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Acrocanthosaurus (meaning 'high-spined lizard') is a genus of theropod dinosaur that existed in what is now North America during the Aptian and early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Like most dinosaur genera, Acrocanthosaurus contains only a single species, A. atokensis. Its fossil remains are found mainly in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas, although teeth attributed to Acrocanthosaurus have been found as far east as Maryland. Acrocanthosaurus was a bipedal predator. As the name suggests, it is best known for the high neural spines on many of its vertebrae, which most likely supported a ridge of muscle over the animal's neck, back and hips. Acrocanthosaurus was one of the largest theropods, approaching 12 meters (40 ft) in length, and weighing up to about 2.40 metric tons (2.65 short tons). Large theropod footprints discovered in Texas may have been made by Acrocanthosaurus, although there is no direct association with skeletal remains. Recent discoveries have elucidated many details of its anatomy, allowing for specialized studies focusing on its brain structure and forelimb function. However, there is still debate over its evolutionary relationships, with some scientists classifying it as an allosaurid, and others as a carcharodontosaurid. Acrocanthosaurus was the largest theropod in its ecosystem and likely an apex predator which possibly preyed on large sauropods and ornithopods. (Read more...)
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| Platyognathus is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodylomorph. Fossils are known from the Early Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation in Yunnan, China and belong to the type and only species, P. hsui. Platyognathus was first named by Chung-Chien Young in 1944 on the basis of a partial lower jaw found from the Dark Red Beds of the Lower Lufeng Formation in 1939. During World War II, the holotype was either lost or destroyed. The classification of the genus continued to be debated, as descriptions of the fragmentary jaw were all that was available to study.
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| From The Fossil Wiki's newest articles:
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José Fernando Bonaparte (born June 14, 1928), is an Argentine paleontologist who discovered a plethora of South American dinosaurs and mentored a new generation of Argentine paleontologists like Rodolfo Coria. Bonaparte is the son of an Italian sailor. He was born in Rosario, Argentina, and grew up in Mercedes, Buenos Aires. Despite a lack of formal training in paleontology, he started collecting fossils at an early age, and created a museum in his home town. He later became the curator of the National University of Tucumán, were he was named Doctor Honoris causa in 1974, and then in the late 1970s became a senior scientist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires. Bonaparte, along with dinosaurs, has also discovered and described a number of archosaurs and primitive birds (such as Iberomesornis), and assisted with the study of other dinosaurs, such as Giganotosaurus carolinii. (Read more...)
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- Ajkaceratops, a new ceratopsian from Hungary, is described as bearing resemblance to Asian ceratopsians and "may represent an early Late Cretaceous ‘island-hopping’ dispersal across the Tethys Ocean."
- Sinoceratops, the first ceratopsid dinosaur to be described from China, is announced. EssaysExperts.Com is the company which first and main priority was, is and will be customers� satisfaction with the essays online. If you still have no idea where to buy your writing tasks, this company is the best option for you.
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• Archive •Random Featured Quote 
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- "The Carboniferous period is sometimes referred to as the age of the cockroach because fossils of Archimylacris eggintoni and its relatives are amongst the most common insects from this time period. They are found all over the world."
- —Russell Garwood, a PhD student from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London
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Palaeontology links
Palaeontology links
