In Depth Described as a compsognathid dinosaur in 2016, the holotype Beipiaognathus has since been accused of being a fake. The theory is that the holotype is actually parts of many different creatures that an unscrupulous fossil dealer has stuck together in order to sell the fossil for more money. Unfortunately this is an often … Read more
In Depth Sinosauropteryx was the first confirmed feathered but non-avian dinosaur discovered. What this means is that while Sinosauropteryx had protofeathers, it was still more like theropod dinosaurs than birds. Sinosauropteryx is often described as being very small at sixty-eight centimetres long however this measurement was just for the holotype specimen which was a juvenile. … Read more
In Depth Although not as large as the North American Utahraptor, Austroraptor is still the largest dromaeosaurid currently known from South America. However to mark Austroraptor down for just this reason would be doing the genus a grave injustice as Austroraptor displays many features that make it unique among the other members of its group. … Read more
In Depth The story of Ornithodesmus can be a confusing one as for a long time the genus was credited with being a pterosaur, whereas we now know this was a mistake. It all began in 1887 when Harry Govier Seeley described a set of six sacral vertebrae that he thought belonged to a bird. … Read more
In Depth Sinocoelurus is a dubious genus given that it is only based upon the description of teeth, making this a tooth taxon. The only thing that can be said about Sinocoelurus with any confidence is that given the size of the teeth, the holotype individual would have been a small theropod. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Not a lot is known about Eshanosaurus, yet it has still managed to be a controversial dinosaur. Thought to be one hundred and ninety-six million years old, the partial dentary of Eshanosaurus (currently the only part known) goes as far back as the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic. The describers of the dentary … Read more
In Depth Podokesaurus is often spoken about as being a valid genus, yet the partial remains of the fossils attributed to this genus are considered to be near identical of another dinosaur named Coelophysis. In fact the genus is sometimes referenced as Coelophysis holyokensis, though the genus name Podokesaurus also still appears in use despite … Read more
In Depth Shanyangosaurus is a little known genus of coelurosaurian dinosaur that lived in China. Further Reading - The development and environmental changes of the intermontane basins in the Eastern part of Qinling Mountains. - Geological Publishing House, Beijing. - X. Xue, Y. Zhang, Y. Bi, L. Yue & D.-K. Chen - 1996.
In Depth Acheroraptor was the first confirmed genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur to be known as coming from the world famous Hell Creek Formation of North America. Dromaeosaurid teeth had been known before this time, but they had often been presumed to have come from either Dromaeosaurus or Saurornitholestes, though these teeth are now more commonly … Read more
In Depth At the time of writing Tratayenia is only known from a partial post cranial remains, mostly associated with the spine and hips, but the discovery of even these scant remains has significantly improved our understanding of the South American dinosaurs in the Cretaceous. It was long thought that carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaurs (e.g. Mapusaurus) … Read more