In Depth Tengrisaurus is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in Russia during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new lithostrotian titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Transbaikalia, Russia. - Biological Communications. 62 (1): 6–18. - A. Averianov & P. Skutschas - 2017.
In Depth Daanosaurus is based upon the description of a partial skeleton with some skull bones that have been confirmed to be those of a juvenile. This has been confirmed by the complete lack of fusion in the holotypes vertebrae. Daanosaurus has been identified as a member of the Brachiosauridae sauropods, and may be a … Read more
In Depth Wintonotitan and Diamantinasaurus were the first major sauropod discoveries in Australia since the discovery of Austrosaurus seventy-five years earlier. In fact when the first fossils of Wintonotitan where recovered they were actually taken to be further remains of Austrosaurus. Although Wintonotitan and Diamantinasaurus are of comparable size and from the same area, Wintonotitan … Read more
In Depth Gryponyx was first named by Robert Broom in 1911who when he described this dinosaur thought that he was naming a theropod dinosaur. This assessment was seconded in 1932 when Friedrich von Huene classified Gryponyx in with the Carnosauria. By 1976 Gryponyx was realised to actually be a sauropodomorph dinosaur (the group ancestral to … Read more
In Depth Since the naming of the genus in 1893, Microcoelus has become something of a dubious genus of titanosaur. This is because at the time if writing only a single dorsal (back) vertebra is known. A humerus (upper arm bone) that was once assigned to the genus has now been moved to the genus … Read more
In Depth Yangchuanosaurus is often likened to fulfilling the same ecological niche as Allosaurus, except in Asia instead of North America. Not only does Yangchuanosaurus have a similar morphology to Allosaurus it also had access to similar prey items such as stegosaurs and sauropods. Yangchuanosaurus had a characteristic growth on top of its nose as … Read more
In Depth Dineobellator is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the last stage of the Cretaceous. When compared to other dinosaurs, Dineobellator seems to have been on the way to developing some advanced specialisations, and shows greater range of motion in both hands and feet. Additionally there also seems to … Read more
In Depth Named in 1876 upon the description of some teeth, we know that Zapsalis was a dromaeosaurid dinosaur, but that’s about it. For this reason the genus is often listed as dubious, as like with most tooth taxons it would be very difficult to attribute actual fossils of bones. Zapsalis was initially described from … Read more
In Depth Just thirty years before its description, the concept of dinosaurs evolving into birds was still a very controversial theory that did not have universally wide acceptance in academic circles. However, since the opening of fossil beds in China, new discoveries have slowly but steadily been made, each one adding more and more weight … Read more
In Depth Xixiasaurus is a troodont genus thought to possibly be closely related to Byronosaurus and Urbacodon. Part of this reasoning is that the teeth of Xixiasaurus lacked serrations. Care should be taken not to confuse Xixiasaurus with the alvarezsaur genus Xixianykus that is also known from the same formation as Xixiasaurus. Further Reading - … Read more