Ceratosaurus (IPA: /sɛˌɹætə'sɔːɹəs/) meaning 'horned lizard', in reference to the horn on its nose (Greek keras/keratos meaning 'horn' and sauros meaning 'lizard'), was a large predatory dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period, found in the Morrison Formation of North America, in Tanzania and possibly in Portugal. It was characterized by large jaws with blade-like teeth, a large, blade-like horn on the snout and a pair hornlets over the eyes. The forelimbs were powerfully built but very short. The bones of the sacrum were fused (synsacrum) and the pelvic bones were fused together and to this structure (Sereno 1997) (i.e. similar to modern birds). A row of small osteoderms was present down the middle of the back.^[1] Upper Jurassic (also known as Malm) was an epoch of the Jurassic geologic period. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 476 pixelsFull resolution (1872 × 1115 pixel, file size: 292 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) created by me user debivort, 12. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... Groups Sauropodomorpha    Saturnalia    Prosauropoda    Sauropoda Theropoda    Eoraptor    Herrerasauridae    Ceratosauria    Tetanurae       Aves(extant) Saurischians (from the Greek Saurischia meaning lizard hip) are one of the two orders/branches of dinosaurs. ... Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... The Ceratosauria are a group of Theropod dinosaurs defined as all theropods sharing a more recent common ancestry with Ceratosaurus than with birds. ... Genera Ceratosaurus (type) Genyodectes Ceratosauridae is a family of theropod dinosaurs belonging to the infraorder Ceratosauria. ... Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 - March 18, 1899) was one of the pre-eminent paleontologists of the 19th century, who discovered and named many fossils found in the American West. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... In zoological nomenclature, a type is a specimen or a taxon. ... This chart shows concisely the most common way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is applied to represent the English language. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ... A geologic period is a subdivision of geologic time that divides an era into smaller timeframes. ... The Morrison Formation is a distinctive body of rock in the western United States and Canada that has been the most fertile source of fossils in North America. ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The synsacrum is a skeletal structure, mainly described in birds and dinosaurs, in which the sacrum is extended by incorporation of additional fused or partially-fused caudal or lumbar vertebrae. ... Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is an American paleontologist who is the discoverer of several new dinosaur species on several continents. ... Armour in animals is external or superficial protection against attack by predators, formed as part of the body (rather than the behavioural use of protective external objects), usually through the hardening of body tissues, outgrowths or secretions. ...

Discovery and species

Ceratosaurus is known from the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in central Utah and the Dry Mesa Quarry in Colorado. The type species, described by O. C. Marsh in 1884 and redescribed by Gilmore in 1920, is Ceratosaurus nasicornis. Two further species were described in 2000,^[2] C. magnicornis, and dentisulcatus. Both are more powerfully built, more derived, and appear in slightly younger rocks than C. nasicornis. More additional species, including C. ingens, C. stechowi and a species that has been referred to as C. meriani, from Portugal, have been described from less complete material. Ceratosaurus species: This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,889 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... Dry Mesa Quarry is situated in Colorado, USA, near the town of Delta. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 - March 18, 1899) was one of the pre-eminent paleontologists of the 19th century, who discovered and named many fossils found in the American West. ...

• C. nasicornis (type)
• C. dentisulcatus
• C. magnicornis
• C. ingens
• C. stechowi
• C. meriani

Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ...

Paleobiology

Relative sizes of humans and Ceratosaurus.

Ceratosaurus lived alongside dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, Torvosaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus. It may have competed with Allosaurus for prey, though it was smaller at around 6 to 8 meters (20-27 feet) in length, 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall, and weighing 500 kg up to 1 tonne; it would have occupied a distinctly separate niche from its larger cousin. Ceratosaurus had a longer, more flexible body, with a tail shaped like a crocodilian.^[1] This suggests that it was a better swimmer than the stiffer Allosaurus. A recent study by Bakker^[3] suggested that Ceratosaurs generally hunted aquatic prey, such as fish and crocodiles, although it had potential for feeding on large dinosaurs. The study also suggests that sometimes adults and juveniles ate together. This evidence is, of course, very debatable and Ceratosaurus tooth marks are very common on large, terrestrial dinosaur prey fossils. Another common theory is that Ceratosaurus preyed primarily on Dryosaurus, Camptosaurus, and other Ornithopoda, since it was likely a lone hunter and incapable as such of bringing down adult sauropods. Scavenging from corpses, smaller predators, and after larger ones also likely accounted for some of its diet. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 424 pixel Image in higher resolution (1403 × 744 pixel, file size: 75 KB, MIME type: image/png)image by me user debivort, 12. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 424 pixel Image in higher resolution (1403 × 744 pixel, file size: 75 KB, MIME type: image/png)image by me user debivort, 12. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ... Binomial name Torvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979 Torvosaurus (TORE-vo-SORE-us) was a giant carnivorous dinosaur, similar in appearance to Tyrannosaurus although it had larger arms and a bulky body. ... Species Apatosaurus ajax Apatosaurus excelsus Apatosaurus louisae Apatosaurus (pronounced ) meaning deceptive lizard, because its chevron bones were like those of Mosasaurus (Greek apatelos or apatelios = deceptive + sauros = lizard), often mistakenly referred to as Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaurs that lived about 140 million years ago, during the Jurassic... Species (type) Hatcher, 1901 (Gillette, 1991) Lucas et al. ... Species Marsh, 1877 (type) Marsh, 1887 Gilmore, 1914 Stegosaurus (IPA: ) is a genus of stegosaurid armoured dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Early Tithonian) in what is now western North America. ... Species Dryosaurus (DRY-oh-sawr-us) meaning oak lizard, due to the vague oak shape of its cheek teeth (Greek dryo = oak + sauros = lizard) was a ornithopod dinosaur living in the Late Jurassic Period. ... Species C. hoggii Owen, 1874 C. dispar (Type) Marsh, 1879 C. prestwichii Hulke, 1880 Camptosaurus (KAMP-to-sawr-us) was a genus of plant-eating, beaked dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic Period. ... Clades ?Heterodontosauridae Hypsilophodontia Iguanodontia    Hadrosauridae Ornithopods (or-nith-oh-PODS) are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs who started out as small, cursorial grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful Cretaceous herbivores in the world, and totally dominated the North American landscape. ... Families Brachiosauridae Camarasauridae Cetiosauridae Diplodocidae Euhelopodidae Nemegtosauridae Titanosauridae Vulcanodontidae Sauropoda, the sauropods, are a suborder or infraorder of the saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs. ...

Classification

Ceratosaurus nasicornis

Relatives of Ceratosaurus include Genyodectes, Elaphrosaurus, and the abelisaur Carnotaurus. The classification of Ceratosaurus and its immediate relatives has been under intense debate recently. Ceratosaurus is unique in its characters; it is too advanced and basal tetanuran-like to be a large, late coelophysoid; and too primitive in many manners to be a true carnosaur. Its closest relatives appear to be the abelisaurs from the Cretaceous, but again, Ceratosaurus is an enigma in its existing tens of millions of years before them with no obvious Early Cretaceous link between them. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 297 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 334 pixel, file size: 33 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ceratosaurus_nasicornis- reconstruction autor - Bogdanov dmitrchel@mail. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 297 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 334 pixel, file size: 33 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ceratosaurus_nasicornis- reconstruction autor - Bogdanov dmitrchel@mail. ... Binomial name Genyodectes serus Woodward, 1901 Genyodectes (Woodward, 1901) is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of South America. ... Elaphrosaurus was a carnivore from the Jurassic, 145 mya. ... Species See text Abelisaurs were a group of Ceratosaurian dinosaurs which lived all over the southern hemisphere (with the exeption of Tarascosaurus in Southern Europe) during the Cretaceous period. ... Binomial name Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, 1985 Carnotaurus (kahrn-oh-TAWR-us) meaning meat-eating bull, referring to its distinct bull-like horns (Latin carn = flesh + taurus = bull) was a large predatory dinosaur, with horns vaguely resembling a bulls. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Concept mining. ... In phylogenetics, basal members of a group diverged earlier than a subgroup of others (or vice versa). ... Groups Cryolophosaurus Spinosauroidea     Megalosauridae     Spinosauridae     Torvosauridae Neotetanurae     Carnosauria     Coelurosauria // Definition Tetanurae, meaning stiff tails, was named by Gauthier (1986) for a large group of theropod dinosaurs. ... Families Allosauridae    Allosaurinae    ?Carcharodontosaurinae Sinraptoridae Carnosauria is a sub-group of Theropods, a group of predatory dinosaurs. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... The Early Cretaceous (timestratigraphic name) or the Lower Cretaceous (logstratigraphic name), is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous period. ...

In the past, Ceratosaurus, the Cretaceous abelisaurs, and the primitive coelophysoids were all grouped together and called Ceratosauria, defined as "theropods closer to Ceratosaurus than to Aves". Recent evidence, however, has shown large distinctions between the later, larger and more advanced ceratosaurs and earlier forms like Coelophysis. While considered distant from birds among the theropods, Ceratosaurus and its kin were still very bird-like, and even had a more avian tarsus than Allosaurus. As with all dinosaurs, the more fossils found of these animals, the better their evolution and relationships can be understood. The Ceratosauria are a group of Theropod dinosaurs defined as all theropods sharing a more recent common ancestry with Ceratosaurus than with birds. ... Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... // Binomial name Coelophysis bauri Cope, 1889 Synonyms Coelurus bauri Cope, 1887 Tanystropheus bauri (Cope, 1887) ?Podokeesaurus 1911 Rioarribasaurus colberti Hunt & Lucas, 1991 Syntarsus colberti (Hunt & Lucas, 1991) Paul, 1993 One of the earliest known dinosaurs, Coelophysis (see-law-FYS-iss) meaning hollow form in reference to its hollow bones (Greek... “Aves” redirects here. ... In tetrapods, the tarsi are the cluster of bones in the foot between the tibia and fibula and the metatarsus. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are giant reptiles that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for most of their 165-million year existence. ...

In popular culture

See also: Dinosaurs in popular culture

An outdated reconstruction of Ceratosaurus.

• A Ceratosaurus battles a Triceratops in the 1966 remake of One Million Years B.C..
• In Jurassic Park III, a Ceratosaurus has a brief appearance by the river. It appears to go to eat the main characters but, upon noting that they are covered in Spinosaurus feces, turns up its nose, looks at the audience and trots away.
• In the film When Dinosaurs Roamed America, a Ceratosaurus makes a few appearances as a predator, killing Dryosaurus and eating it but is later killed and eaten by an Allosaurus.
• The famous Korean manhwa character Baby-Saurus Dooly, is known to be Ceratosaurus.
• In The Animal World (1956) a Ceratosaurus kills a Stegosaurus in battle, but is soon attacked by another Ceratosaurus trying to steal a meal. This scene ends with both Ceratosaurus falling to their deaths off the edge of a very high cliff.
• Ceratosaurus is also featured in The Land That Time Forgot (1975) where it battles a Triceratops, and its sequel The People That Time Forgot (1977) in which Patrick Wayne's character rescues a cavegirl from two pursuing Ceratosaurus by driving the dinosaurs off with smoke bombs (after having failed to frighten them off by firing shots in the air once the Ceratosaurus' attention had been shifted to Patrick Wayne's party of explorers).
• In the Rite of Spring segment of Fantasia, Ceratosaurus are shown as opportunistic predators attacking Stegosaurus and Diplodocus trapped in mud.

Pink dinosaur model at Vernal, Utah. ... Image File history File links Ceratosaurus2. ... Image File history File links Ceratosaurus2. ... Species (type) Marsh, 1890 Triceratops (IPA: ) was a herbivorous genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago (mya) in what is now North America. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 (released in the U.S. in 1967) fantasy film starring Raquel Welch set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. ... Jurassic Park III is a 2001 film and sequel of The Lost World: Jurassic Park and the highly successful original Jurassic Park. ... Species (type) ? Russell, 1996 Spinosaurus (meaning spine lizard) was a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now North Africa, from the Albian to early Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous Period, about 95 to 93 million years ago. ... When Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American nature documentary first aired on Discovery Channel in 2001. ... Species type (Marsh, 1878) Paul, 1987 Mateus , 2006 jimmadseni Chure, 2000 vide Glut, 2003 Synonyms Creosaurus Marsh, 1878 Labrosaurus Marsh, 1879 Camptonotus Marsh, 1879  ?Epanterias Cope, 1878 Allosaurus (IPA: ) was a large (up to 11. ... This article is about the character from Dooly the Dinosaur. ... Poster art for the Amicus/American International Pictures 1975 fantasy hit The Land That Time Forgot is a 1975 fantasy/adventure film based on the 1918 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... The Rite of Spring is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. ... Look up Fantasia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Fantasia may refer to one of several things. ... Species (type) Hatcher, 1901 (Gillette, 1991) Lucas et al. ...

Footnotes