In Depth Palaeontology as we know it today has its foundation in nineteenth century Europe and dinosaurs first began to be named and classified in England in the first half of that century. As the first named dinosaur, Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur genus to have a taxonomic placement amongst other recognised animals, however this … Read more
In Depth The holotype specimen of Excalibosaurus was discovered in 1984, and consisted of partial remains of a skull and some of the post cranial skeleton such as ribs, vertebrae, forefin and an incomplete pectoral girdle. When pieced together these remains recreated an individual that was estimated to have been up to four meters long, … Read more
In Depth Initially named in 1918, Notoceratops may not only be the first ceratopsian dinosaur named from South America, but all of Gondwana, the southern collection of landmasses that split from the Northern continents during the Mesozoic. Not everyone was initially convinced however, and even to this day some still question the validity of Notoceratops … Read more
In Depth Thanos is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the Cretaceous. If the name is familiar, that is because this dinosaur is named after the character that appears in the Marvel comics universe. Further Reading - New record of abelisauroid theropods from the Bauru Group (Upper Cretaceous), S�o Paulo … Read more
In Depth Malawisuchus is a genus of ziphosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. Malawisuchus has a number of interesting features, including mammal-like teeth which may have been used for processing tough plants, and muscle attachment points on the hip and rear limbs which suggest that Malawisuchus may have been able to … Read more
In Depth In the closing years of the twentieth century a bone bed containing the remains of at least twenty-seven juvenile dinosaurs was excavated in South Africa. The 2022 study describing the genus (Forster et al.) considers these juveniles to represent everything from hatchlings to subadults, Possibly located at a nesting site. The 2022 description … Read more
In Depth Bannykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous. The overall lack of fossil remains at the time of its description makes it hard to ascertain details about Bannykus, though the size of the leg bones alone suggest that Bannykus was among the larger known alvarezsaurs. Further … Read more
In Depth Yet another oviraptosaur from the late Cretaceous of Asia, the partial remains of Luoyanggia make it hard to establish an accurate size for the genus, though it is noted to be towards the smaller end of the oviraptosaur size spectrum. Luoyanggia is usually placed within the Oviraptoridae, the same assignment as the original … Read more
In Depth Because of the fragmentary nature of Rhamphocephalus specimens it is hard to determine the kind of pterosaur that it was in life. Also the poor preservation of the specimens have led many to doubt if they actually represent a new genus, in fact the term wastebasket taxon has been applied to Rhamphocephalus much … Read more
In Depth Opisthodontosaurus is a genus of captorhinid reptile that lived in what is now Oklahoma during the Permian. Further Reading - A new captorhinid reptile from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma showing remarkable dental and mandibular convergence with microsaurian tetrapods. - The Science of Nature 102(9-10):50. - R. R. Reisz, A. R. H. LeBlanc, … Read more