In Depth Laplatasaurus was initially named in 1927 by the famous palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene, however a full description was not published until 1929, which is why Laplatasaurus is credited as being named in 1929. Laplatasaurus has a somewhat confusing relationship with the titanosaurid Titanosaurus. One former species of Titanosaurus, T. madagascariensis was in 1933 … Read more
In Depth The material of Vagaceratops was first removed from its block in 2001 when palaontologists identified it as a species of Chasmosaurus, C. irvinensis. Further study in 2010 however revealed it to be different enough to give it its own genus. Normal procedure for this occurrence is to take the specific species name of … Read more
In Depth Austriadactylus was at the larger end of the scale for Triassic pterosaurs, although it was still tiny if you compare it to the much later giants like Quetzalcoatlus that lived towards the end of the Cretaceous. Quite a unique feature for Austriadactylus however is its head crest which rose up two centimetres from … Read more
In Depth Kleskunsaurus is a genus of lizard that lived in Canada during the Cretaceous. Further Reading - Borioteiioidean lizard skulls from Kleskun Hil (Wapiti Formation; upper Campanian), west-central Alberta, Canada. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(4):1090-1099. - R. L. Nydam, M. W. Caldwell & F. Fanti - 2010.
In Depth Out of all the hadrosaurs (popularly known as duckbilled dinosaurs) Aralosaurus is noted for having extremely little in the way of fossil material attributed to it; a piece of the skull. This piece however does suggest the presence of an arched nasal area similar to that seen in other genera such as Gryposaurus … Read more
In Depth Neptunidraco is a genus of medium sized metriorhynchid crocodile that has a noted similarity to the genus Geosaurus. Like with other metriorhynchid crocodiles, Neptunidraco was adapted for a life living and hunting at sea where it was a predator of fish as well as probably other smaller reptilian marine organisms. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Isasicursor is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Further reading - Paleontological discoveries in the Chorrillo Formation (upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous), Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. - Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Nueva Serie 21(2):217-293. - Fernando Novas, Federico Agnolin, Sebasti�n Rozadilla, … Read more
In Depth Aorun was a genus of coelurosaurian theropod that lived in China during the late Jurassic period. The holotype remains of are those of an individual which means that adults would have been a bit bigger and a little different, though the holotype remains of this genus are still enough to identify a new … Read more
In Depth Classed as a silesaurid (relative of Silesaurus), Kwanasaurus is a herbivorous dinosauromorph that lived in North America during the late Triassic. Dinosauromorphs include the ancestors of the dinosaurs, but the appearance of Kwanasaurus in the late Triassic when true dinosaurs were already roaming around suggests that Kwanasaurus, and other silesaurids were evolutionary off … Read more
In Depth Although somewhat lacking in fossil material, Harpactognathus has still been found to have a crest that runs down the entire skull, all the way to the tip of the jaws. Further Reading – A new scaphognathine pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic Formation of Wyoming, USA. In: Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.- M. (eds.). … Read more