In Depth One thing that made Dilong stand out from other dinosaurs upon its discovery was the impressions of protofeathers. These protofeathers were not capable of enabling flight, but were very good at insulating, keeping heat in the body. A higher base temperature for a cold blooded creature means a faster metabolism and more active … Read more
In Depth First discovered in 1984 and originally described as a species of Stokesosaurus in 2008, S. langhami was re-described as a new genus of tyrannosaur in 2013. As is standard practice with such occurences, the original species name of langhami was retained to create the new type species, Juratyrant langhami. The species name is … Read more
In Depth Based upon fossil remains first discovered in 1980, Xenotarsosaurus was named because of the complete fusion between the astragalus and calcaneum bones of the ankle, something that is quite unusual for a theropod dinosaur. At the time of the original description, the rear leg of Xenotarsosaurus was shown to share some similarities with … Read more
In Depth Borogovia is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. As a troodont, Borogovia would have been a predator, certainly capable of taking down smaller prey animals by itself. Also like other troodonts, Borogovia had a specialised second toe, but unlike them, the claw was not sickle shaped … Read more
In Depth When first discovered only the top part of the skull of Majungasaurus was known. This fragment revealed a dome like structure which was taken to be indicative of a pachycephalosaur. Further fossil material would reveal the truth about Majungasaurus being a carnivorous theropod, although this was not the first time that a carnivorous … Read more
In Depth Although known from very well preserved remains, there is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding Limusaurus. Study of the bones has revealed that it is a member of the Ceratosauria (the first one known from Asia), a group of theropods defined by the type genus Ceratosaurus. However the one specimen where the … Read more
In Depth The holotype fossils of Kayentavenator were originally described as Syntarsus kayentakatae until later study declared them to represent a distinct genus of theropods (additionally Syntarsus has now been declared a synonym of Megapnosaurus). Not a lot can be said for Kayentavenator because the skeletal remains are incomplete and of a juvenile dinosaur; combined … Read more
In Depth Although so far only known from partial remains, Qiupalong has been identified as a distinct ornithomimid genus on the basis of differences in the tibia from other known genera of this group. Further analysis has led the team that described Qiupalong to consider it to be similar to Struthiomimus altus and Ornithomimus edmontonicus, … 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