Another Dinosaur Bites the Dust

In 1932, the paleontologist Friedrich von Huene described a beat-up, but associated, skull found in the 228-208 million year old strata in the vicinity of Pfaffenhofen, Germany. Huene thought the bones belonged to some sort of theropod dinosaur – similar to Coelophysis from Triassic North America – but that was virtually all that could be said on the basis of such limited material. He named the fossil as a new species of Halticosaurus, a dinosaur whose remains were found in the same strata.

Now that additional rock has been delicately cleaned from the bone, the nature of Halticosaurus is clearer. The animal was more closely related to crocodiles than dinosaurs. Researchers suspected this before the paper by Sues and Schoch, but the

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet