Dinosaurs, pterosaurs & marine reptiles of Isla Sorna

Just a friendly reminder about this week's quiz question. You've been asked: How many horns did Triceratops have?


Today's dino:


Name: Garumbatitan
Pronunciation: Gah-rum-bah-ty-tan
Meaning of name: "Garumba giant", after a mountain in the region where its fossils were discovered.
Species: G. morellensis
Size: Uncertain due to a lack of fossils.
Family: Uncertain. Likely Titanosaurid.
Diet: Herbivore
First fossils found: Known from multiple partial skeletons, the first of which was discovered by Miquel G. Fígols in the Arcillas de Morella Formation of northeastern Spain. Named by Pedro Mocho, Fernando Escaso, José M. Gasulla, Àngel Galobart, Begoña Poza, Andrés Santos-Cubedo, José L. Sanz and Francisco Ortega in 2023.
Lived: 125.77 to 121.4 million years ago during the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous in what is now northeastern Spain.

Must have some strong front legs.

Impressive teeth!

Here is how it's supposed to have looked like:

Time to reveal the answer to this week's quiz question, and I'm pleased to say everyone guessed correctly, Tix Mascot also got the position of the horns correct. You were asked: How many horns did Triceratops have?


Answer: Three. One of the most iconic dinosaurs, Triceratops lived in what is now the western United States during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between 68 and 66 million years ago. A large animal, its most distinctive feature was its head: a three-foot-long horn above each eye, a shorter horn on the snout and a bony shield at the back of the skull that provided protection for the neck. It's believed the horns and neck shield were used primary for sexual display, but also played a role in defense against predators.



Today's dino:


Name: Koshisaurus
Pronunciation: Ko-she-sore-us
Meaning of name: "Koshi lizard", after an old regional name for the place in Japan where its fossils were discovered.
Species: K. katsuyama
Size: Uncertain due to a lack of fossils.
Family: Uncertain. Likely a primitive Hadrosaur.
Diet: Herbivore
First fossils found: Known only from a partial lower jaw, teeth and a partial skeleton thought to belong to a juvenile, discovered in the Kitadani Formation of Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. Named by Masateru Shibata and Yoichi Azuma in 2015.
Lived: 128 million years ago during the Hauterivian stage of the Early Cretaceous in what is now central Japan.





Artist's impression of Koshisaurus

I had a suspicion that it had to be one of those, but I was far from sure.

Name: Aerodraco
Pronunciation: Air-oh-dray-co
Meaning of name: "Air dragon"
Species: A. sedgwickii
Wingspan: Uncertain due to a lack of fossils.
Family: Anhangueridae
Diet: Piscivore
First fossils found: Known only from a partial snout discovered in the Cambridge Greensand Formation of England. Was first named as a species of Pterodactylus by English palaeontologist, Sir Richard Owen, in 1859, before being renamed as a species of Ornithocheirus by British palaeontologist, Harry Govier Seeley, in 1870. Again renamed by Mr. Owen as a species of Coloborhynchus in 1874. Was eventually recognized as a new genus and named Aerodraco by B. Holgado and R. V. Pêgas in 2020.
Lived: 105 to 100 million years ago from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous through to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now England.







New quiz question: True or False? Palaeontologists currently recognize over 150 different pterosaur species.