In Depth Skybalonyx is a genus of drepanosaur that lived in North America during the late Triassic. Drepanosaurs are sometimes referred to as ‘monkey lizards’ for their commonly perceived lifestyle of climbing amongst trees with their enlarged ungual claws gripping branches. However the describers of Skybalonyx have a different interpretation for this genus, instead suggesting … Read more
In Depth Pentaceratops is one of the better known ceratopsian dinosaurs, yet some people still mistakingly think that it have five horns, based upon the literal translation of its name. In actual fact the nasal and brow (over the eye) horns make up number one to three, with horns four and five actually being the … Read more
In Depth Zulmasuchus was named in 2007 alongside the genus Langstonia, and both of them were former species of the genus Sebecus. At the time of writing Zulmasuchus is known from relatively incomplete material, though the genus is thought to have been a terrestrial predator like its nearest relatives. Fossils of Zulmasuchus are aged as … Read more
In Depth Charitomenosuchus is a genus of thalattosuchian that lived in European waters towards the end of the middle Jurassic period. As a thalattosuchian, Charitomenosuchus is more popularly known as a ‘sea crocodile’, and a member of a group of marine reptiles that seem to have spent most if not all of their lives in … Read more
In Depth Protocaptorhinus was one of the earlier genera of captorhinid reptiles to appear, and this is reflected in the genus name which translates as ‘first Captorhinus’, a comparison to the type genus of the Captorhinidae, Captorhinus. Further Reading - Romeriid Reptiles from the Lower Permian. - Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 144(5):353-407. … Read more
In Depth Cargninia is a genus of lepidosaur that lived in South America during the late Triassic. Further Reading - La fauna local de Faxinal do Soturno, Tri�sico Tard�o de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Paleontolog�a 13(3):233-246. - J. F. Bonaparte, C. L. Schultz, M. B. Soares & A. G. Martinelli - … Read more
In Depth Aside from being one of the best preserved Jurassic era sauropods from Africa, the features that really made people sit up and pay attention about Spinophorosaurus are the spiked osteoderms. Only a few of these were found, but the researchers involved with piecing Spinophorosaurus back together have come to the conclusion that these … Read more
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