In Depth Every so often a dinosaur is discovered that makes people sit up and take notice, and arguably in 2022 that dinosaur was Meraxes. This is because the Meraxes genus has a number of accolades to its name. First is that at the time of its naming in 2022, Meraxes is the most completely … Read more
In Depth Chanaresuchus is a genus of proterochampsian archosauromorph that lived in South America during the Triassic. With known skull sizes ranging up to twenty-six centimetres in length, Chanaresuchus would had the potential to have been a moderately sized predator, but nothing near the scale of large rauisuchians such as Saurosuchus. Chanaresuchus however would have … Read more
In Depth The name Elanodactylus ‘kite finger’ is actually in reference to a type of bird of prey called a kite, the specific genus in relation to the name being Elanus. This is because like a kite, Elanodactylus had especially long wings that would have made it stand out from other pterosaurs. Although Elanodactylus has … Read more
In Depth Gobihadros is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur known to have lived in central Asia during the earlier stages of the late Cretaceous. Known from numerous fossils from several individuals of varying ages and sizes, and some of these articulated, Gobihadros is one of the best preserved hadrosaurs from Asia. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth There is a lot of confusion about the pliosaur genus Sinopliosaurus, all stemming from a misidentification of some spinosaurid dinosaur teeth as those belonging to a marine reptile. The first species of Sinopliosaurus, S. weiyuanensis was established by C. C. Young, and was established as a pliosaur. Then in 1975 a second species … Read more
In Depth Quaesitosaurus is only known from a partial skull of what appears to have been a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur, however it has also drawn similarity to Nemegtosaurus that is also from the same area and also only known from a skull. If true then Quaesitosaurus may also be connected Opisthocoelicaudia which is only known … Read more
In Depth Although based upon incomplete remains, Ceratonykus is known to have been one of the alvarezsaurs. Other alvarezsaurs from the same formation include Parvicursor and possibly Mononykus. Further Reading - Ceratonykus oculatus gen. et sp. nov., a new dinosaur (? Theropoda, Alvarezsauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. - Paleontological Journal 43(1):94-106. - V. … Read more
In Depth Although the last part of the name ‘suchus’ is ancient Greek for crocodile, Sulcusuchus was actually a plesiosaur, a member of the famous group of long necked marine reptiles of the Mesozoic. In more specific terms it is considered to be a polycotylid plesiosaur, with one of the more famous members of this … Read more
In Depth Although only known from incomplete skull and lower jaw material, Zhuchengtyrannus was still almost certainly one of the largest of the Asian tyrannosaurines. Also, even though the teeth of the holotype are not particularly well preserved, there are more as yet unidentified teeth that are known from that location that may yet prove … Read more
In Depth Sinornithosaurus was especially well preserved, and not only were the presence of feathers clearly revealed; they showed indications of having differing colours for different body areas. The feathers, while not exactly like those of modern birds, are still more advanced than in other species, including some of the later dromaeosaurids. This is significant … Read more