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
In Depth Venaticosuchus is a genus of pseudosuchian archosaur that lived in Argentina during the Triassic. Venaticosuchus is related to Riojasuchus and Ornithosuchus. Further Reading - Annotated list of the South American Triassic tetrapods, by J. F. Bonaparte. In Second Gondwana Symposium, Proceedings and Papers, S. H. Haughton (ed) – 1971. – Anatomy and phylogenetic … Read more
In Depth While superficially similar to Tanystropheus, Dinocephalosaurus appears to be more suited to aquatic hunting. Key evidence for this is the fact that the legs were not as well developed as the other protorosaurs that were land dwelling creatures. The eyes on the skull point upward suggesting that Dinocephalosaurus approached its prey from below … Read more
In Depth In terms of size, Anchiornis was a very small dinosaur indeed, though this is not the claim to fame for the genus. Anchiornis is known to have been feathered and one specimen is so well preserved that palaeontologists have been able to determine what colour and pattern these feathers were in life. Anchiornis … Read more
In Depth Hainosaurus is usually considered to be one of the largest known mosasaurs; however its actual size is a subject of on-going study. Early length estimates placed Hainosaurus at seventeen meters, while later study towards the end of the twentieth century revised this down to fifteen. A Hainosaurus specimen from Sweden that was described … Read more