Postcrania in zoology and vertebrate paleontology refers to all or part of the skeleton apart from the skull. Frequently fossil remains, e.g. of dinosaurs or other extinct tetrapods, consist of partial or isolated skeletal elements, these are referred to as "postcrania". Sometimes there is disagreement over whether or not the skull and skeleton belong to the same or different animals, as in the case of the Cretaceous sauropod skull Nemegtosaurus found in association with the postcranial skeleton Opisthocoelicaudia.
Advertisement