In Depth Pissarrachampsa is a genus of terrestrial crocodile that lived in Brazil during the late Cretaceous. The precise point of time of the Cretaceous is still debated as some point between the Turonian and the Maastrichtian. All that is known for certain is that the holotype fossils of Pissarrachampsa came from the Vale do … Read more
In Depth The crocodiles seem to have been quite resilient to the effects of the KT extinction sixty-five million years ago that marked the death of the dinosaurs, as Brachychampsa is yet another genus of crocodylian that is known to have existed for several million years before and after this extinction event. Dyrosaurus is another … Read more
In Depth For its type Macroleter were fairly large predators that were procolopophonid parareptiles. One former species of Seymouria, S. agilis has been re-assigned as a second species of Macroleter. This makes the type species of Macroleter, M. poezicus known from Russia, and the second species, M. agilis known from the USA. There is also … Read more
In Depth Scaphognathus acquired the somewhat unglamorous name of ‘Tub jaw’ because of the robust snout construction. Still when first described, Scaphognathus was included into the pterodactyloidea because of the lack of a tail. This lack of tail actually misled the original examiner as in realty it had just failed to fossilise with the rest … Read more
In Depth Brasinorhynchus is a genus of rhynocosaur that lived in South America during the Triassic. Further Reading - A new rhynchosaur from south Brazil (Santa Maria Formation) and rhynchosaur diversity patterns across the Middle-Late Triassic boundary. - Palaeontologische Zeitschrift 90:593-609. - C. L. Schultz, M. C. Langer & F. C. Montefeltro - 2016.
In Depth Even though it was ten meters long, it is not its size that makes Stomatosuchus stand out but its presumed feeding strategy. The upper jaw only had small conical teeth, while the lower jaw has been suggested at being toothless, with the inclusion of a pelican like pouch underneath. This is unprecedented amongst … Read more
In Depth There are many interesting archosaurs that lay within the Allokotosauria group, and Shringasaurus is no exception. Although the holotype skull of Shringasaurus is incomplete, it is enough to confirm that this archosaur had large horns that rose up from above the eyes and pointed forwards. Horns such as these are usually seen as … Read more
In Depth Youngosuchus was first described in 1973 by C. C. Young as a species of the genus Vjushkovia, V. sinensis. In 1985 however a re-description by Kalandadze & A. G. Sennikov saw the species described as a distinct genus, Youngosuchus. Since then there has been some uncertainty as to what kind of archosauromorph Youngosuchus … Read more
In Depth Langobardisaurus was a small prolacertid reptile that was very lightly built. The rear legs can be clearly seen to be much longer than the fore legs, and while a quadrupedal pose may have been more usual when resting, a bipedal stance would have been easily possible when running or rearing up searching for … Read more
In Depth Leptoceratops is similar in form to the earlier ceratopsian dinosaurs that would evolve into the larger members of the group such as Chasmosaurus and Anchiceratops. However Leptoceratops lived much later than these ancestral forms as indicated by its entry into the fossil record at a time which would have seen Leptoceratops living in … Read more