leaves of plants rather than grazing grass. However the teeth are also more suited for grinding rather than slicing which suggests a specialisation in eating tougher kinds of vegetation. Orohippus is thought to … Read more
In Depth Although only described from a skull Zarafasaura was one of the last surviving elasmosaurid plesiosaurs active around North Africa, a region that in the past has yielded very little in the way of plesiosaur remains. Part of this problem is Africa’s harsh climate that can quickly erode and damage exposed fossils. The discovery … Read more
In Depth With a tough hide and powerful jaws, the rauisuchian genus Postosuchus was one of the apex predators of its time. First discovered in the US state of Texas, Postsuchus had a wide distribution that stretched all the way to the Eastern seaboard. The head was deep with many fenestrae, adaptations that point towards … Read more
In Depth Although Procariama was one of the famous South American ‘terror birds’ it was actually one of the smallest being of a comparable size to Psilopterus and Paleopsilopterus, the other members of the Psilopterinae sub group. As such Procariama would have had a focus upon smaller prey animals that were too small for the … Read more
In Depth Smaller velociraptorine dromaeosaurs seem to have been one of the most important types of dinosaur in Asia during the Late Cretaceous as evidenced by the ever growing number of remains and genera. Linheraptor was similar in form to most others such as Velociraptor and it may have lived and hunted in pretty much … Read more
In Depth Edmontosaurus is without a doubt one of if not the most intensively studied hadrosaurid dinosaur. Not only are there many Edmontosaurus specimens known, but those that have been recovered include some of the best preserved hadrosaurid material so far found.Classification history Edmontosaurus has one of the longest and most complicated taxonomic histories of … Read more
In Depth Edaphosaurus is easily one of the more recognisable pelycosaurs, even if the genus is often presented in the shadow cast by the much more famous Dimetrodon. These two genera of pelycosaur are at opposite ends of the ecosystem however, with Edaphosaurus being a plant eater specialising in low growing vegetation, and Dimetrodon being … Read more