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
In Depth Wunyelfia is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in waters around South America during the late Cretaceous. Further reading - Wunyelfia maulensis gen. et sp. nov., a new basal aristonectine (Plesiosauria, Elasmosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of central Chile. - Cretaceous Research. 118: Article 104651. - Rodrigo A. Otero & Sergio Soto-Acu�a … Read more
In Depth Selenemys is a genus of turtle that lived in Portugal during the late Jurassic. Further Reading - Selenemys lusitanica, gen. et. sp. nov., a new pleurosternid turtle (Terstudines: Paracryptodira) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(1):60-69. - A. Perez-Garcia & F. Ortega - 2011.
In Depth Eidolosaurus is a genus of mosasaur that lived during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - Eidolosaurus und Pachyophis, Zwei neue Neocom-Reptilien. - Palaeontographica (55)97-154. - F. Nopcsa - 1923.
In Depth Yamaceratops is a genus of primitive ceratopsian dinosaur that when first described was thought to have lived in the early Cretaceous, though later study has now revealed Yamaceratops to have lived during the late Cretaceous. Yamaceratops is named after Yama, a Tibetan Buddhist deity combined ‘ceratops’ which means horned face. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Mantellisaurus was originally described as a species of Iguanodon, I. atherfieldensis, but in 2007 Gregory S. Paul renamed the species as new genus. Paul chose the name Mantellisaurus in honour of Gideon Mantell, the man who discovered and named Iguanodon. Mantellisaurus was capable of movement in either a quadrupedal or bipedal posture, and … Read more
In Depth Discosaurus is a genus of plesiosaur that is known to have swam in the waters of the Western Interior Seaway during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - [Descriptions of a number of fossil reptiles and mammals] . - Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 5:325-328. - J. Leidy - 1851. … Read more
In Depth Pumiliopareia was a fairly small parieasaur though one that was not completely defenceless. The skin of Pumiliopareia was the housing for a multitude of osteoderm armour, though bony plates that floated within the skin that could stop the teeth and claws of most predators. Further Reading Further reading- A taxonomic revision of pareiasaurian … Read more
In Depth Irritator is proof that palaeontologists do have a sense of humour even if it is a dry one. The holotype specimen of Irritator was a skull that had been artificially elongated by illegal fossil collectors in the hope of increasing its monetary value (plainly speaking, to get more money for the fossil). Before … Read more