Hippodraco, meaning “horse dragon” in a mixture of ancient Greek and Latin, was an ornithopod dinosaur which lived in western North America during the early Cretaceous Period. The fossils were found by Andrew R. C. Milner in 2004 in east-central… Read More ›
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Falcarius
Falcarius was a 12 foot long theropod dinosaur which lived in Utah during the early Cretaceous Period, approximately 139 to 136 million years ago. It was a very primitive therizinosaur – so primitive that it still bears a close resemblance… Read More ›
Utahraptor: A History
The reconstructed skull of Utahraptor, on display in Brigham Young University’s Museum of Paleontology. Photo by Jaren Wilkey of Brigham Young University (January 26, 2018). Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BYU_Utahraptor_skull.jpg. Introduction Within the American West, you don’t need to travel… Read More ›
Leptocleidus
Leptocleidus was a genus of plesiosaur which lived in the oceans during the early Cretaceous Period about 135 to 125 million years ago. It measured just 10 feet long, which is quite small for a plesiosaur. Three species of Leptocleidus… Read More ›
Lissodus
Lissodus was a prehistoric shark which lived from the early Triassic to the middle Cretaceous Period, about 250 to 110 million years ago, give or take. Named in 1835, it was a member of a group of sharks called the… Read More ›
Polyacrodus
NOTE: This article was originally published on May 4, 2022. On December 30, 2025, it was updated and re-uploaded. Polyacrodus was a genus of prehistoric shark, composed of several species, with fossils found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and… Read More ›
Cretaceous Stegosaurs in North America? Maybe
Stegosaurus stenops. © Jason R. Abdale (August 1, 2020) Stegosaurus is one of the most famous dinosaurs in the world. With its large back plates and spiked tail, it’s commonly seen in every child’s dinosaur book and is one of… Read More ›
May 1 – Part 3: “May Day” in Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Europe
For most people nowadays, late June marks the beginning of Summer with the occurrence of the Summer Solstice, the day which holds the longest period of sunshine. However, this view is relatively recent. Even in some societies to this day,… Read More ›
May 1 – Part 2: Beltane, the Celtic Festival of Summer
Lo, dawning o’er yon mountain greyThe rosy birth-day of May!Glen-Shira knoweth well ‘tis Beltane’s blissful day. — Evan MacColl Summer is a-comin’ in! May 1 is the date of the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, which marks the first day… Read More ›
May 1 – Part 1: The Month of Maia, the Ancient Roman Goddess of Motherhood
May is named in honor of the ancient Roman goddess Maia, the goddess of motherhood. Maia was also referred to by the Romans as Bona Dea, “the Good Goddess”. She might be one-and-the-same with Tellus, the ancient Roman “Mother Earth”… Read More ›