Late Triassic

Daemonosaurus: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a unique looking early dinosaur with a very cool name.  Meet Daemonosaurus chaoliodus!Daemonosaurus was a small meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, United States, during the late Triassic period, roughly between 205 and 200 million years ago.  From nose to tail it is estimated to have measured roughly 5 to 7 feet (1.5-2.2m).  These are estimates based on the fact that only the skull and neck were found.  The genus name translates to "Demo

05/04/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Episode 173: Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona, USA is a hub for Triassic palaeontology and has exposures representing 20 million years of the Late Triassic Chinle Formation. Visitors marvel at the colourful fossilised trees from which the park takes its name, but a whole host of animals called these swampy forests home 225 million years [&hellip

17/03/2026 palaeocast

Hesperosuchus: Beast of the Week

This week we will be checking out a relative of modern crocodilians that has tricked scientists multiple times!  Enter Hesperosuchus agilis!Hesperosuchus was a pseudosuchian (related to crocodilians) that lived in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, USA, during the late Triassic period, about 210 million years ago.  It would have been a meat-eater and from snout to tail the most complete skeleton measures about four feet (1.2m) but other fossils suggest it could have grown larger, up to about si

01/02/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Mirasaura: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a newly published and super unique little creature, Mirasaura grouvogeli!Watercolor life reconstruction of Mirasaura grouvogeli by Christopher DiPiazza.Mirasaura was a reptile that lived in what is now France, during the late Triassic period, 247 million years ago.  Adults of this species may have grown to about 8-10 inches (20-25cm), The genus name translates to "Marvelous Reptile".  The species name, grouvogeli, honors Louis Grouvogel, who originally discover

27/07/2025 prehistoricbeastoftheweek