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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Cryolophosaurus


Cryolophosaurus was a predator from Antarctica that lived during the Early Jurassic. Its name means "Frozen Crested Lizard". This dinosaur was 7 meters long and only weighed 500 kilos. That means Cryolophosaurus was a fast-running hunter. Its high, narrow skull was 65 centimeters long
 
Its unique feature was bizarre crest running crossways. 
The crest is actually an extension of the skull bones which lie near the tear ducts, fused on either side to horns which go up from the eye sockets. While other theropods like the Monolophosaurus have crests, they usually run along the skull instead of across it. The crest is too fragile to be used in combat, so it was almost certainly used in mating displays.

Cryolophosaurus is the first carnivore discovered in Antarctica. When this dinosaur was roaming around Antarctica, it was a part of Pangaea and it was much much warmer that now is in Antarctica. Cryolophosaurus was exposed in 1991 by William R. Hammer. It was officially named and described in 1994 by William R. Hammer and William J. Hickerson, in the journal Science.

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