In Depth The sauropod dinosaur Brachiosaurus earned its name from the fact that the arms, or rather the fore legs as it was quadrupedal, are actually longer than the hind legs. The fact that these are longer offers Brachiosaurus a passive advantage in reaching up into the tree canopy to feed as the neck is … Read more
In Depth The holotype fossils of Duriatitan have were previously considered to be species of the genera Ornithopsis and Pelorosaurus, finally settling in Cetiosaurus, by John Hulke all the way back in 1874, before finally being named as a distinct genus in a 2010 re-description. Duriatitan however still suffers from a distinct lack of fossils, … Read more
In Depth Bothriospondylus has had a long taxonomic history as a sauropod dinosaur yet today the genus is regarded as dubious. This is because the type material of Bothriospondylus, really just a few vertebrae, has been so badly eroded that it is impossible to identify any unique features for the genus. This makes it impossible … Read more
In Depth Fushanosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic. Further reading - A new titanosauriform dinosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from Late Jurassic of Junggar Basin, Xinjiang. - Global Geology (in Chinese). 38 (3): 581–588. X.-R. Wang, W.-H. Wu, T. Li, Q. Ji, Y.-X. Li & J.-F. Guo - … Read more
In Depth Tendaguria is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lined in Africa during the late Jurassic. At the time of writing Tendaguria is only known from a few vertebrae, but analysis of this show a similarity to the Australian Wintonotitan. Further Reading - Review of Janenschia Wild, with the description of a new sauropod … Read more
In Depth Euhelopus was originally named Helopus until it was discovered that the name had already been used for a bird. The name was altered to Euhelopus by Alfred Romer in 1956. Euhelopus was similar to the macronarian sauropods in that the fore legs were proportionately longer than the rear legs, something that would have … Read more
In Depth Sonorasaurus may look like an atypical brachiosaurid dinosaur (as in similar to the famous Brachiosaurus), but the genus actually represents the first known example of a brachiosaurid dinosaur in North America during the Cretaceous, specifically around the early/late Cretaceous boundary. This is yet further evidence that counters the now outdated theory that the … Read more
In Depth Astrodon has been a troublesome genus of sauropod dinosaur, partly because of the lack of complete remains for the genus which was initially primarily named from the teeth. Astrodon also has an uncertain relationship with the genus Pleurocoelus, with some authors considering the two to be synonymous, to just some species of Pleurocoelus … Read more
In Depth The naming of Angolatitan was a very important discovery for the country of Angola because it was the first genus of dinosaur known to have come from there. Angolatitan is so far known only from a partial right fore limb, so details like size or a specific dietary preference beyond just plants are … Read more
In Depth Arkharavia is currently regarded to be a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaur because the lack of additional remains means that it will be very difficult to infer further fossils to the genus. In addition to this, vertebrae added to Arkharavia may actually have come from a hadrosaurid dinosaur, which means that only the … Read more