In Depth The type specimen was originally assigned to the genus Microceratops (now a synonym to Microceratus), Graciliceratops seems to have been a small and lightly built ceratopsian dinosaur. Graciliceratops seems to have been more comfortable in a bipedal posture, but already it is clear that Graciliceratops would have been easily able to adopt a … Read more
In Depth Eastmanosteus was originally known as Dinichthys pustulosus until it was realised to be a separate genus in its own right. In these circumstances the species name is retained and added to the new genus to become the type species for the new genus. Hence Dinichthys pustulosus became Eastmanosteus pustulosus, the genus name being … Read more
In Depth Australia would have had a lot of dinosaurs roaming around during the Mesozoic but the harsh conditions of the land mean that when dinosaur remains are discovered they are often very fragmentory and of a single bone. Thus Rapator is currently only known from a single small bone, kind of like other Australian … Read more
In Depth Nemicolopterus is currently regarded as the smallest known pterosaur, and it is almost inconceivable from looking at it that on the other end of the pterosaur size scale would be giants like Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx with wingspans of eleven meters. The curved claws of Nemicolopterus indicate that it could have perched upon branches … Read more
In Depth Culebrasuchus is a genus of caiman crocodile that lived in Central America during the early Miocene. The presence of Culebrasuchus in Panama has also led to speculation that North and South America may have been joined much earlier than previous thought, albeit only temporally, though other kinds of caiman are known from slightly … Read more
In Depth Seminobatrachus was a genus of Salamander that lived in the Ukraine at the end of the Paleocene/early Eocene. Further Reading – A new salamander from the late Paleocene–early Eocene of Ukraine – Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57(1):135-148 – Pavel P. Skutschas & Yuri M. Gubin – 2012.
In Depth Ceratodus was one of the most wide ranging fish to ever live on the planet, both geographically and temporally. This distribution was possible because back in the Triassic the major land masses of the continents were still close together which allowed several types of animals, most famously the dinosaurs, to spread out across … Read more
In Depth Brithopus is a little known genus of dinocephalian therapsid, and one that has a lot of questions concerning it. When first described, Brithopus was classed as a member of the Anteosauria, and when Brithopus became the type genus of its own group, the Brithopodidae, many anteosaurians were included with this sub group. However, … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Valdosaurus, Elrhazosaurus is a genus of small dryosaurid ornithopod that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Valdosaurus, a hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe and Africa. - G�obios 15 (2): 147–159. - P. M. Galton & P. Taquet - 1982. - … Read more
In Depth Although only known from partial skull material Sinoceratops displays features that are seen in both the centrosaurine and chasmosaurine lines of the ceratopsian dinosaurs. Although larger than others of the group, Sinoceratops is considered to be a basal centrosaurine, and its discovery has shed a little more light on ceratopsian evolution. Unfortunately however, … Read more