In Depth Described from very partial remains, Vitakridrinda is a difficult dinosaur to talk about other than it seems to have been an abelisaurid. Abelisaurs were the dominant type of theropods in the southern continents during the late Cretaceous while the tyrannosaurs dominated the North. Because of the abundance of late Cretaceous rocks in Asia, … Read more
In Depth Named after a village near the location of the fossil site, Rahiolisaurus is still a surprisingly little known abelisaurid at the time of writing, despite it being around eight meters long. The fossils of this abelisaurid were originally considered to be remains of another abelisaurid named Indosuchus. As a large abelisaurid, Rahiolisaurus would … Read more
In Depth Afropithecus is one of the better known primates of Miocene era Africa and the current fossils for this primate suggest that it was similar to the even more numerous Proconsul. However despite a body similarity to Proconsul, Afropithecus is thought to have had a head more like Aegyptopithecus (which may actually be Propliopithecus) … Read more
In Depth As with a lot of European pterosaurs the genus Altmuehlopterus has a long and convoluted history. The fossil specimen was originally named under Ornithocephalus, but this would later be regarded as an obsolete name for Pterodactylus. It was also named as belonging to Diopecephalus, and finally ending up as a second species of … Read more
In Depth First described as a species of Saurolophus in 2013, the species was re-described as a distinct genus, Augustynolophus only a year later. Not much can be said about Augustynolophus, though we do know that it was among the last hadrosaurid genera to live, and may have been around to see the asteroid strike … Read more
In Depth Anatosuchus was a small terrestrial crocodile with had a very specialised skull morphology, the result of which has been the nick name ‘Duck croc’. The jaws resemble the bill of a duck with a single pointed protrusion extending from the front of the snout. It has been proposed that this protuberance was used … Read more
In Depth Agorophius seems to have been one of the early toothed whales of the Odontoceti, but unfortunately the holotype remains of this genus have now been lost. This makes further study of the genus with more modern methods and techniques impossible until either the holotypes are found or new fossils are recovered from the … Read more
In Depth Albicetus is a genus of whale that lived in Pacific Ocean during the Miocene. Further Reading - A fossil physeteroid cetacean from Santa Barbara County California. - Proceedings of the United States National Museum 66(27):1-8. - R. Kellogg - 1925. - Albicetus oxymycterus, a New Generic Name and Redescription of a Basal Physeteroid … Read more
In Depth Abyssosaurus is a genus of plesiosaur that lived in Russia during the Early Cretaceous. At the time of its description Abyssosaurus was identified as a link between Late Jurassic forms such as Tatenectes and Kimmerosaurus, and Late Cretaceous forms such as Aristonectes and Kaiwhekea. A slightly later study in 2013 by Benson & … Read more
In Depth Araripesaurus appears to be a dubious entry amongst pterosaurs because of the lack of distinguishing features. Even though it has been considered to be Santanadactylus, the same lack of distinguishing features mean that Araripesaurus cannot be reassigned to a different genus with certainty. Further material that was to be attributed to Araripesaurus has … Read more