In Depth When first discovered only the top part of the skull of Majungasaurus was known. This fragment revealed a dome like structure which was taken to be indicative of a pachycephalosaur. Further fossil material would reveal the truth about Majungasaurus being a carnivorous theropod, although this was not the first time that a carnivorous … Read more
In Depth Further Reading A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 587. – C. A. Brochu & G. W. Storrs – 2012.
In Depth Barcinosuchus is a genus of peirosaurid crocodile that lived in South America during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - The first crocodyliform from the Chubut Group (Chubut Province, Argentina) and its phylogenetic position within basal Mesoeucrocodylia. - Cretaceous Research 30 (6): 1376–1386. - Juan Mart�n Leardi & Diego Pol - 2009.
In Depth Itapeuasaurus is a genus of rebachisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the early portion of the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new rebbachisaurid (Sauropoda: Diplodocoidea) from the middle Cretaceous of northern Brazil. - Cretaceous Research. - R. M. Lindoso, M. A. A. Medeiros, I. S. Carvalho, A. A. Pereira, … Read more
In Depth Nodocephalosaurus was described in 1999 from a partial skull but still managed to make news amongst palaeontologists because it was unlike other North American ankylosaurs. In fact the shape of the skull of Nodocephalosaurus is actually more like the skulls of the ankylosaurs Saichania and Tarchia, both currently only known from central Asia. … Read more
In Depth Halisaurus was first named all the way back in 1869 during a period in American paleontological history today known as the ‘bone wars’. However a year later Othniel Charles Marsh, the person who named Halisaurus, became aware of a genus of fish called Halosaurus and mistakenly came to the conclusion that Halisaurus was … Read more
In Depth Bissektipelta was first named as a species of Amtosaurus in 2002, however a subsequent evaluation of that genus found the type species, A. magnus to be indeterminate and possibly be those of a hadrosaur and not an ankylosaur. As such, the braincase that represented the second species, A. archibaldi was moved to its … Read more
In Depth Pabwehshi is a genus of terrestrial crocodile that lived and hunted on dry land. At the time of writing, Pabwehshi is only known from the Pab Formation of Pakistan where fossils of Pabwehshi were laid down during the Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous. Pabwehshi is usually credited as being a member if the … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Schleitheimia were originally recovered in the early 1950s by Emil Schutz, then in 1986 named as belonging to Plateosaurus. A subsequent study of the fossils in 2020 (Rauhut et al) found them different enough to warrant the creation of a new genus. The name Schleitheimia is derived from the name Schleitheim, … Read more
In Depth Kayentasuchus is a genus of small sphenosuchian crocodilomorph that lived in the south-west of the USA during the early Jurassic. Overall Kayentasuchus is noted for having a gracile build with slender limbs. The front of the skull is narrow with the lower jaw curved upwards, indicating that Kayentasuchus may have been quite specialised … Read more