In Depth Albalophosaurus has been described as a basal ceratopsian dinosaur, but one that shows similarities to other ornithopod dinosaurs, particularly in dental morphology. This may suggest that Albalophosaurus was a particularly primitive ceratopsian dinosaur, perhaps even one that hints at the transition from ornithopod ancestors to more derived ceratopsian descendants. The name Albalophosaurus means … Read more
In Depth Portellsaurus is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in Western Europe during the Early Cretaceous. Further reading - A new styracosternan hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous of Portell, Spain. - PLOS ONE. 16 (7). - Andr�s Santos-Cubedo, Carlos de Santisteban, Bego�a Poza & Sergi -Meseguer - 2021.
In Depth Though only described from a single rib, the dinosaur Spicomellus has generated a lot of interest. First is the original assessment that Spicomellus represents a primitive ankylosaur, and if true this would not only help to build a pattern of development of this dinosaur lineage all the way back into the Jurassic, something … Read more
In Depth Sinocephale fossils originally started as being assigned as a species of Troodon back in 1953 when similarity between the teeth of Troodon and other pachycephalosaurs. When the pachycephalosaurs and troodonts were realised to be very different kinds of dinosaurs, material of Sinocephale was then associated with the pachycephalosaur Stegoceras in 1964. The validity … Read more
In Depth Ibirania is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. While South America is known to have at times been home to some truly giant titanosaurs, Ibirania is at the extreme polar opposite of the size scale. Though incomplete, reconstructions of the holotype individual suggest Ibirania was … Read more
In Depth Dalianraptor is a genus of primitive bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new avian taxon from Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning. - Global Geology 24(4):313-316. - C.-L. Gao & J.-Y. Liu - 2005.
In Depth Silutitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South-East Asia during the early Cretaceous. Further reading - The first dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Hami Pterosaur Fauna, China -. Scientific Reports. 11 (1). - Xiaolin Wang, Kamila L. N. Bandeira, Rui Qiu. Shunxing Jiang. Xin Cheng, Yingxia Ma & Alexander W. … Read more
In Depth Shanweiniao is a genus of enantiornithine bird that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous. When the genus was described in 2010, Shanweiniao was the only known enantiornithine which had a wing structure that was capable of generating lift. The name Shanweiniao means ‘fan tailed bird’, a reference to the structure of the … Read more
In Depth Ulughbegsaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Central Asia during the early stages of the Late Cretaceous, specifically the Turonian period. The carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaurs were apex predators that rose to prominence during the early Cretaceous, however there is plenty of fossil evidence to show that as a group … Read more
In Depth Named in 2022, Bashanosaurus is one of the oldest stegosaurid dinosaurs that we know about, possibly even older than the previous ‘oldest’ stegosaur Adratiklit. Unfortunately though there is still some mystery about Bashanosaurus. The genus is based upon the partial remains of more than one individual, and also not from a fully grown … Read more