Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus elliotti
Pronounced: Cry - o - Lof - o - Saw - rus
Diet: Carnivore(Meat-eater)
Name Means: "Frozen Crested Lizard"
Length: 20 ft. (6 m)
Height: 7 ft. (2 m)
Weight: unknown
Time: Early Jurassic - 190 mya
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in Antarctica
Cryolophosaurus is the first meat-eating dinosaur to be discovered on
the frozen continent of Antarctica. It was an odd looking dinosaur,
fairly large for such an early hunter. It had a very unusual crest, sort
of a single horn without a point. It is an important discovery not only
because of where it was found, but also because it shows features found
on both early, less advance meat-eaters and later more advanced
meat-eaters such as Allosaurus When
this dinosaur was roaming around on Antarctica, that island continent
was a part of Pangaea and attached to Africa, South America and
Australia in a much warmer part of the world.
It is possible that Cryolophosaurus will be assigned to the ceratosaur
family once further study is concluded. Little is known of this dinosaur due
in part to the inhospitable environment where its remains were discovered.
It is likely an important piece of the puzzle for theropod evolution,
bridging both primitive and more advanced features. |
