In Depth Proplanicoxa is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now England during the early Cretaceous. So far this dinosaur is only known from partial skeletal remains, and there is even speculation that Proplanicoxa may actually be synonymous with Mantellisaurus. Proplanicoxa was named for its similarity to the genus Planicoxa while … Read more
In Depth When fossils of Horshamosaurus were first discovered they were originally interpreted as coming from Iguanodon, but in 1996 they were re-described as a species of Polacanthus by William Blows. However in 2015 Blows re-described this species as a whole new genus named Horshamosaurus, citing clear differences in the vertebrae and armour. At the … Read more
In Depth It took a long time for the fossils of Neovenator to be studied and named, although such an occurrence is not unknown in the fields of Palaeontology. First discovered in 1978 from the chalk cliffs of the south-western Isle of Wight, a subsequent later visit led to the other remains of Neovenator being … Read more
In Depth Wamweracaudia is a genus of mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in Africa during the late Jurassic. Further Reading - Taxonomic affinities of the putative titanosaurs from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for eusauropod dinosaur evolution. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. - Philip D Mannion, Paul … Read more
In Depth Further Reading - On a titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) vertebral column from the Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous of Brazil - D. A. Campos, A. W. A. Kellner, R. J. Bertini, & R. M. Santucci - 2005.
In Depth As a creature that displays both dinosaurian and avian features, it is not known for certain how Rahonavis fits in with the evolution of birds from dinosaurs. This is problem shared with other discoveries such as Xiaotingia and even Archaeopteryx as the difining line of when a bird becomes a bird and not … Read more
In Depth First discovered in 2013, and named in 2015, Morelladon made headlines towards the end of 2015 as a rare example of a sailbacked dinosaur. Though dubbed a sailback, this sail was likely more like a hump as the neural spines of the vertebrae that supported it were very robust. These are way beyond … Read more
In Depth Tuojiangosaurus was the first stegosaurid to be discovered in China, and today remains the best known from Asia. Tuojiangosaurus itself is seen as a basal (primitive) form that displays a standard stegosaurid shape and posture while retaining features that would be lost in later genera. Tuojiangosaurus seems to have been limited to a … Read more
In Depth Moabosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the early Cretaceous. Moabosaurus is thought to be a member Turiasauria group of sauropods. Further Reading - Moabosaurus utahensis, n. gen., n. sp., a new sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of North America. - Contributions from the Museum of … Read more
In Depth The type specimen of Huanhepterus was discovered when it was exposed after a quarry side was blasted by explosives. Unfortunately this blast also destroyed the right hand side of the specimen. Huanhepterus was placed within the Ctenochasmatoidea group of pterosaurs because of the large number of slender teeth, and for this reason Huanhepterus … Read more