Hannah Bowyer

The Gualicho dinosaur was a Neovenatoridae from the family of Allosaurids. These middle-sized dinosaurs were an important element in the history of attribution and evolution of theropods.

They were especially known for their claw-like hands which intrigued researchers.

The most exceptional detail of these arms was the fact that the Gualicho shinyae went through the evolution of limb reduction, essentially compromising their arm size to evolve better, sharper bites. This was somewhat a bargain on the genus' behalf.

While Gualicho shinyae is the only species in the genus, the first half of their name is derived from the 'Gualicho', a demon of the local folklore. Deemed to be a demon by locals, the character appears in Mapuche mythology and as one might expect, they were not honored but despised.

The Gualicho demon was often compared to Satan, attributed as the cause of illness or calamities. The second name was given in honor of Shinya, the animal's discoverer.

The specimen name and description was given by Sebastián Apesteguía, Nathan D. Smith, Rubén Juárez Valieri and Peter J. Makovicky in 2016.

The Gualicho shinyae has more to offer than just mythological folklores. Its skeleton shows several similarities to the African theropod Deltadromeus agilis, while some also expressed the possibility of it being related to the T-Rex.

If you enjoy this article, check out similar articles containing facts about the Xiaotingia and Leptorhynchos.

The Postosuchus is a genus of rauisuchid reptiles from the Late Triassic period that lived in North America. It has two species assigned to it, P. kirkpatricki and P. alisonae.

The Postosuchus is considered to be a close relative of the crocodile family and was among the most greedy carnivores that lived during the Triassic.

It had the upper hand while hunting as it was larger than any other carnivore or dinosaur predators of its time, such as the Coelophysis. It was discovered by a team of paleontologists from the Texas Tech University in 1980 during an expedition near Post, Garza County, Texas, USA.

They discovered several well-preserved specimens belonging to a new rauisuchid. Later in the following years, the holotype (TTUP 9000) of Postosuchus kirkpatricki was unearthed from the Post Quarry in Cooper Canyon Formation, along with other remains of Late Triassic terrestrial fauna.

The specimen consisted of a skull and a partial skeleton.

The genus was named and described by paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee in 1985, and the type species was described by Robert Long and Phillip A. Murry in 1995. Postosuchus's structure was typical of any other archosaur: it had a large, slender body with curved ribs, and could possibly walk bipedally.

For more related content, check out these Palaeosaurus facts and Hungarosaurus facts for kids.

A Kulindadromeus fossil was discovered in the Siberian region of Russia, buried deep under the mountain beds. The discovery of this dinosaur is credited to a number of paleontologists, including- Pascal Godefroit, Yuri Bolotsky, Michael Benton, Alexander Sizov, Paul Spagna, Maria McNamara, Danielle Dhouailly, and Sofia Sinitsa.

Although this was an uncanny place to be located, it is known to belong to a bonebed containing hundreds of disarticulated specimens. The procured remains, the fossil feathers, are rare to find according to science.

To add to its uniqueness, this dinosaur shows evolutionary structures similar to that of modern birds.

Although completely different genera, the filaments of this Ornithischian dinosaur resembled the body structures of many other feathered theropods. As the feathers were an important element of this discovery, they were well studied to draw further correlations to the theropods and other possible dinosaur groups.

The filaments of the Kulindadromeus were mainly of two types. The first type, the filaments covering the head, neck, and upper body, which were unbranched.

These types of feathers were thought to be exclusive to the theropods. The leftover feathers, especially the central feathers, were somewhat downturned.

The other type of filaments were the long ribbon-like filaments that extended all the way down to form the Kulindadromeus tail. The feathers present on the body also suggest that pterosaurs and dinosaurs, including birds, had body structures that made them ancestrally fluffy.

Earlier, science held that only theropods possessed the feature of being covered in feathers. This idea was likely because all the specimens that had been discovered supported this idea.

However, this dinosaur from the Siberian Jurassic debunked that long-held belief.

In fact, the discovery indicated that feathered body structures covered a larger section of dinosaurs and were more common than we think. Different species contained feathers and scales, and there were still so many unnamed dinosaurs present across history that weren't discovered to highlight this.

Thus, the discovery of the Kulindadromeus truly opened up new ideas. The discovery itself was a complex, intriguing, and one of a kind discovery in the history of science.

If you like reading this article, check out facts about the Xiaotingia and Leptorhynchos.

Would you like to read about a prehistoric animal? Not convinced? Alright, how about a pre-historic animal that used to live long before any dinosaur even existed? We know you're invested now, read on to find out more about this interesting animal including the name of the museum where its specimen is on display!

The dimetrodon is an extinct genus of the Synapsid class that used to live during the early Permian period about 272 to 295 million years ago. It belongs to the Sphenacodontidae group.

Several fossils belonging to this animal were discovered in south western United States including geological deposits from Texas and Oklahoma. The most recent fossils were found in Germany.

The Dimetrodon is recognized by its sail, which was used to maintain its body temperature (by absorbing and releasing heat) and provide stability to its spine. It is said that these animals absorbed heat from the sun all day long and released the stored heat slowly during night time to keep its body warm.

However, this is not necessarily fact as some recent theories suggest that the sail did not help regulate the animal's body temperature. Smaller dimetrodon species had large sails that were known for their ecological roles.

The Dimetrodon was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1878, and its name means 'two measures of teeth'. Around 20 species of Dimetrodon have been described so far.

Learn about some other pre-historic animals on our Palaeosaurus facts and Ornithosuchus facts pages.