In Depth Just thirty years before its description, the concept of dinosaurs evolving into birds was still a very controversial theory that did not have universally wide acceptance in academic circles. However, since the opening of fossil beds in China, new discoveries have slowly but steadily been made, each one adding more and more weight … Read more
In Depth Xixiasaurus is a troodont genus thought to possibly be closely related to Byronosaurus and Urbacodon. Part of this reasoning is that the teeth of Xixiasaurus lacked serrations. Care should be taken not to confuse Xixiasaurus with the alvarezsaur genus Xixianykus that is also known from the same formation as Xixiasaurus. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Losillasaurus is a member of the Turiasauria, a group sauropods which is named after the genus Turiasaurus. However Turiasaurus was named in 2006 while Losillasaurus was named in 2001, and usually this would actually make Losillasaurus the type genus since it was named earlier. Other sauropod dinosaurs that are closely related to Losillasaurus … Read more
In Depth The sauropod dinosaur Brachiosaurus earned its name from the fact that the arms, or rather the fore legs as it was quadrupedal, are actually longer than the hind legs. The fact that these are longer offers Brachiosaurus a passive advantage in reaching up into the tree canopy to feed as the neck is … Read more
In Depth When initially described, the dinosaur Yaverlandia was thought to be a pachycephalosaur, but a later study in 2008 (Naish & Martill) clarified the genus as representing a theropod dinosaur. Further Reading - A primitive dome-headed dinosaur (Ornithischia: Pachycephalosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of England and the function of the dome of pachycephalosaurids. - … Read more
In Depth Yulong was a Late Cretaceous oviraptosaur, and one that was positively tiny, especially when compared to the very large oviraptosaur genera like Gigantoraptor. Unfortunately, the exact age of the Qiupa Formation is currently unknown at the time of writing, but we can say that Yulong probably lived in the same ecosystems as other … Read more
In Depth Huinculsaurus is a genus of elaphrosaurine dinosaur that lived during the early periods of the late Cretaceous in South America. Further Reading - A new abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Huincul formation (lower upper Cretaceous, Neuqu�n Basin) of Patagonia, Argentina. - Cretaceous Research. - Mattia Baiano, Rodolfo Coria & Andrea Cau - 2020.
In Depth Urbacodon is truly an international genus, not so much by its geographic distribution, but because the team involved were from many different countries. The name Urbacodon means ‘URBAC tooth’, and URBAC is an acronym that recognises the Uzbek, Russian, British, American and Canadian nationalities of those involved. Urbacodon was described by a single … Read more
In Depth Leshansaurus was a mid-sized theropod of the late Jurassic of China with jaws that were proportionately longer than most other theropods of the time that also widened slightly. These features might denote a prey specialisation for Leshansaurus, perhaps somehow helping it to deal with the large variety of relatively small stegosaurs of the … Read more
In Depth Choconsaurus is a genus of primitive titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America at the start of the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Neuqu�n Province, Argentina. - Ameghiniana 55(1):1-29. - E. Sim�n, L. Salgado & J. O. Calvo - 2018.