In Depth Before this genus was named, Koreanosaurus was the informal name given to a theropod dinosaur, though because no formal description for these theropod fossils was published, the name Koreanosaurus was still available. Henceforth, Koreanosaurus is now a valid genus of ornithopod dinosaur. Koreanosaurus is a possible relative of the genera Orodromeus, Oryctodromeus and … Read more
In Depth In terms of paleontological study, Hadrosaurus was a genus of firsts. One of the things that the genus is famous for is that it was the first dinosaur to have a skeleton mounted for public display. Earlier reconstructions such as the now outdated dinosaurs of Crystal Park in England are brick and concrete … Read more
In Depth Hadrosaurs have a long association with North America, but they are known from other areas like Asia where they are usually represented by incomplete remains. Olorotitan however was almost complete and became widespread through palaeontology circles as the most complete lambeosaurine hadrosaurid outside of North America. With eighteen vertebrae Olorotitan is also remarkable … Read more
In Depth Named only from armoured plates, Glyptodontopelta is a genus of nodosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. The name Glyptodontopelta means ‘Glyptodon shield’, a reference to its similarity to the armour of the genus Glyptodon, a large ground dwelling xenarthran mammal that lived much later in South America during the … Read more
In Depth Initially named in 1918, Notoceratops may not only be the first ceratopsian dinosaur named from South America, but all of Gondwana, the southern collection of landmasses that split from the Northern continents during the Mesozoic. Not everyone was initially convinced however, and even to this day some still question the validity of Notoceratops … Read more
In Depth In the closing years of the twentieth century a bone bed containing the remains of at least twenty-seven juvenile dinosaurs was excavated in South Africa. The 2022 study describing the genus (Forster et al.) considers these juveniles to represent everything from hatchlings to subadults, Possibly located at a nesting site. The 2022 description … Read more
In Depth Named after the Gobi Desert, Gobiceratops seems to have been a small bagaceratopsid ceratopsian, though since the genus is only known from a juveniles skull, the full adult size is uncertain. Despite this, Gobiceratops may have been a close relative of Bagaceratops. Further Reading - The tiny horned dinosaur Gobiceratops minutus gen. et … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description, Mymoorapelta was the first Jurassic aged ankylosaur to be discovered in North America. Since this description however, other have questioned exactly what kind of ankylosaur Mymoorapelta was. Mymoorapelta does not have a tail club like ankylosaurids, meaning that it was more likely a nodosaur. The original describers … Read more
In Depth Out of all the hadrosaurs (also known as the duck-billed dinosaurs) Parasaurolophus is one of the most widely recognised thanks to its very distinctive skull crest. The name Parasaurolophus is a bit of a mouthful, but this is based around the early interpretation that Parasaurolophus was similar to another genus names Saurolophus (which … Read more
In Depth Torosaurus was first named upon the description of two partial skulls by Othniel Charles Marsh all the way back in 1891, two years after he had named the much more famous Triceratops. The most common mistake regarding the name Torosaurus is the meaning, with many people misquoting it as meaning ‘bull lizard’ after … Read more