In Depth While palaeontologists are certain that Dracopelta was an ankylosaur, no one knows for certain if the genus was a nodosaurid or an actual ankylosaurid (an actual member of the Ankylosauridae). Nodosaurid is perhaps the most likely answer given that we know that out of these two groups nodosaurids appeared first. Ankylosaurids by contrast … Read more
In Depth Jinzhousaurus is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. With an estimated length of about seven meters, Jinzhousaurus was a medium to large sized hadrosauroid dinosaur, and is noted for having a skull that grew out to a substantial width at the back, while a small crest … Read more
In Depth Sinocoelurus is a dubious genus given that it is only based upon the description of teeth, making this a tooth taxon. The only thing that can be said about Sinocoelurus with any confidence is that given the size of the teeth, the holotype individual would have been a small theropod. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Adinophis is a genus of madtstoiid snake that lived in Madagascar during the Ceretaceous. Relatives genera of Adinophis include Wonambi, Menarana, Sanajeh, Yurlunggur, Madtsoia and Gigantophis. Further Reading - New snakes from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Basin, Madagascar. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(5):1080-1093. - A. C. Pritchard, J. A. McCartney, … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Eshanosaurus, yet it has still managed to be a controversial dinosaur. Thought to be one hundred and ninety-six million years old, the partial dentary of Eshanosaurus (currently the only part known) goes as far back as the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic. The describers of the dentary … Read more
In Depth The nasal horn of Einiosaurus is quite unusual in that it curves forward to point towards the ground, something which is reflected in the species name E. procurvicornis which translates to English as ‘forward curving horn’. In young Einiosaurus this horn is thought to have started out small, but as the individual grew … Read more
In Depth Atlantosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, though his first choice of name was Titanosaurus. However, Titanosaurus had actually been established as a genus name by Richard Lydekker earlier that same year, so Marsh renamed his fossils as Atlantosaurus. At the time of their original naming, the two vertebrae that are … Read more
In Depth Podokesaurus is often spoken about as being a valid genus, yet the partial remains of the fossils attributed to this genus are considered to be near identical of another dinosaur named Coelophysis. In fact the genus is sometimes referenced as Coelophysis holyokensis, though the genus name Podokesaurus also still appears in use despite … Read more
In Depth Not only was Cymbospondylus one of earliest ichthyosaurs named, it was also one of the first to swim in the Triassic oceans. Cymbospondylus is an example of the primitive ichthyosaurs that were yet to evolve dorsal fins and developed tail flukes which left it with a long body, half of which was tail. … Read more
In Depth Shanyangosaurus is a little known genus of coelurosaurian dinosaur that lived in China. Further Reading - The development and environmental changes of the intermontane basins in the Eastern part of Qinling Mountains. - Geological Publishing House, Beijing. - X. Xue, Y. Zhang, Y. Bi, L. Yue & D.-K. Chen - 1996.