In Depth Although Dryopithecus is known to have had a broad geographic distribution, it is particularly well known from European countries such as France, Spain and Hungary. Dryopithecus is often associated with the orangutan-like Sivapithecus, however study of Dryopithecus fossils indicate that it was actually very different in life. The main difference between these two … Read more
In Depth Nanosaurus used to be an uncertain genus of ornithopod dinosaur. In the past three species have been named for Nanosaurus, N. agilis, N. rex and N. Victor. The holotype of N. rex was used to create the genus Othnielia in 1977, while N. victor was later realised to be based upon crocodilian remains. … Read more
In Depth Geranosaurus was an ornithischian dinosaur that lived in South Africa during the early Jurassic. Because Geranosaurus is known from only very fragmentary fossil remains, many consider it a dubious genus as it will likely be very difficult to attribute further remains to the genus given there is so little to compare new discoveries … Read more
In Depth Since it was named in 1989, the dinosaur genus Bruhathkayosaurus has attained almost mythical status. The original description of the bones of this dinosaur were originally interpreted as belonging to a theropod dinosaur, though later study of the description has led readers to conclude that the remains were actually of a titanosaurid … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately very little fossil material for this pterosaur exists, but the post cranial remains of Hatzegopteryx do bare striking similarities to Quetzalcoatlus, even to point that some consider Hatzegopteryx to be a possible synonym of Quetzalcoatlus. There still is one subtle area of known difference, and this is the way that the jaws … Read more
In Depth Stagonolepis had the typical aetosaur body form, quadrupedal, short legs and osteoderms than ran down the length of the body. This form could be described as crocodile-like, but caution should be exercised before assuming that Stagonolepis lived like a crocodile as well. Stagonolepis had neither piercing or slicing teeth, but peg-like teeth adapted … Read more
In Depth Darwinopterus was a truly ground breaking discovery as it displays features of both the basal rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs, and the later more advanced pterodactyloid pterosaurs. Before the discovery of Darwinopterus, there was a marked gap between these two groups, but now that the transitional form of Darwinopterus has been found it is considered to … Read more
In Depth When Alexander Kellner found what was thought to be a Pteranodon, he realised that morphological differences in the specimen meant that it was not a match. Kellner then compared it to the next closest pterosaur and in the process made the exciting discovery that it was not an individual of this genus either … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - The evolutionary history of the extinct ratite moa and New Zealand Neogene paleogeography - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 (49): 20646 - M. Bunce, T. H. Worthy, M. J. Phillips, R. N. Holdaway, E. Willerslev, J. Haile, B. Shapiro, R. P. Scofield, A. Drummond, P. J. J. … Read more
In Depth Eothyris is currently only known from a skull, but from this a little can be inferred about the lifestyle of this genus. The mouth was filled with sharp and pointed teeth, with a pair of enlarged fangs that were near the front of the upper jaw. These were likely used to snare and … Read more