In Depth Eohupehsuchus is a genus of hupehsuchian reptile that lived in China during the early Triassic. The name Eohupehsuchus means ‘dawn Hupehsuchus’, a reference to its similarity but earlier appearance to the Hupehsuchus genus. Further Reading - A Small Short-Necked Hupehsuchian from the Lower Triassic of Hubei Province, China. - PLOS ONE 9 (12. … Read more
In Depth Kholumolumo is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in Southern Africa during the late Triassic. Further Reading - Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum, gen. et sp. nov., a new early sauropodomorph from the lower Elliot Formation (Upper Triassic) of Maphutseng, Lesotho. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. in press: e1732996. - Claire Peyre de Fabr�gues … Read more
In Depth Garudimimus is considered to be an ornithomimosaur, but unlike others of its kind it had shorter ilia, the legs were shorter and the muscles not as well developed. This has led to speculation that Garudimimus would have actually been quite slow for an ornithomimosaur, although it could still probably out pace a human … Read more
In Depth Originally thought to be a cynodont, Lycorhinus was not realised to be a dinosaur until 1962 when Alfred Walter Crompton studied the holotype. Many remains have been attributed Lycorhinus in the past, but most of these have now been moved to other species of different genera, two examples being UCL A100 and UCL … Read more
In Depth Known only from partial remains, Cedrorestes is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in North America during the early Cretaceous. Cedrorestes has an uncertain classification, not helped by the fact the fossil bones were damaged prior to being fossilised. Some researchers consider Cedrorestes to be in-between an iguanodont and hadrosaur, while some … Read more
In Depth The discovery of Padillasaurus has been a very important step in South American palaeontology as it represents the first confirmed genus of a brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur that is known on this continent (though isolated and very fragmentary remains have been found before, they were not complete enough to name a genus). Unfortunately the … Read more
In Depth Rukwanyoka is an extinct genus of snake that lived in Africa during the Oligocene. Further Reading - The Earliest Colubroid-Dominated Snake Fauna from Africa: Perspectives from the Late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation of Southwestern Tanzania. - PLoS ONE 9(3):e90415. - J. A. McCartney, N. J. Stevens & P. M. O’Connor - 2014.
In Depth When you look up the first true mammals in dinosaur books you almost certainly going to be presented with a picture and brief description of Megazostrodon. Modern analysis of Megazostrodon has it in a position that is almost fully mammal, yet not quite. True mammals begin with the triconodont group, something that the … Read more
In Depth Initially through to represent a piece of the dinosaur Troodon in 1943, and later the genus Stegoceras, the single dome that makes up the holotype of this genus was named as Hanssuesia in 2003. This came about as a result of the work of R. M. Sullivan in the Stegoceras genus when he … Read more
In Depth Pachygenys is a genus of skink that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. Pachygenys thlastesa, the type species is known from China, while Pachygenys adachii is known from Japan. Further Reading - A new lizard from the Lower Cretaceous of Shandong, China. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19:456-465. - K. Gao & … Read more