In Depth Originally named as a species of Steneosaurus, S. baroni was found to represent a distinct genus in a university thesis written by Michela M. Johnson in 2019. The following year a new genus description was published for S. baroni, and thus the Andrianavoay genus was established. Andrianavoay was a thalattosuchian, but a more … Read more
In Depth Stratesaurus represents a genus of rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur, a type of plesiosaur noted for having a shorter neck and proportionately larger head than other plesiosaurs, though not to the extent of pliosaurs. The discovery of Stratesaurus in Hettangian aged rocks means that individual Stratesaurus were swimming in European waters near the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, which … Read more
In Depth With its incredibly long neck Omeisaurus is both a relative and possible comtempory to the more famous Mamenchisaurus. However previous Upper Shaximiao Formation fossils of Omeisaurus are now considered indeterminate. If Omeisaurus really does only exist in Lower Shaximiao deposits, then it may confirm that Mamenchisaurus replaced Omeisaurus since the former is only … Read more
In Depth Mendozasaurus is a genus of titanosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Although only known from incomplete remains, Mendozasaurus is thought to have had quite a long neck as well as osteoderms in the skin. Osteoderm armour in the skin has been observed in some other South American titanosaurs, with … Read more
Discovery, classification and naming Like with the dinosaur Megalosaurus, the official naming date for Mosasaurus actually belies its history of study. The first fragmentary skull material was found in the Netherlands in 1764, with subsequent study by Martinus van Marum concluding that the remains were those of a fish (To be fair to him … Read more
In Depth Xingtianosaurus is a genus of caudipterid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new caudipterid from the Lower Cretaceous of China with information on the evolution of the manus of Oviraptorosauria. - Scientific Reports. 9: Article number 6431. - Rui Qiu, Xiaolin Wang, Qiang Wang; Ning Li, … Read more
In Depth Anurognathus seems to have had a disproportionately large skull for such a small creature, but nevertheless, shows adaptations suited to an insectivorous diet. The teeth are small and sharp, and the head is wider than it is long. The eyes are also large and slightly face forwards allowing for some depth perception through … Read more
In Depth Draigwenia is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. Draigwenia is only known from a jaw fragment which over time has previously been attributed to Ornithocheirus, Amblydectes and Lonchodectes before being moved to a distinct genus in 2021. Further reading - On the validity of the genus Amblydectes … Read more
In Depth While the plesiosaurs are usually seen as predators of fish Aristonectes took the different and much more specialist path of filter feeder. The teeth in the jaws were very short with crowns that were less than one centimetre high. There were a high number of these teeth which were densely packed together in … Read more
In Depth Sektensaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new ornithopod dinosaur (Dinosauria; Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous of central Patagonia. - Cretaceous Research. - L�cio M. Ibiricu, Gabriel A.Casal, Rub�n D. Mart�nez, Marcelo Luna, Juan I. Canale, Bruno N. �lvarez & … Read more