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 ›

Africa
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
Polyacrodus was a genus of prehistoric shark, composed of several species, with fossils found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The name Polyacrodus means “tooth with many bumps”, and it was officially named by the German paleontologist… 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 ›
Nedcolbertia: A North American elaphrosaur?
IntroductionNedcolbertia (named in honor of the American paleontologist Dr. Edward “Ned” Colbert, 1905-2001) was a mysterious and intriguing creature which inhabited western North America during the early Cretaceous Period about 140-130 million years ago. When it was officially named and… Read More ›
An Ornithocheirid Pterosaur
An ornithocheirid pterosaur. © Jason R. Abdale (February 13, 2022). The “ornithocheirids” were a group of pterosaurs which dominated the skies during the early and middle parts of the Cretaceous Period from about 140 to 90 million years ago. They… Read More ›
Brachiosaurus
There are some dinosaurs that everybody thinks of when they hear the word “dinosaur”. Among these is a very large sauropod which was the reptilian analog of a giraffe. I am, of course, talking about Brachiosaurus. Brachiosaurus is one of… Read More ›
Caturus
This is Caturus, a prehistoric fish which swam in the oceans during the Mesozoic Era. Fossils of this saltwater fish have been found in North America, Europe, northern Africa, and as far as China within rocks spanning from the beginning… Read More ›
Dryosaurus
NOTE: This article was originally posted on April 8, 2020. It was substantially updated on December 14, 2022. This is Dryosaurus, a 10 foot long plant-eating ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America, and possibly… Read More ›
Ceratosaurus
Ceratosaurus nasicornis was a 20-foot theropod dinosaur which lived in western North America during the late Jurassic Period, about 155-145 million years ago. It is one of the more famous Jurassic meat-eating dinosaurs, along with Allosaurus and Ornitholestes. It is the… Read More ›