In Depth Rutiodon was one of the earliest known phytosaurs, and to this day is one that is usually illustrated as an example of the group. Like with the other phytosaurs, Rutiodon had an incredible similarity to today’s crocodiles, something that still to this day causes some to incorrectly call phytosaurs ancient crocodiles. In actuality … Read more
In Depth By the start of the Late Cretaceous the central portion of North America had been submerged by a shallow sea. This created two landmasses out of the North American continent, Laramidia in the west and Appalachia in the east. Most Cretaceous era dinosaurs from North America have been found in what was once … Read more
In Depth At eight meters long Rocasaurus was actually quite small for a sauropod, though it still would have been one of the larger dinosaurs on the landscapes of late Cretaceous Argentina. However if the holotype is correctly interpreted as that of a juvenile, then adults of the genus would have certainly grown larger. Another … Read more
In Depth Huehuecanauhtlus easily has one of the hardest genus names to pronounce of any dinosaur. That aside, Huehuecanauhtlus was a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaurs that lived in what is now Mexico during the late Cretaceous. The region that the Huehuecanauhtlus holotypes are known from would have been near the southern tip of the landmass … Read more
In Depth Although the last part of the name, suchus, translates to English as crocodile, Ornithosuchus was actually an archosaur. These were the dominant reptiles of the Triassic some of which would diverge into true crocodiles, while others would take different paths to evolve into the dinosaurs. In fact the long hind legs that would … Read more
In Depth As a coelophysid, Lucianovenator was a small predatory dinosaur similar in form to other genera such as Camposaurus and Coelophysis. Lucianovenator would have been a predator of small creatures such as lizards and possibly scavenging carrion when available. Lucianovenator shared the same habitat with the dinosaurs Ingentia and Leyesaurus, while other creatures such … Read more
In Depth Procompsognathus has often been recreated in popular science work about dinosaurs where it is usually depicted as a very small bipedal theropod dinosaur. However since the initial description of the holotype fossils, further specimens have been referred to the genus, though these are controversial fossils that are widely seen as not belonging to … Read more
In Depth Although weathered and not entirely complete, the holotype of Linhevenator is still one of the most complete Late Cretaceous troodontid individuals so far known. Linhevenator is towards the larger end of the known troodontid size range, but its main unique features are its small arms, each with a very robust humerus. This may … Read more
In Depth Drinker might sound like an odd name for a dinosaur, but this dinosaur is named after Edward Drinker Cope, a man who in the late nineteenth century who made many of the most important discoveries in American paleontological history during that time. Most of this is derived from Cope’s involvement in the ‘Bone … Read more
In Depth Maip is a genus of megaraptorid dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous, and going by the size of the fossil bones, potentially one of the largest megaraptorid dinosaurs so far discovered. The describing authors of Maip also considered the presence of potential attachment points of ligaments upon the ribs. … Read more