In Depth Cathayornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. While the type species of Cathayornis, C. yandica is valid, two further species C. aberransis and C. chabuensis have also been named but are questionable as they consist of partial body parts that are not preserved in with … Read more
In Depth Niebla is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. Though only known from partial remains, Niebla seems to have actually been quite a small abelisaurid dinosaur, perhaps only about half of the size of some of the larger abelisaurid dinosaurs that were also roaming around South … Read more
In Depth During the earliest portion of its taxonomic history Megapnosaurus was known as Syntarsus after the initial description by Raath in 1969. Later a trio of other palaeontologists (Ivie, Slipinski and Węgrzynowicz) discovered that the name Syntarsus had already been given to a beetle in 1869. In 2001 they renamed the dinosaur Syntarsus remains … Read more
In Depth As an enantiornithine was very close to being a bird without technically being one. Dalingheornis lived in what is now North-East China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - The first Mesozoic heterodactyl bird from China. - Acta Geologica Sinica 80(5):631-635. - Z. Zhang, L. Hou, Y. Hasegawa, J. O’Connor, L. D. Martin … Read more
In Depth Named early in 2016, Fukuivenator has quickly become recognised as one of the more bizarre dinosaurs. We know that Fukuivenator is what is termed a coelurosaur, though the genus displays not only a mix of primitive and advanced features, but also a combination of characteristics of maniraptoran and ornithomimid dinosaurs. It is quite … Read more
In Depth Itemirus is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that so far is only known from very incomplete fossil remains. Further Reading - Brain-case structure in the carnosaur Itemirus n. gen. and some aspects of the cranial anatomy of dinosaurs. - Paleontological Journal 1976(3):361-369. - S. M. Kurzanov - 1976. - Dromaeosauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from … Read more
In Depth For a long time Caenagnathasia has been known from only jaw material, and even with the subsequent discovery of an upper leg bone and vertebrae, not much is known about this dinosaur. Two facts can however be established about Caenagnathasia. First, Caenagnathasia is one of if not the smallest oviraptosaur currently known. Second, … Read more
In Depth Remarkably when Troodon was first ‘discovered’ it was only known from a tooth, and it was the description of this tooth that gave rise to the genus. Although naming a creature after only discovering its teeth is hard to imagine today, it was a common place practice in the nineteenth century, and at … Read more
In Depth This tyrannosaur is one of the earliest known and the fact that it hails from Western Europe means that the origins of the tyrannosaurs need to be carefully considered. Given that the largest and last of the group are known mostly from North America, and the smallest and earliest are known from Asia, … Read more
In Depth Streptospondylus could have become the first dinosaur to be scientifically recognised. Starting in 1770 vertebrae and limb remains were steadily recovered and over the course of the following years many fossils for separate locations were collected before being sent to the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France in 1800. These fossils were … Read more