In Depth Even though it was ten meters long, it is not its size that makes Stomatosuchus stand out but its presumed feeding strategy. The upper jaw only had small conical teeth, while the lower jaw has been suggested at being toothless, with the inclusion of a pelican like pouch underneath. This is unprecedented amongst … Read more
In Depth Pachydectes was a primitive biarmosuchian therapsid that lived in South Africa during the mid-Permian. Further Reading - A new burnetiamorph (Therapsida: Biarmosuchia) from the Middle Permian of South Africa. - Journal of Paleontology 80 (4): 740–749. - B. S. Rubidge, C. A. Sidor & S. P. Modesto - 2006.
In Depth There are many interesting archosaurs that lay within the Allokotosauria group, and Shringasaurus is no exception. Although the holotype skull of Shringasaurus is incomplete, it is enough to confirm that this archosaur had large horns that rose up from above the eyes and pointed forwards. Horns such as these are usually seen as … Read more
In Depth Paramylodon acquired its name from its close similarity to another ground sloth called Mylodon. This close similarity has led to questions as to if they are actually separate genera since the original defining characteristic of the two genera having a different dental formulae is today no longer considered enough because the numbers of … Read more
In Depth Youngosuchus was first described in 1973 by C. C. Young as a species of the genus Vjushkovia, V. sinensis. In 1985 however a re-description by Kalandadze & A. G. Sennikov saw the species described as a distinct genus, Youngosuchus. Since then there has been some uncertainty as to what kind of archosauromorph Youngosuchus … Read more
In Depth Emeroleter is a genus of nycteroleterid procolophonomorph that lived in what is now the Russian federation towards the end of the Permian period about two hundred and sixty-five to two hundred and fifty million years ago. Further Reading - New Late Permian nycteroleterids from Eastern Europe - Paleontological Journal 31(5):552-558 - M. F. … Read more
In Depth Jamna is a genus of passeriform bird that lived in Eastern Europe during the Oligocene. Further Reading - A new passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland. - Journal of Ornithology 152 (4): 1045–1053. - Zbigniew M. Bocheński, Teresa Tomek, Małgorzata Bujoczek & Krzysztof Wertz - 2011.
In Depth Further Reading – Preliminary report on a recently discovered Pleistocene cave deposit near Cumberland, Maryland. – J. W. Gidley – 1913. – Phylogenetic systematics of the North American fossil Caninae (Carnivora, Canidae) – Richard H. Tedford, Xiaoming Wang, Beryl E. Taylor – 2009.
In Depth Langobardisaurus was a small prolacertid reptile that was very lightly built. The rear legs can be clearly seen to be much longer than the fore legs, and while a quadrupedal pose may have been more usual when resting, a bipedal stance would have been easily possible when running or rearing up searching for … Read more
In Depth Leptoceratops is similar in form to the earlier ceratopsian dinosaurs that would evolve into the larger members of the group such as Chasmosaurus and Anchiceratops. However Leptoceratops lived much later than these ancestral forms as indicated by its entry into the fossil record at a time which would have seen Leptoceratops living in … Read more