diff --git a/libraries/arrow-convert/src/from_impls.rs b/libraries/arrow-convert/src/from_impls.rs
index db484c6b..01e8a951 100644
--- a/libraries/arrow-convert/src/from_impls.rs
+++ b/libraries/arrow-convert/src/from_impls.rs
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for u8 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::UInt8Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive UInt8Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for u16 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::UInt16Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive UInt16Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for u32 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::UInt32Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive UInt32Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for u64 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::UInt64Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive UInt64Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for i8 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::Int8Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive Int8Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for i16 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::Int16Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive Int16Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for i32 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::Int32Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive Int32Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ impl TryFrom<&ArrowData> for i64 {
     fn try_from(value: &ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
         let array = value
             .as_primitive_opt::<arrow::datatypes::Int64Type>()
-            .context("not a primitive array")?;
+            .context("not a primitive Int64Type array")?;
         extract_single_primitive(array)
     }
 }
@@ -127,8 +127,9 @@ impl<'a> TryFrom<&'a ArrowData> for &'a str {
 impl<'a> TryFrom<&'a ArrowData> for &'a [u8] {
     type Error = eyre::Report;
     fn try_from(value: &'a ArrowData) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
-        let array: &PrimitiveArray<arrow::datatypes::UInt8Type> =
-            value.as_primitive_opt().wrap_err("not a primitive array")?;
+        let array: &PrimitiveArray<arrow::datatypes::UInt8Type> = value
+            .as_primitive_opt()
+            .wrap_err("not a primitive UInt8Type array")?;
         if array.null_count() != 0 {
             eyre::bail!("array has nulls");
         }
diff --git a/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/array.rs b/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/array.rs
index d1454fd8..3b2bf889 100644
--- a/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/array.rs
+++ b/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/array.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use std::{borrow::Cow, marker::PhantomData, sync::Arc};
+use std::{any::type_name, borrow::Cow, marker::PhantomData, sync::Arc};
 
 use arrow::{
     array::{Array, ArrayRef, AsArray, OffsetSizeTrait, PrimitiveArray},
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ impl serde::Serialize for ArraySerializeWrapper<'_> {
             let list = self
                 .column
                 .as_list_opt::<i64>()
-                .ok_or_else(|| error("value is not compatible with expected Array type"))?;
+                .ok_or_else(|| error("value is not compatible with expected array type"))?;
             // should match the length of the outer struct
             assert_eq!(list.len(), 1);
             list.value(0)
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ where
         let array: &PrimitiveArray<T> = self
             .value
             .as_primitive_opt()
-            .ok_or_else(|| error("not a primitive array"))?;
+            .ok_or_else(|| error(format!("not a primitive {} array", type_name::<T>())))?;
         if array.len() != self.len {
             return Err(error(format!(
                 "expected array with length {}, got length {}",
diff --git a/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/sequence.rs b/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/sequence.rs
index 3fb6bdae..e80c7cf9 100644
--- a/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/sequence.rs
+++ b/libraries/extensions/ros2-bridge/python/src/typed/serialize/sequence.rs
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ where
         let array: &PrimitiveArray<T> = self
             .value
             .as_primitive_opt()
-            .ok_or_else(|| error("not a primitive array"))?;
+            .ok_or_else(|| error(format!("not a primitive {} array", type_name::<T>())))?;
 
         let mut seq = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(array.len()))?;