In Depth Tetanopsyrus is a genus of small acanthodiian fish that has been discovered in Canada. Further Reading - Tetanopsyrus lindoei, gen. et sp. nov., an Early Devonian acanthodian from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Acta Geologica Polonica 49:81–96. - P.-Y. Gagnier, G. F. Hanke & M. V. H. Wilson - 1999. - New species of … Read more
In Depth At up to nine meters long Maiasaura was not amongst the largest known hadrosaurid dinosaurs, though it still tipped the scale to be considered big for its kind. Like with its hadrosaurid relatives, Maiasaura is thought to have been a primarily bipedal dinosaur, though one that was at least capable of balancing if … Read more
In Depth Charitosaurus is a little known genus of plesiosaur that is only represented by partial remains. The level of preservation of these remains is so low that Charitosaurus is actually regarded as a Nomen dubium by many. Further Reading - System der fossilen Saurier [Taxonomy of fossil saurians] - Neues Jahrbuch f�r Mineralogie, Geognosie, … Read more
In Depth Telmatosaurus was originally named as Limnosaurus transsylvanicus, however after this naming in transpired that the genus name Limnosaurus had already been used by the American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh to name a crocodile (later it would actually be declared a synonym of Pristichampsus). The original name came about from the popular idea of … Read more
In Depth Described from remains that were recovered from a bone bed, Xenoceratops was labelled by some writers as the ancestor to the world famous Triceratops. In actuality however Xenoceratops is considered to be a member of the centrosaurinae, one of the two main groups of ceratopsian dinosaurs that include the small frilled but large/many … Read more
In Depth Archaeornithoides has proven to be a problematic genus since it has been very difficult to ascertain exactly what it was. Only known from partial paired maxilla and dentaries, Archaeornithoides was first considered to be a primitive bird because of what were considered distinct bird-like features. Later discoveries however proved that these distinct bird … Read more
In Depth The holotype specimen of Bergamodactylus was first described as a juvenile of the genus Eudimorphodon in 1978. A new study published in 2015 by Kellner revealed that this specimen was actually different enough from Eudimorphodon to warrant its own genus, hence the creation of Bergamodactylus. With a wingspan estimate of the holotype at … Read more
In Depth Sierraceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Sierraceratops is also considered to have been a chasmosaurine ceratopsian, the kind noted for having proportionately larger neck frills than other ceratopsian types. Further reading - The ceratopsian Torosaurus from the Upper Cretaceous McRae Formation, Sierra County, … Read more
In Depth Originally named as Elaphrosaurus gautieri in 1960, a 2004 analysis of the remains by P. C. Sereno, J. A. Wilson and J. L. Conrad concluded that they belonged to a different genus of dinosaur. Hence forth this fossil material now goes by the name of Spinostropheus based upon the shape of the vertebrae, … Read more
In Depth Paleopsilopterus is one of the smallest and by far earliest of the terror birds with fossils dating back as far as sixty million years ago. In a world that had seen the disappearance of the dinosaurs under five million years before its existence, Paleopsilopterus thrived and was likely the form that would go … Read more