In Depth Often misidentified as an early dinosaur, Euparkeria is still sometimes hailed as the ancestor to dinosaurs. However this is a slight misnomer because while Euparkeria represents the form that the dinosaurs probably evolved from, there is no evidence to suggest that Euparkeria itself was ‘the’ ancestor. Euparkeria itself is placed within the Archosauromorpha, … Read more
In Depth Ahshislepelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Unfortunately the partial remains of Ahshislepelta which include a shoulder girdle, partial left forelimb, vertebrae and osteoderms (the bony armour) are not enough to identify the genus as either a general ankylosaurid or a more derived ankylosaurine. … Read more
In Depth The Valdosaurus holotype fossils of two thigh bones (femurs) were first recovered in 1848 but thought to represent Iguanodon, and eventually being thought to be fossils of Hypsilophodon. Skip forward over a hundred years later and palaeontologist Peter M. Galton used the two thigh bones to establish a new species of Dryosaurus, D. … Read more
In Depth As a late Triassic ichthyosaur, Toretocnemus displays some features that show a trend similar to that seen in other transitory ichthyosaurs like Mixosaurus, developing the advanced features that are more commonly associated with later forms like Ichthyosaurus. For a long time Toretocnemus was the only member of its group of ichthyosaurs until the … Read more
In Depth Although based only upon the description of the braincase, it has been enough to not only identify Nebulasaurus as a new eusauropod dinosaur, but also further hints that during the middle Jurassic Asia had a very diverse range of sauropod dinosaurs. By the late Jurassic this diverse range seems to have thinned out … Read more
In Depth Originally attributed as juvenile Saurornithoides mongoliensis, the partial left hind limb of this troodontid was firmly established as being of a different genus thanks to an osteohistological analysis of the bone. This revealed that the fossils were closer to Linhevenator tani, yet the team studying the remains concluded that while similar, the remains … Read more
In Depth Campylognathoides was much like the other basal pterosaurs that flew in the skies of Jurassic Europe. It is also probably that Campylognathoides shared the skies with the well-known pterosaur Dorygnathus as evidenced by the presence of both pterosaurs in the same fossil beds. However, although usually depicted as a fish hunting piscivore, Campylognathoides … Read more
In Depth First discovered in 1973, Arkansaurus was due to be formally named in 1977, tragically however the papers author Dr. James H. Quinn was killed in a fall while searching for fossils. Because the paper was not formally published, the name Arkansaurus was technically not valid. The name Arkansaurus however was not unknown and … Read more
In Depth The discovery of the pterosaur Kepodactylus was actually a by-product of the recovery of a Stegosaurus in Garden Park, Colorado. This is how Kepodactylus got a name meaning ‘garden finger’. The species name insperatus is referenced to the discovery of Kepodactylus being a pleasant surprise to the dig team. Further Reading – A … Read more
In Depth Described from very partial remains, Vitakridrinda is a difficult dinosaur to talk about other than it seems to have been an abelisaurid. Abelisaurs were the dominant type of theropods in the southern continents during the late Cretaceous while the tyrannosaurs dominated the North. Because of the abundance of late Cretaceous rocks in Asia, … Read more