In Depth Plateosaurus is probably the best understood sauropodomorph dinosaur currently known, and also one of the oldest dinosaur genera. Named in 1837, Plateosaurus actually predated the creation of the Dinosauria by Richard Owen in 1842, though the genus missed out on being one of the defining dinosaur genera (instead Owen used Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and … Read more
In Depth Rinchenia was originally described as a species of Oviraptor by Rinchen Barsbold in 1986, but a later re-evaluation identified the species as a distinct genus. Unfortunately for Oviraptor, this removed the only skull were the crest is preserved, meaning that reconstructions of Oviraptor are now based upon Rinchenia. This might not be a … Read more
In Depth Hulsanpes is a dinosaur genus that is so far only known from a single partial foot. Over time Hulsanpes has been described as everything from a primitive bird to a dromaeosaur, but in modern times all that most researchers will go as far as say is that Hulsanpes is some kind of maniraptoran … Read more
In Depth Bihariosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. However some researchers have pointed out that there are no clearly distinctive features seen in current Bihariosaurus fossils other than what can be commonly seen in other ornithopod genera. Bihariosaurus is noted a being similar to Camptosaurus. Further … Read more
In Depth Mad props to Kenneth Carpenter for naming a dinosaur Gojirasaurus. For those not familiar with the name, Gojira is the name of probably the most famous Japanese giant monster of all time that in the western world is better known as Godzilla. A little more information for fans and film buffs, Gojira is … Read more
In Depth Othnielia was originally named as a species of Nanosaurus as N. rex back in 1877 by famed American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. This was based upon a femur (YPM 1875), but in 1977, a later palaeontologist named Peter Galton renamed the femur as well as some associated skeletal remains as the genus Othnielia, … Read more
In Depth The type specimen of Nopcsaspondylus, a dorsal vertebra, was first described by Franz Nopsca in 1902, who referred it to the now dubious sauropod genus Bothriospondylus, quite surprising when you consider that the Bothriospondylus type material came from England. This vertebrae was renamed as Nopcsaspondylus in 2007, with the identification that it represents … Read more
In Depth Bought from a Moroccan fossil dealer, the only known fossil of Sauroniops is of the upper eye socket. This material however is unlike any other known theropod of the time and location, and displays enlargement of the bone growth, something that may have been the underlying support for eye crest displays in the … Read more
In Depth Incisivosaurus was a rather bizarre looking dinosaur thanks to its oversized front teeth of the upper jaw. More interesting though is the fact that these teeth show wear patterns that fit in with a herbivorous diet, an indication that although a theropod, Incisivosaurus was at the very least partially herbivorous. Apart from this, … Read more
In Depth Tongtianlong was discovered when blasting of a mudstone deposit revealed the skeleton of this dinosaur for the first time since the Cretaceous. Unfortunately this blasting process destroyed some of the skeleton, but fortunately when workers at the site realised what was there, they halted operations long enough to recover the specimen. This included … Read more