In Depth Sail-backed rauisuchian archosaurs are not especially well known, but they do seem to have existed in reasonably high numbers, although it is also important not to confuse them with the earlier sail-backed pelycosaurs of the Permian such as Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. Upon is initial discovery and description, Lotosaurus was thought to have been … Read more
In Depth Holotype fossils of Vivaron were first discovered in 2009, however they were at first thought to represent further remains of the famous Postosuchus. The addition of two prong-like projections to the rear of the maxilla which connect to the jugal have actually revealed that these fossils do not belong to Postosuchus, but a … Read more
In Depth Sinusonasus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Sinusonasus means ‘wave nose’, and this name was given after the way the snout on the holotype skull has an undulating profile kind of like a wave. The tail vertebrae of Sinusonasus are also noteworthy in that the … Read more
In Depth One thing that made Dilong stand out from other dinosaurs upon its discovery was the impressions of protofeathers. These protofeathers were not capable of enabling flight, but were very good at insulating, keeping heat in the body. A higher base temperature for a cold blooded creature means a faster metabolism and more active … Read more
In Depth First discovered in 1984 and originally described as a species of Stokesosaurus in 2008, S. langhami was re-described as a new genus of tyrannosaur in 2013. As is standard practice with such occurences, the original species name of langhami was retained to create the new type species, Juratyrant langhami. The species name is … Read more
In Depth Initially described as a species of Pterodactylus, Cimoliopterus was named as a distinct pterosaur genus in 2013. Little is known about Cimoliopterus due to the parcity of known fossils which are fragmentary at best. However, the fact that fossils of this pterosaur have been found in both England and the USA indicates that … Read more
In Depth Indosinosuchus is a genus of thalattosuchian (sea crocodile) that lived in waters around Asia, possibly around the late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous. Further reading - A new freshwater teleosaurid from the Jurassic of northeastern Thailand. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38(6):e1549059. - J. E. Martin, S. Suteethorn, K. Lauprasert, H.-Y. Tong, E. Buffetaut, R. … Read more
In Depth Based upon fossil remains first discovered in 1980, Xenotarsosaurus was named because of the complete fusion between the astragalus and calcaneum bones of the ankle, something that is quite unusual for a theropod dinosaur. At the time of the original description, the rear leg of Xenotarsosaurus was shown to share some similarities with … Read more
In Depth Borogovia is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. As a troodont, Borogovia would have been a predator, certainly capable of taking down smaller prey animals by itself. Also like other troodonts, Borogovia had a specialised second toe, but unlike them, the claw was not sickle shaped … Read more
In Depth Borealonectes is a genus of rhomaleosaurid pliosaur , a type of pliosaur that had a smaller head and longer neck than other larger pliosaurs such as Kronosaurus and Simolestes. The holotype fossils of Borealonectes were actually found within the Canadian Arctic, hence the name of the genus. Rhomaelosaurid pliosaurs like Borealonectes could be … Read more