In Depth The early study of Efraasia was to say the least one born out of misconceptions. The first remains of this sauropodomorph dinosaur were being found way back in the latter half of the nineteenth century, but they were being assigned to different genera. Some of these genera were sauropodomorphs too, such as Sellosaurus … Read more
In Depth With a morphology like we see in lizards today, Thadeosaurus had a very long tail making up over half of its total body length. The legs were long and had long toes terminating in claws. It is likely that as Thadeosaurus walked, the toes would always be in contact with the ground. Thadeosaurus … Read more
In Depth As a procolophonian parareptile, Owenetta is a basal member of the group that is confirmed to have lived at the end of the Permian. However the full temporal range of Owenetta may in fact extend further than this into the early Triassic, although this is a matter of contention. For a while a … Read more
In Depth Trilophosaurus was quite a large genus of diapsid reptile that seems to have been like a particularly large Iguana in not only terms of general appearance but ecological niche. Trilophosaurus was a quadrupedal diapsid with a low slung body and a tail that made up over half of the total length. The skull … Read more
In Depth The holotype specimen of Polonosuchus, a partial left maxilla was originally described as a species of Teratosaurus in 2005. A re-evaluation of the specimen led to the 2009 creation of Polonosuchus. The former species name, silesiacus was retained to create the new type species P. silesiacus, as is standard procedure in such naming … Read more
In Depth The most well-known of the ichthyosaurs, Ichthyosaurus itself is almost always included in books about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. While it may look superficially like a prehistoric dolphin, Ichthyosaurus wasn’t even closely related, in fact Ichthyosaurus wasn’t even a mammal like a dolphin is, it was a reptile. Also, Ichthyosaurus was not … Read more
In Depth Vectocleidus is a genus of leptocleidid plesiosaur, a group that sees multiple similarities to the pliosaurs. Further Reading - A new leptocleidid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Vectis Formation (Early Barremian–early Aptian; Early Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight and the evolution of Leptocleididae, a controversial clade - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 11(2):233-250 - … Read more
In Depth Malerisaurus is a genus of protorosauri known to have lived in India during the late Triassic period. There are a lot of questions about how members of this genus lived since there are no clear adaptations pointing towards one ecological niche over another. The discovery of the two Malerisaurus specimens however have been … Read more
In Depth Metriorhynchus is one of the better known marine crocodiles with features that show it was more at home in the water than on the land. The legs have evolved to become more like flippers, and the tail sports evidence of a tail fluke. It is likely that the tail provided primary locomotion in … Read more
In Depth Although the first specimens were discovered in 1858, it was not until 1909 that they were correctly identified. Fossils of Deinosuchus have always been fragmentary and because of this, accurate reconstruction has been problematic. This has caused further difficulties down the line as crocodile sizes are usually estimated with comparison to the proportion … Read more