In Depth Although Acherontisuchus was named upon the basis of four specimens, there is the possibility that these remains may be all from the same individual. Acherontisuchus were dyrosaurid crocodiles that inhabited the rivers and water systems of Colombia. Acherontisuchus grew quite a bit bigger than other dyrosaurid crocodiles, and although long-snouted, also differed by … Read more
In Depth There are a great number of known thalattosuchian (a.k.a. sea crocodiles) genera known to us, and amongst these it is the species of the Machimosaurus genus that are amongst the largest known to us. The largest skulls of Machimosaurus have been confirmed to be over one and a half meters in length, … Read more
In Depth Jianianhualong is a genus of troodontind dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. The holotype individual has an almost perfect state of preservation in the skeleton, and while some bones are not too clearly distinguished, the only significant thing missing from it is the tip of the tail. The whole animal … Read more
In Depth Yunmenglong is a genus of somphospondylin sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Although the skeleton of the holotype is incomplete, Yunmenglong is considered to have been related to other genera such as Erketu and Qiaowanlong. Further Reading A new sauropod dinosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Cretaceous of … Read more
In Depth Although still only known from a few bones, Ichthyovenator remains a very exciting discovery as at the time of its discovery it was still the most complete spinosaurid dinosaur known from Asia, and still more complete than other spinosaurid genera such as the South American Oxalaia. Ichthyovenator is also the first known spinosaurid … Read more
In Depth In 1914 the palaeontologist Charles Whitney Gilmore described a new species of Stegosaurus which he named S. longispinus. The name was chosen as a reflection of the unusually large tail spines that were much longer than those seen in other Stegosaurus fossils. For many years however the validity of S. longispinus was called … Read more
In Depth Lohuecotitan is a genus of titanosaur that lived in Spain during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). - Cretaceous Research. - V. D�ez D�az, P. Mocho, A. P�ramo, F. Escaso, F. Marcos-Fern�ndez, J. L. Sanz & F. Ortega - … Read more
In Depth Cryptoclidid plesiosaurs (those typified by Cryptoclidus) seem to have become very rare towards the end of the Cretaceous with Kaiwhekea being one of the few known members of this family present this late in the Mesozoic. Like with so many of the late surviving plesiosaurs, Kaiwhekea seems to have survived this long by … Read more
In Depth Described as a compsognathid dinosaur in 2016, the holotype Beipiaognathus has since been accused of being a fake. The theory is that the holotype is actually parts of many different creatures that an unscrupulous fossil dealer has stuck together in order to sell the fossil for more money. Unfortunately this is an often … Read more
In Depth Europasaurus was a macronarian sauropod which means it was similar in form to such dinosaurs as Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus. However Europasaurus itself was much smaller than either of these two genera, in fact it is one of the smallest dinosaurs of its kind. The small size of Europasaurus has been interpreted as a … Read more