In Depth Gobipteryx is a genus of enantiornithine that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. Studies of Gobipteryx show that Gobipteryx would have been capable of flight soon after hatching out from the egg. This would have given Gobipteryx a significant survival advantage in a world heavily populated by small theropod dinosaurs. Studies of … Read more
In Depth Utatsusaurus is an important entry in the fossil record concerning marine reptiles as it is often considered one of the first ichthyosaurs and as such it is used by some as the bench mark for identifying basal (primitive) features in ichthyosaurs. This includes skeletal features similar to diapsid reptiles, today the group that … Read more
In Depth Argentinosaurus may well be the largest sauropod and by extension, dinosaur ever to live. Unfortunately only a few parts of the skeleton has been found so these have had to be compared with other more complete skeletons of different yet similar dinosaurs, with the closest match possibly being other titanosaurs such as Saltasaurus … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Vouivria were originally attributed to the dinosaur Bothriospondylus, however study of the fossils combined with the dubious status of Bothriospondylus meant that by the 1980s the fossils that these fossils were no longer thought to be Bothriospondylus. In 2017 the fossils were used to describe their own genus, Vouivria. Vouivria was … Read more
In Depth Xiongguanlong is what is considered to be an intermediate tyrannosaur, larger than the earlier species, smaller than the larger ones like Gorgosaurus and Alioramus. Xiongguanlong has a long snout on what is a quite narrow skull for a tyrannosaurid. Further Reading – A longirostrine tyrannosauroid from the Early Cretaceous of China. – Proceedings … Read more
In Depth The holotype bones of Haestasaurus were originally found in 1852 by a man named Samuel Husband Beckles who found them exposed by a low tide on a coast not far from Hastings. These remains were studied by Gideon Mantell (best remembered for naming Iguanodon) who considered them to represent a second species of … Read more
In Depth Undorosaurus is a genus of ichthyosaur which lived in the late Jurassic seas of what is now Russia. For a time Undorosaurus was speculated to be synonymous with Ophthalmosaurus, but today Undorosaurus is regarded by all to be a distinct genus, though one that is related to Ophthalmosaurus. Further Reading - A new … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Smitanosaurus have in the past been attributed to Morosaurus and subsequently Camarasaurus, but a study in 2020 found them to represent a distinct genus. Instead of being a macronarian sauropod dinosaur like Camarasaurus, Smitanosaurus is instead thought to have been a dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur. Smitanosaurus is named after J. August Smith, … Read more
In Depth Rugops, meaning ‘wrinkle face’, is an interesting name for a carnivorous dinosaur. This name comes from the numerous impressions in the skull bone from large blood vessels that once ran across the bone surface leaving a wrinkled appearance. It is thought that these extra vessels were here to provide additional oxygenated blood to … Read more
In Depth Once referred to as Crocodilus affuvelensis, a 2008 review by Jeremy Martin and Eric Buffetaut saw it placed into a new genus as Massaliasuchus. Before this time the fossil material was thought to have possibly been further examples of Allodaposuchus, another late Cretaceous crocodile that has also been found in France. Further Reading … Read more