In Depth Gorgosaurus had the same basic body plan of all tyrannosaurids with a large head on an s-shaped neck, small arms and bipedal stance. With around sixty teeth in its mouth (there is some variance between specimens) Gorgosaurus shared a common trait with other tyrannosaurids of its size, as the larger the tyrannosaurids go … Read more
In Depth Atlantochelys was first named in 1849 and based upon the description of half a humerus (analogous to your upper arm bone). For well over one hundred and fifty years that was it, but then in 2012 the missing half of this bone was actually matched up to the original specimen. Although Atlantochelys may … Read more
In Depth Closely related to the genus Foxemys, Puentemys is recognised as the largest known bothremydid turtle in the fossil record with a shell length of just over one and a half meters. Bothremydid turtles like Puentemys are a special group of the Pleurodira, a group more popularly known as ‘side-necked turtles’. This is because … Read more
In Depth So far only known from a partial skeleton, Chialingosaurus was still one of the first and hence most important stegosaur discoveries to take place in Asia. At up to four meters long it seems to have been small but comparable in size to Chungkingosaurus that is also known from the Shaximiao Formation. However … Read more
In Depth As a member of the rhamphorhynchoids, Cacibupteryx represents one of the more basal pterosaurs that were still common towards the end of the Jurassic. The jaws of Cacibupteryx are quite robust indicating that it was better adapted for more powerful prey than other more gracile pterosaurs. Further Reading – A new pterosaur from … Read more
In Depth Sometimes when people hear the name Antarctosaurus they assume that this dinosaur lived in Antarctica where in actuality it lived in Argentina. Antarctosaurus means ‘southern lizard’ and here it is a reference to being found on a southern continent. However the real problem with Antarctosaurus is that it is known from very incomplete … Read more
In Depth Since its naming in 1915, the Kangnasaurus genus of dinosaur has often been treated as dubious, mostly because the holotype of this dinosaur is actually a tooth. Other hind limb remains were also attributed to the genus however, and these remains do actually seem to be distinct enough for some to consider Kangnasaurus … Read more
In Depth Antarctopelta is the first armoured dinosaur known to have lived in Antarctica, though it should be pointed out that when Antarctopelta lived there, Antarctica was not covered in snow and ice. Antarctopelta was a kind of dinosaur called a nodosaur which means that in life it would have had a squat quadrupedal profile. … Read more
In Depth Alvarezsaurus was the first of a group of dinosaurs that were first discovered late into the twentieth century. Since it was the first, Alvarezsaurus was used to name this new group which became known as the alvarezsaurs. At the time of writing there are now several genera of alvarezsaurs known to us, but … Read more
In Depth Kunpengopterus is thought to have been very similar to Darwinopterus although it does not appear to have had the same expansive head crest. However Kunpengopterus does appear to have had a smaller head crest as evidenced by a small bony projection on top of the skull, above the eyes. Further Reading – New … Read more