In Depth The fragmentary nature of Shaochilong resulted in it being included into the Chilantaisaurus genus, a theropod dinosaur also from the Ulansuhai Formation. However while fragmentary, the fossil remains for C. maortuensis were much larger that the estimated length of two and a half meters for other Chilantaisaurus material. Questions were first raised about … Read more
In Depth When fossils of this dinosaur were originally described as Lambeosaurus laticaudus, the estimated size of the species was given as between fifteen and sixteen and a half meters long, something that causes inaccurate size quotations for Lambeosaurus to this day even though larger individuals of this genus are around the nine meter mark. … Read more
In Depth Certainly one of the more difficult dinosaur names to pronounce, Mnyamawamtuka is a genus of titanosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous. The holotype of Mnyamawamtuka is recognised as one of the most complete titanosaurs ever discovered. The high level of completeness may be down to the fact that this creature was … Read more
In Depth Chromogisaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Triassic. At only about two meters long, Chromogisaurus was small for its kind, though certainly not unique. The main predators of Chromogisaurus would have mainly been the emerging theropod dinosaurs, though late surviving rauisuchians would have been potential … Read more
In Depth Weewarrasaurus is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived in Australia during the late Cretaceous. At the time of writing, Weewarrasaurus is known from only two dentaries’ (lower jaws), so precise details about this dinosaur are otherwise unknown. Further Reading - Ornithopod diversity in the Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia. … Read more
In Depth Iguanacolossus acquired its name from its similarity to another dinosaur named Iguanodon. Although Iguanacolossus might not actually have been any bigger than the largest examples of Iguanodon, it might still have been the largest ornithopod plant eating dinosaur alive in North America at this stage of the Cretaceous, with the only plant eaters … Read more
In Depth Bayannurosaurus is a genus of iguanodont dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A large-sized basal ankylopollexian from East Asia, shedding light on early biogeographic history of Iguanodontia. - Science Bulletin 63:556-563. - X. Xu, Q.-W. Tan, Y.-L. Gao, Z.-Q. Bao, Z.-G. Yin, B. Guo, J.-Y. Wang, L. … Read more
In Depth Traukutitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Traukutitan was named after Trauku, an Araucanian mountain spirit. The species name T. eocaudata is a reference to the primitive appearing form of the caudal vertebrae. There is speculation that Traukutitan was a lognkosaurian titanosaur, and this … Read more
In Depth Khaan is a genus of small oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous. Studies into Khaan individuals may have revealed differences between males and females. On some specimens, the caudal (tail) vertebrae have reduced chevrons, and this has been seen as a sign of a female. The reduced chevrons at … Read more
In Depth Batyrosaurus has been described as a basal hadrosauroid, the group of ornithopod dinosaurs that would give rise to the more derived hadrosaurids such as Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus towards the late Cretaceous. Compared to other hadrosauroids, the describers considered Batyrosaurus to be more advanced than Altirhinus, but more primitive than Probactrosaurus. In life Batyrosaurus … Read more