In Depth The holotype remains of Asylosaurus were originally attributed to the genus Thecodontosaurus, but a review by Peter Galton saw these remains established as a new genus. The genus names means ‘unharmed/sanctuary lizard’ and this is a reference as to how this set of remains were shipped from England to the United States by … Read more
In Depth Atlasaurus was named after the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. These in turn were named after the Titan Atlas who in Greek Mythology was said to hold up the sky. The species name A. imelakei comes from the Arabic Imelake, the name of a giant. Atlasaurus was once treated as a fairly primitive sauropod … Read more
In Depth Aniksosaurus was a small coelurosaur from South America, and one that may have lived in small groups. Evidence for this comes from a bone bed of fossils that so far only contain Aniksosaurus. These however may be sub adults, which could also be interpreted as a group of young Aniksosaurus sticking together for … Read more
In Depth Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus? Even though Apatosaurus is one of the sauropod dinosaurs best known to palaeontology yet most people confused it with Brontosaurus. The reason for this goes all the way back to 1879, roughly two years after the naming of Apatosaurus ajax when a new sauropod specimen was given the name Brontosaurus … Read more
In Depth Aeolosaurus is one of the better known South American titanosaurs of the late Cretaceous period. The name is derived from the mythical figure of Aeolus who was dubbed the ‘keeper of the winds’ in Homer’s Odyssey. It might seem rather obscure to name a dinosaur after this figure, but it is actually in … Read more
In Depth Aegyptosaurus was a mid-sized sauropod dinosaur that is known to have lived in what is now Egypt from both sides of the early/late Cretaceous boundary. Unfortunately we only have the original descriptions of this dinosaur for study as the original fossils were destroyed along with the Munich museum during an allied bombing raid … Read more
In Depth Apatoraptor is a genus of caenagnathid oviraptosaur that lived in Canada during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada, and a reevaluation of the relationships of Caenagnathidae. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(4):e1160910:1-18. - G. F. Funston & P. J. Currie … Read more
In Depth Ammosaurus has a long taxonomic relationship with Anchisaurus. The holotype fossils of Ammosaurus were originally described as a large species of Anchisaurus by Othniel Charles Marsh before they were erected as a distinct genus. Marsh then named a new species of Anchisaurus, A. solus, but then attributed that to Ammosaurus. Later palaeontologists found … Read more