Category Archives: Paleontology

We’ve always talked about theropods as the ‘meat-eating’ dinos, but that’s going to change today. Nothronychus was a theropod that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now New Mexico. New Mexico was a pretty nice place back then, not to say that it still isn’t nice. Every place has its pros and cons.Continue reading “Nothronychus: New Mexican Oddity”

Micropachycephalosaurus is a mouthful, so we’re just gonna call it a Micro. Micros were extremely small herbivores that, as you can see, have the longest names of any dinosaur. Micropachycephalosaurus means “small thick-headed lizard” in Greek, and when discovered were thought to be pachycephalosaurs, a group of ornithopods whose heads possessed thick bony domes thatContinue reading “Micropachycephalosaurus – Small but Large –”

Lambeosaurus was a hadrosaurid ornithischian that lived in the Late Cretaceous. Lambeosaurus lived in North America and is one of the more well-known hadrosaurs. However, it isn’t as famous as its relatives Corythosaurus or Parasaurolophus. Lambeosaurus was an herbivore and belonged to the Lambeosaurini, a group that consisted of the crested hadrosaurs. Lambeosaurus had aContinue reading “Lesser-known Lambeosaurus”

Juravenator is one of those dinos you’ve never heard of, and nobody really knows that much about it. Juravenator was a theropod dinosaur that lived in the Middle Jurassic in Germany, back in the time of the first birds, Archeopteryx. Indeed, it is assumed to be a compsognathid, a group of theropods that were generallyContinue reading “Juravenator – Jurassic Hunters”

Hypsilophodon was one of the first dinos to be discovered (because it was English, and most of the paleontologists back in good ol’ 1850 were English). It was herbivorous and was an ornithischian closely related to the ornithopods. It lived back in the Early Cretaceous in the Isle of Wight. Many misconceptions were made aboutContinue reading “Hypsilophodon – Not a Climber”

Gallimimus is another Jurassic Park celebrity. In the scene in which they are featured, a huge flock comes over a ridge, running away from a hungry T-rex that quickly takes some down. Gallimimus in the movie was inaccurate and would have had feathers. Gallimimus means ‘chicken mimic’, but it and its relatives would have beenContinue reading “Galloping Gallimimus”

Fukuiraptor’s one of those dinosaurs that you’ve never heard of, but it has an interesting history. From the name alone, one might think that this was a dromeosaurid related to Velociraptor. That’s actually what people thought back when it was discovered in Japan. However, it was actually from another group, the Megaraptora, who were distantlyContinue reading “Fukuiraptor: Misidentifications”

Eoraptor is one of the earliest dinosaurs discovered, from 215 mya in the Late Triassic. Until recent discoveries came to light, it was thought to be the earliest theropod. However, new studies show that it was one of the first ancestors of the mighty sauropods. However, Eoraptor was barely bigger than a dog. You wouldContinue reading “E for Eoraptor!”