In Depth Although discovered in a joint Mongolian and Russian dig in 1989, Achillobator did not get named until 1999. These remains are very fragmentary but do suggest that Achillobator was a particularly large dromaeosaurid dinosaur. The achilles tendons seem to have been particularly well developed, probably to account for the extra size and weight … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Zby, other than it was a eusauropod dinosaur that seems to have featured similarities with the genus Turiasaurus from Spain, which may also be the largest sauropod dinosaur known from Europe. Zby might sound like a strange name for an animal, but this dinosaur was actually named … Read more
In Depth Alxasaurus was a very significant discovery since study of the bones of this dinosaur reveal both specialised therizinosaur morphs as well as more standard’ theropod features. Combined with its appearance in the early Cretaceous, Alxasaurus is firmly established as a transitory form that shows a stage of development between general theropods and the … Read more
In Depth Sefapanosaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in South Africa during the late Triassic. Further Reading - A new basal sauropodiform from South Africa and the phylogenetic relationships of basal sauropodomorphs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174:589-634. - A. Otero, E. Krupandan, D. Pol, A. Chinsamy & J. Choiniere - … Read more
In Depth Although certainly not the only dinosaur to be discovered in Brazil, Amazonsaurus was still the first discovered within the Amazon Basin. Amazonsaurus is confirmed as a diplodocoid sauropod, but the lack of fossil remains makes it difficult to tell what kind. One possibility is that Amazonsaurus might be a rebbachisaurid, a sub group … Read more
In Depth Zupaysaurus is often reconstructed with a pair of crests rising from the top of its skull like the more famous Dilophosaurus. Indeed, Zupaysaurus also has a similar upper jaw arrangement to Dilophosaurus with a notable gap between the teeth of the maxilla and premaxilla forming a small notch. However if a 2005 presentation … Read more
In Depth The sauropodomorph dinosaurs are the missing links between earlier theropod dinosaurs, and later sauropod descendants. As a group they show a transition from a predatory carnivorous lifestyle, to an herbivorous one. Buriolestes is a sauropodomoprh dinosaur, yet the teeth and jaw structure are much more like those seen in meat eating theropod dinosaurs. … Read more
In Depth The problem with the genus Macrurosaurus is that it is only represented by two sets of caudal vertebrae that were both found separately and then later added together. This combined with the lack of other fossil remains for the genus mean that some palaeontologist consider the genus to be dubious because it would … Read more
In Depth With only the end of the tail missing, Aucasaurus has the most complete single abelisaurid skeleton currently known. This has allowed for more accurate general features which are thought to be common to the group such as the famously underdeveloped arms that are even more puny than those that appear upon Tyrannosaurus, to … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description Haplocheirus was the oldest known alvarezsaur by an impressive sixty-three million years before the previous record holder. This places Haplocheirus firmly within the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic revealing that the alvarezsaurs began at least this far back rather than the early Cretaceous period as previously thought. … Read more