In Depth Bogolubovia did not come into existence until seventy-five years after the holotype was discovered in 1914 by Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov. Initially the remains were attributed to Ornithostoma as O. orientalis, and later reclassified as a species of Pteranodon. Now the original description can be compared with greater understanding of pterosaurs in general, Bogolubovia … Read more
In Depth Paleorhinus has been one of the key phytosaur genera for well over a hundred years now, however many of the species once assigned to the genus have now been re-assigned to other genera. At the time of writing the only recognised species of Paleorhinus are the type species P. bransoni from the USA, … Read more
In Depth On a Chinese construction site in 1973 a dinosaur skeleton was accidentally processed by a mechanical composter. Unfortunately by the time the workers had realised what had happened much of the dinosaur had already been damaged and in some places completely destroyed by the machinery, but palaeontologists were still able to reconstruct and … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Iguanodon by Richard Lydekker in 1888, the holotype fossils of this genus were actually named as a new genus twice in 2010, in two separate papers published that year. The holotype specimen was first named by David Norman as Barilium, and then by Kenneth Carpenter and Yusuke … Read more
In Depth Eumetabolodon is a genus of procolophonid reptile that lived in China during the Triassic. Further Reading - Tooth replacement in a new genus of procolophonid from the Early Triassic of China. - Palaeontology 26(3):567-583. - J. L. Li - 1983.
In Depth Simurghia is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Africa during the late Cretaceous. The holotype fossils of Simurghia were found in what was a marine environment, strongly showing that Simurghia lived in coastal ecosystems. Further Reading - Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. … Read more
In Depth Babibasiliscus is a relative of modern day basilisk lizards, some of which are also dubbed ‘Jesus Christ lizards’ for their ability to run across water for short distances. Babibasiliscus is best known from a skull, which when compared to average modern basilisk proportions yields an estimate of about sixty centimetres long for the … Read more
In Depth Magnamanus is a genus of iguanodont dinosaur that lived in Spain during the early Cretaceous. The name Magnamanus means ‘large hand’, a reference to the enlarged well developed hands that this dinosaur genus adapted, notably more so than other known iguanodonts. The first individual of Magnamanus was at the time of its naming … Read more
In Depth Mexichelys was originally described as a species of Euclastes, but was re-described to its own genus in 2010. Like relative genera, Mexichelys is thought to have been a durophagous carnivore of shelled organisms such as molluscs and crustaceans. Further Reading - Euclastes coahuilaensis sp. nov., a basal cheloniid turtle from the late Campanian … Read more
In Depth Duriavenator was for a long time attributed to Megalosaurus, part of the ‘wastebasket taxon’ effect which saw Megalosaurus becoming a home for many fossils that actually represented similar yet different dinosaurs. Further Reading – A redescription of “Megalosaurus” hesperis (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Inferior Oolite (Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of Dorset, United Kingdom. – … Read more