In Depth Surprisingly what is perhaps the most important ornithomimosaur so far discovered by the early twentyfirst century is also one of the least known outside of palaeontology. Initially thought to be a primitive ornithomimosaur, Sinornithomimus is now thought to be quite a bit more advanced than early ornithomimosaurs like Harpymimus, but not quite as … Read more
In Depth Xixiposaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in China during the early Jurassic. Further Reading - [A new prosauropod dinosaur from Lower Jurassic in Lufeng of Yunnan]. - Global Geology 29(1):6-15. - T. Sekiya - 2010.
In Depth Today Antarctica is often referred to as a frozen wasteland, but back in the Jurassic it actually had an extensive covering of forest, something which is confirmed by the presence of fossilised tree trunks found near the remains of Cryolophosaurus. Many of the early Jurassic theropods had display features on top of their … Read more
In Depth Kholumolumo is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in Southern Africa during the late Triassic. Further Reading - Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum, gen. et sp. nov., a new early sauropodomorph from the lower Elliot Formation (Upper Triassic) of Maphutseng, Lesotho. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. in press: e1732996. - Claire Peyre de Fabr�gues … Read more
In Depth Garudimimus is considered to be an ornithomimosaur, but unlike others of its kind it had shorter ilia, the legs were shorter and the muscles not as well developed. This has led to speculation that Garudimimus would have actually been quite slow for an ornithomimosaur, although it could still probably out pace a human … Read more
In Depth Yunyangosaurus is a genus of predatory theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the Mid Jurassic. Further Reading - A new possible megalosauroid theropod from the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation of Chongqing, People’s Republic of China and its implication for early tetanuran evolution. - Scientific Reports. 10: Article number 139. - Hui Dai, … 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
In Depth Lophostropheus was initially assigned as a specimen of Halticosaurus until 1993 it was re-classified as a second species of Liliensternus, a genus that was also previously established as a species of Halticosaurus. A new study in 2007 however concluded that while the fossils were similar, they were different enough to be established as … Read more
In Depth Qijianglong is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the late Jurassic. At the time of writing the genus is only known from a single juvenile, yet this juvenile is already fifteen meters long. It is uncertain how big Qijianglong could grow, but at fifteen meters just for a juvenile, … Read more
In Depth It could be said that Jobaria is a sauropod that doesn’t know what it is due to a mix of different traits. The vertebrae of Jobaria are very simple in form which has led to some suggestion that Jobaria is a primitive sauropod. Study of other areas however has led to speculation that … Read more