In Depth Originally described as a species of Gaviacetus, Kharodacetus is a genus of protocetid whale known to have inhabited the coastal waters of India during the Eocene. Further Reading - Protocetid cetaceans (Mammalia) from the Eocene of India. - Palaeontologia Electronica 17 (3, 34A): 19 p. - Sunil Bajpai & J. G. M. Thewissen … Read more
In Depth Kombuisia is a genus of dicynodont that lived during the Triassic. The first fossil remains of Kombuisia were found in South Africa, but a second species, K. antarctica, has now been discovered on the continent of Antarctica. Further Reading - A new dicynodont (Reptilia, Therapsida) from Cynognathus Zone deposits of South Africa. - … Read more
In Depth Moros is a genus of primitive tyrannosauroid that lived in North America during the earlier stages of the Late cretaceous. The holotype fossils of Moros date from the Cenomanian of the Cretaceous, meaning that the discovery of these has turned back the clock on the first known appearance of a definitive tyrannosaur in … Read more
In Depth The fossil material for Magericyon was originally described as a species of Amphicyon until a new study by Peigne et al in 2008. Magericyon was found to be different from Amphicyon by close study of the form and proportion of the teeth. In naming the new genus the describers chose the name Magericyon … Read more
In Depth Analysis of Obruchevichthys remains has struck up similarities with a tetrapod named Elginerpeton. This has revealed that Obruchevichthys was also a member of the early tetrapods, not a lobe finned fish as first thought. Along with Elginerpeton, Obruchevichthys predated the other tetrapods by an estimated 5-8 million years. Further Reading – Morphology and … Read more
In Depth Jintasaurus is a genus of igaunodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. At the time of writing, Jintasaurus has only been described from partial skull fragments, though these seem to indicate that Jintasaurus was close to becoming a hadrosauroid, a member of the group of dinosaurs that would eventually give … Read more
In Depth Kembawacela is a genus of burrowing dicynodont that lived in Africa during the late Permian. Aside from living in burrows, Kembawacela would have roamed around looking for plants to eat. There is some evidence for sexual dimorphism in Kembawacela due to not all of the fossil skulls having tusks. The large development of … Read more
In Depth Dunyu is a genus of jawless fish that lived in the waters around what is now China during the Silurian. Further Reading - A new genus of eugaleaspidiforms (Agnatha: Galeaspida) from the Ludlow, Silurian of Qujing, Yunnan, Southwestern China. - Vertebrata PalAsiatica 50 (1): 1–7. - Min Zhu, Yu-Hai Liu, Lian-Tao Jia & … Read more
In Depth The significant thing about the discovery of Juramaia is that here you have a placental mammal appearing thirty-five million years earlier than the previously known contender Eomaia, a primitive mammal described in 2002 that was also discovered in Liaoning Province. This has helped researchers who are slowly piecing together a more complete picture … Read more
In Depth Austriadraco is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Austria during the late Triassic. Austriadraco is also noted for bearing a resemblance to the genera Arcticodactylus and Eudimorphodon. Further Reading - Comments on Triassic pterosaurs with discussion about ontogeny and description of new taxa. - Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ci�ncias 87(2):669-689. - … Read more