In Depth Named after Erlik, the demon king in Mongolian mythology, Erlikosaurus was a ground breaking discovery as it was the first therizinosaurid skull known to science. Despite the overall lack of other skeletal material, this skull made Erlikosaurus a model for other therizinosaurids, which at the time were only known from their post cranial … Read more
In Depth Driveria is a genus of tapinocephalid dinocephalian synapsid that lived in what is now Texas during the mid Permian. Driveria was named in honour of O. W. Driver, the owner of the ranch where the type remains of Driveria were found. Further Reading - Late Permian terrestrial vertebrates, U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. - Transactions … Read more
In Depth Oryctorhynchus is a genus of rhynchosaur that lived in North America during the late Triassic. Oryctorhynchus would have fed upon low growing plants. Further reading - A new rhynchosaur (Reptilia, Archosauromorpha) from the Upper Triassic of eastern North America. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. - Hans-Dieter Sues, Adam J. Fitch & Robin L. … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Deinogalerix are known from the Gargano region of Italy, but it’s important to remember that back in the Miocene Sea levels were much higher resulting in Gargano being an island that was cut off from the mainland. Deinogalerix grew to its large size due to a process called insular gigantism. This … Read more
In Depth Oohkotokia was a medium to large ankylosaurid dinosaur that is so far only known from a single individual, though other fossils gathered in the past may actually represent specimens of this genus. Oohkotokia seems to have been similar to Euoplocephalus, though is considered distinct because the skull texture of Oohkotokia is quite smooth … Read more
In Depth Eoentelodon was a relatively small and early genus of entelodont that acquired its name from its early appearance on the landscape before the much larger Entelodon. However, its validity as a valid genus has been disputed, most specifically in a 2004 study by Lucas and Emry which saw the genus being declared to … Read more
In Depth Originally named Coloradia, it was later discovered that the genus name had already been assigned to a type of moth, hence the revision and change to Coloradisaurus in 1983. Identified as a massospondylid sauropodomorph, Coloradisaurus has been considered as a synonym to the genus Mussaurus. However, Mussaurus has been established only upon hatchlings, … Read more
In Depth Keresdrakon is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Brazil during the Cretaceous. The holotype individual of Keresdrakon was discovered in a bone bed with other pterosaur remains. These remains include the genus Caiuajara, proving that these two pterosaurs were active within the same ecosystem at the same time. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth Living in India during the early Jurassic, the dinosaur Lamplughsaura has been the source of some head scratching amongst palaeontologists. The two main options at the moment are that either Lamplughsaura represents a very advanced sauropodomorph, or a primitive sauropod dinosaur. What can be established however is that Lamplughsaura does represent a transitional … Read more
In Depth Eromangasaurus was initially known as E. carinognathus, but this was seen as a synonym to the second species of Tuarangisaurus which was also named in 2005. The material became known as Tuarangisaurus australis until further study by Bernjamin P. Kear revealed several key differences. In 2007 Eromangasaurus was resurrected as a distinct genus … Read more