In Depth Leptopleuron was a genus or procolophonid reptile that lived in Scotland during the Late Triassic. The exact diet of Leptopleuron is uncertain, though procolophonids in the late Triassic seem to be more herbivorous than earlier procolophonids were more insectivorous. Further Reading - The braincase structure of Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen (Parareptilia: Procolophonidae). - Journal … Read more
In Depth Named in 1856 by Joseph Leidy on the description of teeth, Palaeoscincus is today considered a highly dubious genus of ankylosaur. While over the years other fossil material has been assigned to the genus, most of this material has now been reassigned to other dinosaur genera including the dinosaurs Euoplocephalus, Paranthodon and even … Read more
In Depth The one thing that immediately stands out about Dakotaraptor at first glance is simply the large size of this dromaeosaurid dinosaur. Most dromaeosaurid dinosaurs measure in at under two meters in length, with a few genera ranging between two and three meters long. The Holotype individual of Dakotaraptor however has a reconstructed length … Read more
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