In Depth Petrolacosaurus is the first diapsid known in the fossil record. The teeth are small and sharp suggesting insectivorous feeding, like the vast majority of the other small reptiles of the time. Also like many of the early diapsids, it was superficially similar to today’s small lizards. Petrolacosaurus is very similar to another reptile … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Analong were originally assigned to the Chuanjiesaurus genus until they were granted their own distinct genus in 2020. Analong was a mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the mid Jurassic. Further Reading A revision of the referred specimen of Chuanjiesaurus anaensis Fang et al., 2000: a new early branching … Read more
In Depth Lourinhanosaurus is a tantalising enigma for palaeontologists as although vastly incomplete the remains seem to reveal a sinraptorid theropod (the theropod group typified by Sinraptor). If true then this would make Lourinhanosaurus the first sinraptorid to be discovered outside of China, but other palaeontologists have suggested that Lourinhanosaurus might also be a megalosauroid … Read more
In Depth Anchisaurus was originally named Megadactylus polyzelus by Edward Hitchcock; however after his death it was realised that that Megadactylus had already been used to name another creature, and so it could not be used. Later in 1885, the famous American palaeontologists Othniel Charles Marsh renamed the fossils Anchisaurus, as well as identifying the … Read more
In Depth Because of the scant material available, Alectrosaurus is not very well known. The only thing that can be said about it with any confidence is that it was a tyrannosauroid, the superfamily that includes the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. Further elaboration on this is not currently possible and the exact position of Alectrosaurus within … Read more
In Depth It’s hard to imagine how a dinosaur can be named from just a single portion of a leg bone, but this is what happened with Ozraptor. Although incomplete, in 2005 the palaeontologist Oliver Rauhut noted that this tibia does have a vertical median ridge on the astragalar groove. Previously Ozraptor was labelled as … Read more
In Depth Daohugoupterus is a genus of small pterosaur that is so far known from Inner Mongolia. Daohugoupterus is thought to be related to genera such as Anurognathus, Dendrorhynchoides and Jeholopterus. Further Reading - Short note on a non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic deposits of Inner Mongolia, China ‘Historical Biology. An International Journal of … Read more
In Depth One of many small ornithopod dinosaurs from the Jurassic of China, there has been some speculation that Hexinlusaurus may actually represent a juvenile form of another ornithopod. Similar small ornithopods from the same formation as Hexinlusaurus include Agilisaurus, Yandusaurus and Xiaosaurus. Other herbivorous dinosaurs may have come across include stegosaurs Tuojiangosaurus and Huayangosaurus … Read more
In Depth Paludidraco is a genus of nothosaur known to have lived in Western European waters of the late Triasssic period. Paludidraco is thought to have been similar to the Simosaurus genus, yet while Simosaurus is thought to have been an active predator, the markedly different dentition of Paludidraco suggest a different lifestyle. The jaws … Read more
In Depth Brontomerus has been given its name for good reason, it had possibly the largest thigh muscles of all the known sauropods. This has been established from the proportionately large ilium that also projects forward. The ilium is where the thigh muscles attach and this enlargement not only suggests enlarged muscles but a degree … Read more