In Depth Arandaspis is today one of the better known Ordovician fishes, though its appearance is not what you might expect. The body of Arandaspis was long yet deep, with a single fin extending around the posterior half of the body. As such Arandaspis is not thought to have been a particularly powerful or graceful … Read more
In Depth Arsinoitherium fossils were first found in the Faiyum area of Egypt, and to date these fossils are the best preserved with some specimens being almost complete. Arsinoitherium now seems to have been spread further across Africa as well as parts of the Middle East, while fossil material from Europe and Asia has revealed … Read more
In Depth Upon first study Azendohsaurus was considered to have been a herbivorous dinosaur, possibly either a prosauropod or even an ornithischian. Later study has now yielded the conclusion that Azendohsaurus is not a dinosaur at all, merely an archosauromorph that grew to resemble early herbivorous dinosaurs by convergent evolution. If this sounds similar then … Read more
In Depth Atlasaurus was named after the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. These in turn were named after the Titan Atlas who in Greek Mythology was said to hold up the sky. The species name A. imelakei comes from the Arabic Imelake, the name of a giant. Atlasaurus was once treated as a fairly primitive sauropod … Read more
In Depth Aniksosaurus was a small coelurosaur from South America, and one that may have lived in small groups. Evidence for this comes from a bone bed of fossils that so far only contain Aniksosaurus. These however may be sub adults, which could also be interpreted as a group of young Aniksosaurus sticking together for … Read more
In Depth Because so little fossil material is known about this pterosaur, it is impossible to say exactly what kind of pterosaur Araripedactylus was. Some have drawn similarities between the scant material of Araripedactylus and Anhanguera, but further comparison is at this time impossible. Further Reading Further reading- Araripedactylus dehmi nov. gen., nov. sp., ein … Read more
In Depth Albionbatrachus was a genus of frog that lived around the southern British Isles during the late Eocene. The name Albionbatrachus is derived from Albion, the ancient name for the largest of the British Isles. Possible relatives of Albionbatrachus include Palaeobatrachus and Pliobatrachus. Further Reading - A new palaeobatrachid frog from the Eocene of … Read more
In Depth Aulophyseter was a predatory whale similar to a modern day sperm whale, although it probably had a more diverse diet. Aulophyseter was related to other predatory whales such as Acrophyseter and the large Livyatan. Some Aulophyseter however bear a resemblance to another whale called Orycterocetus raising the possibility that these fossils could be … Read more
In Depth Auroroborealia is a genus of small icnthyosaur that lived during the late Triassic. The fragmentary nature of the holotype fossils of Auroroborealia mean that many details of Auroroborealia are uncertain. Auroroborealia however seems to have been a small bodied ichthyosaur with short jaws. Further reading - Ichthyosaurs from the Upper Triassic (Carnian–Norian) … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description, Australotitan is thought to possibly represent the largest dinosaur known from the Australian continent. However, Australotitan has only been described from partial limb and hip bones, and while the femur of Australotitan suggests that this dinosaur was comparable to other titanosaurian dinosaurs such a Dreadnoughtus and Futalognkosaurus … Read more