In Depth Sonorasaurus may look like an atypical brachiosaurid dinosaur (as in similar to the famous Brachiosaurus), but the genus actually represents the first known example of a brachiosaurid dinosaur in North America during the Cretaceous, specifically around the early/late Cretaceous boundary. This is yet further evidence that counters the now outdated theory that the … Read more
In Depth Originally described as belonging to a species of Megalosaurus in 1884, Friedrich von Huene renamed the fossils of teeth and vertebrae to Altispinax in 1923. This name reflects the size of the neural spines of the vertebrae, fossils that were later attributed to the genus after it was established upon the description of … Read more
In Depth It is something of a paradox that one of the most popular dinosaurs of all time is understood by some of the most incomplete fossil remains. What can be gleaned from the available fossil material is that Ankylosaurus was one of if not the largest of the group. The incomplete fossil evidence however … Read more
In Depth Taurovenator is a genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous. At the time of writing, Taurovenator is only known from partial skull remains. Further Reading - New theropod fauna from the Upper Cretaceous (Huincul Formation) of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. - New Mexico Museum of Natural History … Read more
In Depth It is quite surprising when you think about how Aublysodon is represented in so many dinosaur books and internet sources even though back when it was described in 1868 it was only from teeth. Still this was a sign of the times back then with other discoveries such as Troodon, which was also … Read more
In Depth Once considered a possible nodosaurid, Aletopelta was confirmed as an ankylosaurid when it was formally described in 2001. This interpretation came about mainly from study of the osteoderm armour which is more like the armour of known ankylosaurs and less like that of nodosaurs. By extension Aletopelta would be assumed to have had … Read more
In Depth Although only named from the description of hind legs, Alnashetri has been identified as an alvaresauroid. These small theropods are noted for having short stubby arms with single claws pointing out, which may helped them to feed upon certain types of prey like insects. This remains unknown for certain with Alnashetri since at … Read more
In Depth Astrodon has been a troublesome genus of sauropod dinosaur, partly because of the lack of complete remains for the genus which was initially primarily named from the teeth. Astrodon also has an uncertain relationship with the genus Pleurocoelus, with some authors considering the two to be synonymous, to just some species of Pleurocoelus … Read more
In Depth The original bones of Mochlodon were first discovered in 1859, but were not formerly identified until 1870. When named by Emanuel Bunzel, the remains were identified as those of a new species of Iguanodon. However, by this time Iguanodon was being treated as a ‘wastebasket taxon’ for any remains that had a superficial … Read more
In Depth Talos is so far only known from a partial post cranial skeleton that is mostly represented by the rear limbs. However when these remains are scaled to the same proportions as other more complete troodontid genera, a rough estimate of around two meters in length can be attained for the animal. Like other … Read more