In Depth Originally described as a species of Plesiosaurus by Richard Owen in 1865, it was identified as a distinct genus just under a hundred years later in 1964. Archaeonectrus is now regarded as a rhomaleosaurid pliosaur, and would have been a predator of other marine organisms. Further Reading – A monograph of the fossil … Read more
In Depth Plesiadapis is popularly depicted as the ancestor of the primates, something that is reflected in its name that means ‘near Adapis’, one of the earliest known primates. This idea is not without its critics however, with most palaeontologists preferring to treat it as a representative of an ancestral form rather than ‘the’ ancestor … Read more
In Depth Crittendenceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in Western portion of North America during the late Cretaceous. While many fossils of various types of animals have been discovered in the Fort Crittenden Formation of Arizona, Crittendenceratops is the first distinct genus to be named from this formation. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth Simbakubwa is a genus of large hyaenodont that lived in Africa during the Miocene. Further Reading - Simbakubwa kutokaafrika, gen. et sp. nov. (Hyainailourinae, Hyaenodonta, ‘Creodonta,’ Mammalia), a gigantic carnivore from the earliest Miocene of Kenya. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39: e1570222. - M. R. Borths & N. J. Sevens - 2019.
In Depth For lack of a better description, Castorocauda was basically like an otter or beaver that lived during the Jurassic. However, while Castorocauda superficially looks like them, the genus is in no way a direct relation to them, Instead, Castorocauda is what is known as a docodont mammaliform, and a member of a group … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Zby, other than it was a eusauropod dinosaur that seems to have featured similarities with the genus Turiasaurus from Spain, which may also be the largest sauropod dinosaur known from Europe. Zby might sound like a strange name for an animal, but this dinosaur was actually named … Read more
In Depth Antarctosuchus is noted for having relatively small teeth, which may indicate a specialisation towards hunting smaller animals. The strongly developed sensory canals in the skull also suggest that Antarctosuchus was hunted primarily in the water. Further Reading - A new capitosauroid temnospondyl from the Middle Triassic upper Fremouw Formation of Antarctica. - Journal … Read more
In Depth Alxasaurus was a very significant discovery since study of the bones of this dinosaur reveal both specialised therizinosaur morphs as well as more standard’ theropod features. Combined with its appearance in the early Cretaceous, Alxasaurus is firmly established as a transitory form that shows a stage of development between general theropods and the … Read more
In Depth Nanningosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous, and is also the first genus of hadrosaur identified as living in southern China. Further Reading - The first hadrosaurid dinosaur from southern China. Acta Geologica Sinica 81(4):550-554. - J. Mo, Z. Zhao, W. Wang & X. Xu … Read more
In Depth Kyasuchus is a genus of protosuchian crocodile that lived in Russia during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - [First discovery of a fossil crocodile skull in Siberia], by M. B. Efimov & S. V. Leshchinskiy. In, Materialy regionalanoj konferencii geologov Sibiri, Dalshchnego Vostoka i Severo� ’Vostoka Rossii, A.V. Komarov (ed). Gala Press. - … Read more