In Depth Superficially Sanjuansaurus was probably similar to Herrerasaurus in general appearance, but some skeletal features seem to have been slightly more primitive. Sanjuansaurus lived in the same time and location as its more famous relative Herrerasaurus which would suggest that this form held an important place in their ecosystem. Neither Sanjuansaurus nor Herrerasaurus would … Read more
In Depth Buitreraptor was small, even for a dromaeosaurid dinosaur. Buitreraptor however is markedly different to most other currently known dromaeosaurid genera, especially by its skull. The jaws of Buitreraptor are long and slender, both advantages that could theoretically help in seizing prey like small lizards and mammals that might be hiding amongst rocks. The … Read more
In Depth Yutyrannus is a good example of a tyrannosaur that had feathers, although it is not the first or only known tyrannosaur to have had feathers like some news reports claimed at the time of its discovery. The first tyrannosaur to be feathered was actually Dilong which was named in 2004 and is actually … Read more
In Depth Herrerasaurus was first described in 1963 yet many sources still cite the year 1988 as the year the genus was discovered. In actually however this was the year that the first complete skull of Herrerasaurus was found, and because this is the discovery that really made headlines in the scientific press, this is … Read more
In Depth Chilesaurus is a very exciting find, and not just because it was the first Jurassic aged dinosaur to be discovered in Chile. Chilesaurus is a theropod dinosaur, yet there is no doubt that Chilesaurus was a plant eater, and not a carnivore like most other theropods were. Firstly the teeth of spatulate and … Read more
In Depth Bought from a Moroccan fossil dealer, the only known fossil of Sauroniops is of the upper eye socket. This material however is unlike any other known theropod of the time and location, and displays enlargement of the bone growth, something that may have been the underlying support for eye crest displays in the … Read more
In Depth One of the biggest fields of study regarding Torvosaurus is its supposed size and possible claim to being the largest known Jurassic era theropod dinosaur. Though known from only partial remains, fossils from the Morrison Formation have been compared to other better preserved theropod genera of the time to yield estimates of around … Read more
In Depth Yurgovuchia was a small dromaeosaurine theropod that is often described as being ‘coyote sized’. Although Yurgovuchia is only known from very incomplete remains, mapping the known bones to the proportions of related but better preserved dromaeosaurs has yielded a rough estimate of around two and a half meters, though much of this figure … Read more
In Depth Although pieced together and described from very incomplete skull material, Dracovenator has been identified as being similar to Dilophosaurus. With this in mind the 2006 description of Dracovenator saw it classified as a dilphosaurid and related to Dilophosaurus from North America, and Zupaysaurus from South America, though not all palaeontologists are convinced about … Read more
In Depth Guemesia is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. At the time of writing Guemesia is known only from a braincase, which makes physical details beyond generic abelisaurid traits hard to determine. The size of the braincase however suggests that Guemesia may have actually been quite … Read more