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
In Depth Hailing from Croatia, Histriasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, and a close relative to the genus Rebbachisaurus. Further Reading - Remains of Sauropoda (Reptilia, Saurischia) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Hauterivian/Lower Barremian) limestones of SW Istria (Croatia). - Geologica Croatica 51(2):105-134. - F. M. Dalla Vecchia - 1998.
In Depth Named from a single humerus, Zhuchengtitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous. Although not much to go on, the humerus of Zhuchengtitan is similar to that seen in the genus Opisthocoelicaudia, indicating Zhuchengtitan was a saltasaurid tianosaur. Zhuchengtitan lived in a diverse ecosystem which … Read more
In Depth Xilousuchus is one of the oldest known archosaurs and like many other primitive forms it has a sail upon its back. This has seen Xilousuchus placed within the Ctenosauriscidae group of sail backed rauisuchian archosaurs that are typified by the genus Ctenosauriscus, although Xilousuchus is actually thought to be more closely related to … Read more
In Depth Acrocanthosaurus immediately sticks out from other large theropods with its high dorsal spines than run from the neck to the tip of the tail. There have been many artistic representations for this structure from the spines standing proud from the body, to supporting a flap of skin. Modern thinking however comes from the … Read more
In Depth One of the most notable details of Rebbachisaurus are the tall neural spines of the vertebrae, which either stood proud from the back, or supported a sail or hump that ran along the spine. Aside from this Rebbachisaurus was a fairly generic diplodocid sauropod with a large build, long neck and whip-like tail. … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Ophthalmosaurus (O. chrisorum) a 2010 study saw the specimens elevated to the level of a distinct genus of ichthyosaur. Arthropterygius was also considered to be similar to Caypullisaurus, but not all researchers have followed this and instead treat Arthropterygius as a basal (primitive) member of the Ophthalmosauridae. … Read more
In Depth Deltavjatia was originally named as a species of Pareiasuchus (itself largely treated as a synonym to Pareiasaurus), and then later as species of Anthodon. Then in 1987 Deltavjatia was established as a distinct genus by Lebedev. Deltavjatia was a fairly standard pareiasaur, though the genus is noted as having several primitive features. Further … Read more