In Depth Although giant crocodiles like Sarcosuchus usually steal the limelight, the little ones such as Bernissartia can prove just as interesting. Aside from being one of the smallest crocodiles in the fossil record, Bernissartia had two distinct types of teeth. The front teeth are sharp and pointed, and are thought to have been for … Read more
In Depth Concavenator is certainly different from the other known theropod dinosaurs that came before it. Its most striking feature is the protrusion above its hips that is caused by the extension of two presacral vertebrae. Its speculated that these vertebrae would have supported either a sail or hump structure. Theories as to its purpose … Read more
In Depth Lonchognathosaurus had jaws that were typical of the dsungaripterid pterosaurs in that they were pointed and lacked teeth towards the front of the snout. It’s thought that pterosaurs like Lonchognathosaurus used this design to dig out invertebrates so that they can be crushed with the stout teeth towards the rear of the mouth. … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Sibirotitan were first found in Russia during the 1950s, but not named until the disarticulated bones were put together and finally given a name in 2018. At the time of the genus description, Sibirotitan was regarded as one of the oldest titanisauriform sauropod dinosaurs on the Asian continent. Further detail than … Read more
In Depth Doswellia was a two meter long reptile that had an elongated body that was protected by a covering of bony scutes in a similar manner to a crocodile. Doswellia had a triangular shaped skull when viewed from above, the snout being much narrower than the posterior regions of the skull. The skull of … Read more
In Depth The name Litorosuchus means ‘littoral crocodile’, reference to the littoral (coastal) habitat that Litorosuchus is thought to have lived in. Litorosuchus measured about two meters long, though just over half of this was tail. The vertebrae of the tail had strongly developed and enlarged neural arches, and these combined with the proportionate length … Read more
In Depth Linhenykus has the distinctive feature of incredibly reduced arms that are typical of the alvarezsauroids. What makes Lynhenykus stand out from the group though is the fact that it had only one finger. A bone for a second finger was discovered but the nub is not thought to have been functional. Although at … Read more
In Depth Although neither a nothosaur nor a plesiosaur, Pistosaurus appears to be closely related to both. Pistosaurus had both a stiffened spine and limbs adapted into flippers, but still retained a palate like a nothosaur and for this reason Pistosaurus is often considered an evolutionary offshoot of a type that appeared alongside plesiosaurs while … Read more
In Depth Nqwebasaurus was a small theropod from probably the early Cretaceous of Southern Africa, but exactly what kind has been hard to establish. Current thinking is that Nqwebasaurus was actually a primitive ornithomimosaur, since specimens of Nqwebasaurus seem to show fewer teeth in the jaws than those of other theropods. This would follow the … Read more
In Depth Pararcus is a genus of placodont that lived in Europe during the Triassic. The placodonts are known to be specialist hunters of shellfish, and Pararcus is espected to have had a similar lifestyle. Further Reading – A new placodont sauropterygian from the Middle Triassic of the Netherlands. – Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. – N. … Read more