Microdon or Proscinetes Fish - late Cretaceous

A Jurrasic member of the Pycnodontidae which appeared in the Triassic and vanished by the eocene. They were remote members of the holosteans.

They all had deep bodies, almost circular in a side view outline, and their scales were replaced by a crisscrossing lattice work of bony jointed rods. Their teeth were pebbly nubs for crunching coral.

Stenosaurus May be Crocodilaemus -

A Jurrasic age ( 150 million years ago) crocodile from the area we call Germany now. It lived on tropical reef islands in a warm shallow sea.

Crocodiles have changed very little since their development in the mid Triassic. The main improvement has been the migration of the internal nares to the rear so it can breathe while swallowing or with it's mouth open under water (as long as the nostrils are above water).

They are all carnivores and aquatic. Some crocodiles on occasion even ventured into the ocean.

The differences between Crocodiles, Alligators and Gavials are minor. They are all members of Archosauria, a sub-group within class Reptilia which includes Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, Birds and the Crocodiles. They are true "living" fossils and are the closest relatives of the birds.

Of the 23 living genera, 20 are endangered. It is important to save these venerable members of such an ancient order of reptiles.

"Raptor" Claw - Deinonychus antirrhopus

The group of dinosaurs nicknamed "raptors" are really called dromaeosaurs. Diagnostic characteristics of the group are smallish, bipedal, bird-like bodies with cursorial habit. The most important attribute is , of course, the large sicle-claw on the hind feet.

The family was known since the discovery of some fragmentary skull and foot bones in 1914. It took fifty years before the discovery of more specimens. Found in southern Montana state in 1964, Professor John Ostrom and Grant Myer were the first to notice the big claw. Dr. Ostrom felt a chill up his spine as he realized just how this creature hunted and killed.

Since the release of the film "Jurassic Park" (and the sequel), the world had the oppurtunity to see pretty much the way they looked and behaved. Although some artistic license was used when they depicted the "raptor" (Velociraptor) at such a large size. However, as Steven Speilberg's luck would have it, before the end of filming, some fossil hunters discovered one the same size!

Dromaeosaurids seem closest to the Coelurosaurs (like little Compsognathus oc Coelophysis), rather than the carnosaurs, as was thought earlier. They also appear as the closest kin to the birds. Bet you'll never look at your Parakeet or a chicken dinner quite the same again!

Sharovipteryx mirabilis (was Podopteryx until 1976)>

Sharovipteryx was discovered in the Fergana valley of Kirghizia, southern USSR in 1965. It was described six years later in 1971 and was renamed because Podopteryx was already in use by a fish. In 1989 it was re-examined in order to answer some unaddressed issues. It is no longer considered a tescodant, but some kind of lepidosaur, or at best an archosaur. However, with but a single fossil specimen to study, and an imperfect one at that, who can be sure.

This little 7-8in reptile most likely scampered among the high branches of the rainforest canapy. There it could easily catch insect prey, and just as easily escape it's pursuers by gliding down to another tree. It is now thought that the patagium was not stretched between front and back legs as originally assumed. Most of it's flying airfoil may have been the hind limbs and the tail. It may also have had several skin-flaps along it's sides as well, but we can't be sure of this.

Coelophysis bauri

This small, man-sized dinosaur is the earliest known of the group. It was the first coelurosaurian theropod also. These are the ancestors of the birds.

Coelophysis was bi-pedal and cursorial in nature. It had three long fingers in it's hands for grasping at it's small, quick moving prey. (The name Coelurosaur, pronounced "see-loor-oh-sawr"' means 'hollow tailed.)

Though found at many sites around the world, the most famous and numerous specimens come from Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, USA. The genus lived during the late Triassic age, about 200 to 220 million years ago.