In Depth The sauropod dinosaur Brachiosaurus earned its name from the fact that the arms, or rather the fore legs as it was quadrupedal, are actually longer than the hind legs. The fact that these are longer offers Brachiosaurus a passive advantage in reaching up into the tree canopy to feed as the neck is … Read more
In Depth There appears to be some confusion regarding the full size of Prestosuchus. Earlier fossil discoveries seemed to point at a total length of around five hundred centimetres for an adult Prestosuchus. However an almost complete specimen reported in 2010 was stated as being the equivalent of about six hundred and seventy centimetres long. … Read more
In Depth When initially described, the dinosaur Yaverlandia was thought to be a pachycephalosaur, but a later study in 2008 (Naish & Martill) clarified the genus as representing a theropod dinosaur. Further Reading - A primitive dome-headed dinosaur (Ornithischia: Pachycephalosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of England and the function of the dome of pachycephalosaurids. - … Read more
In Depth Yulong was a Late Cretaceous oviraptosaur, and one that was positively tiny, especially when compared to the very large oviraptosaur genera like Gigantoraptor. Unfortunately, the exact age of the Qiupa Formation is currently unknown at the time of writing, but we can say that Yulong probably lived in the same ecosystems as other … Read more
In Depth At the time of writing Pluridens is only known from lower jaws, but these show that this mosasaur was a highly specialised hunter. The lower jaw of Pluridens had at least twenty-eight tightly packed teeth, more than in other known mosasaurs, and hence the inspiration for the name Pluridens which means ‘many teeth’. … Read more
In Depth Eohyosaurus is a little known genus of rhynchosaur that lived in South Africa during the Triassic. As a rhynchosaur, Eohyosaurus would have been a squat quadrupedal herbivore that ate low growing plants. Further Reading - A new species of basal rhynchosaur (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the early Middle Triassic of South Africa, and the … Read more
In Depth Huinculsaurus is a genus of elaphrosaurine dinosaur that lived during the early periods of the late Cretaceous in South America. Further Reading - A new abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Huincul formation (lower upper Cretaceous, Neuqu�n Basin) of Patagonia, Argentina. - Cretaceous Research. - Mattia Baiano, Rodolfo Coria & Andrea Cau - 2020.
In Depth Urbacodon is truly an international genus, not so much by its geographic distribution, but because the team involved were from many different countries. The name Urbacodon means ‘URBAC tooth’, and URBAC is an acronym that recognises the Uzbek, Russian, British, American and Canadian nationalities of those involved. Urbacodon was described by a single … Read more
In Depth Leshansaurus was a mid-sized theropod of the late Jurassic of China with jaws that were proportionately longer than most other theropods of the time that also widened slightly. These features might denote a prey specialisation for Leshansaurus, perhaps somehow helping it to deal with the large variety of relatively small stegosaurs of the … Read more
In Depth Choconsaurus is a genus of primitive titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in South America at the start of the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Neuqu�n Province, Argentina. - Ameghiniana 55(1):1-29. - E. Sim�n, L. Salgado & J. O. Calvo - 2018.