In Depth Camelotia was a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in England during the Late Triassic. However the rear limb is also similar to early sauropods, something which has seen the Camelotia genus tentatively assigned to the Melanorosauridae (type genus Melanorosaurus). The name Camelotia was derived from the name Camelot, the castle that was … Read more
In Depth So far the pachycephalosaur Texacephale is only known from partial skull bones, mostly of the dome that would have grown from the top the head. Texacephale is noted for having two flanges of bone that grew from each side of the dome. Further Reading - Texacephale langstoni, a new genus of pachycephalosaurid (Dinosauria: … Read more
In Depth Liaoningopterus was one of the largest pterosaurs known from China, and is considered to be similar to the pterosaur Anhanguera known from all over the world. Liaoningopterus had two crests on both the top of its snout and lower jaw, similar to Ornithocheirus which is why Liaoningopterus is placed within the Ornithocheiridae. Also … Read more
In Depth To date not much can be revealed about Bakonydraco other than it was almost certainly an azdarchid pterosaur. Bakonydraco did still differ from many other azdarchids however by having what appears to have been a tall, deep beak. This has implied a possibly piscivorous specialisation as opposed to a more general carnivore. It … Read more
In Depth Although Jianchangnathus has been found to have several similarities with Scaphognathus, its frontal teeth actually pointed forwards like with Dorygnathus. This may have been to make it easier for Jianchangnathus to pick up fish with its mouth, significantly increasing the chance of successful prey capture. Another pterosaur from the same deposit is Fenghuangopterus, … Read more
In Depth In 1965 on July 9th the Polish paleobiologist Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska made what would become marked as one of the most fascinating dinosaur discoveries of all time. During a joint Polish-Mongolian expedition into the Gobi desert of �mn�govi Province, Mongolia, she found the partial remains of a then unknown dinosaur, including a complete pair … Read more
In Depth Parksosaurus was first described by William Parks as a species of Thescelosaurus in 1926, but in 1937 Charles M. Sternberg reclassified it as a distinct genus. Sternberg chose the name Parksosaurus which means Park’s lizard in recognition of the initial work done by William Parks. Parksosaurus and Thescelosaurus together are proof that even … Read more
In Depth Mambawakale is a genus of paracrocodylomorph that lived during the Triassic. Further Reading - A new pseudosuchian archosaur, Mambawakale ruhuhu gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. - The Royal Society. 9 (2). - Richard J. Butler, Vincent Fernandez, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Jo�o Vasco Leite & David J. … Read more
In Depth A very fascinating discovery, Caelestiventus has helped add to our knowledge of Triassic age pterosaurs greatly. Most Triassic age pterosaurs are known from relatively incomplete remains so one with has skull and jaw material like Caelestiventus is rare indeed. The Caelestiventus holotype fossil is also among the first discovered in North America, most … Read more
In Depth The full type species name for this dinosaur is Lepidus praecisio which means ‘fascinating fragment’. This is because while not many fossils of this dinosaur are known, we can observe that the astragalus (talos) and calcaneum are fused into one, which is a trait of neotheropod dinosaurs. At the same time however, the … Read more