In Depth Although discovered in a joint Mongolian and Russian dig in 1989, Achillobator did not get named until 1999. These remains are very fragmentary but do suggest that Achillobator was a particularly large dromaeosaurid dinosaur. The achilles tendons seem to have been particularly well developed, probably to account for the extra size and weight … Read more
In Depth Descriptions of the fossils of Anguanax first came to press in 2014, though the genus was not officially named until 2015 when further fossil remains could be described for it. With the first fossils coming from Northern Italy, Anguanax is recognised as being the he first pliosaur genus to be known from articulated … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Plesiosaurus by Richard Owen in 1865, it was identified as a distinct genus just under a hundred years later in 1964. Archaeonectrus is now regarded as a rhomaleosaurid pliosaur, and would have been a predator of other marine organisms. Further Reading – A monograph of the fossil … Read more
In Depth Crittendenceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in Western portion of North America during the late Cretaceous. While many fossils of various types of animals have been discovered in the Fort Crittenden Formation of Arizona, Crittendenceratops is the first distinct genus to be named from this formation. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Zby, other than it was a eusauropod dinosaur that seems to have featured similarities with the genus Turiasaurus from Spain, which may also be the largest sauropod dinosaur known from Europe. Zby might sound like a strange name for an animal, but this dinosaur was actually named … Read more
In Depth Alxasaurus was a very significant discovery since study of the bones of this dinosaur reveal both specialised therizinosaur morphs as well as more standard’ theropod features. Combined with its appearance in the early Cretaceous, Alxasaurus is firmly established as a transitory form that shows a stage of development between general theropods and the … Read more
In Depth Nanningosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous, and is also the first genus of hadrosaur identified as living in southern China. Further Reading - The first hadrosaurid dinosaur from southern China. Acta Geologica Sinica 81(4):550-554. - J. Mo, Z. Zhao, W. Wang & X. Xu … Read more
In Depth Kyasuchus is a genus of protosuchian crocodile that lived in Russia during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - [First discovery of a fossil crocodile skull in Siberia], by M. B. Efimov & S. V. Leshchinskiy. In, Materialy regionalanoj konferencii geologov Sibiri, Dalshchnego Vostoka i Severo� ’Vostoka Rossii, A.V. Komarov (ed). Gala Press. - … Read more
In Depth Keilhauia is a genus of opthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous. Though only known from partial remains, Keilhauia shares many similarities to the genera Cryopterygius and Caypullisaurus. Further Reading - A new ophthalmosaurid (Ichthyosauria) from Svalbard, Norway, and evolution of the ichthyopterygian pelvic girdle. - PLoS ONE 12(1):e0169971. - L. L. … Read more
In Depth Though known only from very few fossils, Adratiklit is the first known example of dacentrurine stegosaur from North Africa. At the time of naming however, we do not know other details such as the type and extent of plates and spikes that would have run down its back as the genus was named … Read more