Cristatusaurus
| Cristatusaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Diagram illustrating possible size and skeletal reconstruction combining several fossil specimens | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Avetheropoda |
| Infraorder: | †Carnosauria |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Baryonychinae |
| Genus: | †Cristatusaurus Taquet and Russell, 1998 |
| Species: | †C. lapparenti
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| Binomial name | |
| Cristatusaurus lapparenti | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Cristatusaurus was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of West Africa. Its fossils look very similar to the ones from Baryonyx and Suchomimus. [1]
Discovery and naming
[change | change source]The first specimens were found in Niger in 1973 by a French paleontologist named Philippe Taquet. The name of the animal refers to the Latin word for crest, "crista", because it had a crest on its snout. The species "lapparenti" is named after another French paleontologist called Albert-Félix de Lapparent.[1] The fossils discovered so far include two broken snout bones, some pieces from the upper and lower jaws, a claw, and four backbones (also called ''vertebrae''). Scientists aren't sure if Cristatusaurus is a new species, some of them say it could be the same dinosaur as Suchomimus or Baryonyx.[2]
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Another view of the fossil jaw pieces. -
Claw from Cristatusaurus
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Taquet, P. and Russell, D.A. (1998). "New data on spinosaurid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of the Sahara". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences à Paris, Sciences de la Terre et des Planètes 327: 347-353
- ↑ Rauhut, O.W.M. (2003). "The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs". Special Papers in Palaeontology 69: 1-213.
