In Depth Named from a partial braincase, Vahiny is the second genus of titanosaurid dinosaur to be discovered in the Maevarano Formation of Madagascar, with the first being Rapetosaurus. The titanosaur Rapetosaurus has attained almost legendary status since it was named due to the fact that it is the most complete titanosaur discovered and represented … Read more
In Depth Gracilisuchus is a very Ancient, and very small relative of the crocodiles that we know today. Gracilisuchus however seems to have been mostly terrestrial walking about on four legs, but also having the ability to rear up and walk on just the two rear legs. The small size and gracile (hence the name) … Read more
In Depth It’s kind of obvious that the team behind the naming of the pterosaur Ikrandraco are fans of the 2009 film Avatar. The Ikran part of the name is a reference to the Ikran of the film, flying dragon-like creatures that are ridden by the Na’vi. The inspiration for this came from the large … Read more
In Depth Known from the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Djupedalia seems to have been a medium sized cryptoclided plesiosaur of the late Jurassic. The partial fossil remains of Djupedalia indicate that that the holotype was a juvenile at the time of death and that it was very similar to genera such as Muraenosaurus and … Read more
In Depth Jidapterus has had an uncertain phylogenetic history with researchers either not knowing or not agreeing on where to place it. Most now agree that Jidapterus belongs with the azhdarchid pterosaurs within the chaoyangopteridae because of its similarities to Chaoyangopterus which was described in the same year as Jidapterus. Further Reading – On a … Read more
In Depth Pterosaurs that belong to the Dsungaripteridae group are thought to have primarily if not exclusively fed upon shell fish, and adaptations for this diet can be clearly seen in Dsungaripterus itself. The tip of the snout is toothless and curves upwards. This would have been ideal for levering up shellfish that were stuck … Read more
In Depth Ischioceratops is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the late Cretaceous. Ischioceratops is a rare example of a ceratopsian dinosaur being named without any skull fossils. This has been possible in this case because the hip structure of Ischioceratops is quite unlike any other ceratopsian … Read more
In Depth First described in 2001, Nothronychus was the first genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur to be discovered in North America (the state of New Mexico in the USA), with other earlier notable discoveries such as Beipiaosaurus and Therizinosaurus being discovered in China and Mongolia. However the first fossil of Nothronychus called an ischium (the rear … Read more
In Depth Volgatitan is a genus of titanosaur that lived in Russia during the early Cretaceous period. Further Reading - The oldest titanosaurian sauropod of the Northern Hemisphere. - Biological Communications 63(3):145-162. - A. Averianov & V. Efimov - 2018.
In Depth Orodromeus was a small ornithopod dinosaur of the late Cretaceous that had boss-like growths on the jugals (cheek bones). Orodromeus has been considered to be similar to another small ornithopod named Oryctodromeus, which itself is considered to have been a burrowing dinosaur. It is still not known for certain if Orodromeus burrowed and … Read more