In Depth Not many fossilised bones of this dinosaur are known, but those that are are simply huge. Comparing these bones to the more complete remains of other genera has resulted in very rough estimates of around thirty meters long, raising the probability that Ruyangosaurus was one of the largest animals to ever walk the … Read more
In Depth Janenschia is a genus of titanosaur that has a classification history closely tied to the African diplodocid sauropod Torneria and by extension the North American Barosaurus and the English Gigantosaurus. We start in England in 1869 when Harry Govier Seeley named Gigantosaurus based upon a few vertebrae, partial limb bones and an osteoderm. … Read more
In Depth Though described from a lower jaw, Pappocetus has been identified as distinct from other protocetid whales by the presence of a stepped notch on the underside of the jaw. Further Reading - A description of new species of zeuglodont and of leathery turtle from the Eocene of Southern Nigeria. - Proceedings of the … Read more
In Depth Libycosuchus is a genus of notosuchian crocodile that lived in North Africa during the earlier stages of the Late Cretaceous. Libycosuchus is noted for having a similarity to both Notosuchus and Simosuchus. Further Reading - Ergebnisse der Forschungreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wusten Agyptens: II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 1. Einleitung … Read more
In Depth Crichtonpelta was originally named as a second species of the ankylosaur Crichtonsaurus, however in 2014 the holotype skull of this species was re-described as distinct genus, making the species become a genus. Both Crichtonpelta and Crichtonsaurus were named in memory of Michael Crichton, the world famous novelist who in palaeontoligcal circles is best … Read more
In Depth Longchengpterus has been suggested to be a junior synonym to the pterosaur Nurhachius. As such, the future of Longchengpterus as an independent genus is uncertain. Further Reading – A new iodactylid pterosaur from western Liaoning. – Geological Bulletin of China 25(6):737-740. – L. Wang, L. Li, Y. Duan & S.-L. Cheng – 2006.
In Depth The discovery of Asfaltovenator was a very exciting discovery, as this was some of the best allosauroid dinosaur fossil remains discovered in South America. At the time of the genus description quite a lot was already known about the large theropod dinosaur fauna of Cretaceous South America, but possible ancestral forms of these … Read more
In Depth A relative of the world famous Protoceratops, Bagaceratops is unusual in that it is more primitive, yet appeared later. Bagaceratops seems to have been like other small ceratopsids of its kind, though most of the post cranial skeleton is still unknown. Bagaceratops would have cropped plants with its beak while also keeping an … Read more
In Depth Shihtienfenia is one of the first pareiasaurs known from China, and one that raised a few eyebrows. Most known pareiasaurs have four sacral vertebrae (the vertebrae that are housed within the pelvis), but Shihtienfenia has six. Unfortunately the skull of Shihtienfenia is still unknown, so it is still uncertain what other differences may … Read more
In Depth Leptorhynchos is based upon the description of caenagnathid oviraptorid dinosaur remains discovered in the Aguaja Formation of Texas, establishing the type species L. gaddisi. At the same time as this description, fossils from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta and originally attributed as a species of Ornithomimus, O. elegans, have also been re-described … Read more