In Depth Remains of Suskityrannus were first announced back in 1998 when the description of the ceratopsian dinosaur Zuniceratops was first published. Back then the fossil remains were thought to have been those of a dromaeosaur, but in 2019, a more detailed analysis of these fossils were published. The name chosen for this dinosaur was … Read more
In Depth The name Carcharodontosaurus is derived from the Carcharodon genus of sharks, a group famous for including the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). This name was chosen because the teeth are sharp and serrated in a similar manner to the great white sharks, something that meant they could slice through the flesh of prey … Read more
In Depth Leonerasaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that is known to have lived in South America during the early Jurassic. Leonerasaurus is notable for having a mix of physical characteristics that are seen in both sauropodomorph dinosaurs as well as later sauropods, though current thinking is that Leonerasaurus was a sauropodomorph, but one … Read more
In Depth Euhelopus was originally named Helopus until it was discovered that the name had already been used for a bird. The name was altered to Euhelopus by Alfred Romer in 1956. Euhelopus was similar to the macronarian sauropods in that the fore legs were proportionately longer than the rear legs, something that would have … Read more
In Depth Dinosaurs and other extinct prehistoric animals often have complicated histories regarding classification and Chirostenotes is no exception to this. First only the hands were found by George Fryer Sternberg in 1914. First to study them were Lawrence Morris Lambe who unfortunately died before he had chance to finish the description of them. Charles … Read more
In Depth Initially thought to be a tiny abelisauroid at the time of discovery, the lack of fusing in the vertebrae is now seen as proof that the individual which makes up the holotype is actually a juvenile. Unfortunately, because the remains of Ligabueino are so incomplete, it is hard to ascertain exactly what kind … Read more
In Depth Although Deinonychus was first discovered in 1931, it would not be until the 1960s with the advent of more discoveries that it would get named and studied in detail. These studies helped lead to one of the most radical ideas put forward in the field of palaeontology; at least some of the dinosaurs … Read more
In Depth Campylodoniscus was originally named by Friedrich von Huene in 1929 as Campylodon ameghinoi. However, it was later realised that the genus name Campylodon had already been used to name a type of fish. Therefore in 1961, Haubold and Kuhn created a new genus named Campylodoniscus. Because of the lack of good fossils remains, … Read more
In Depth Erketu is a genus of sauropod that is noted for having a very long neck in proportion to the rest of the body. So extreme was this neck that it likely took up at least half of the total body length. Despite this, other genera such as Mamenchisaurus may have had an even … Read more
In Depth The end five caudal (tail) vertebrae of Nomingia are fused together to form a pygostyle like that of birds. In birds, the pygostyle serves as the attachment point for the tail flight feathers, and in Nomingia the pygostyle probably had a similar function. However as an oviraptosaur, Nomingia would not have been capable … Read more