Cristatusaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cristatusaurus |
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| Diagram illustrating possible size and skeletal reconstruction combining several fossil specimens | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cristatusaurus
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| Species: |
lapparenti
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| Synonyms | |
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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.
Discovery and naming
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. 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.
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Another view of the fossil jaw pieces.
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Claw from Cristatusaurus
Images for kids
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Holotype specimen (MNHN GDF 366), consisting of jaw fossils, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
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Diagram showing the differences between an adult (A) and juvenile (B) Cristatusaurus premaxilla
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Type premaxillae from reversed left side (A), bottom (B), and top (C) views
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Comparison between snout fossils of Suchomimus (A, B), Cristatusaurus (C, D), and Baryonyx (E)
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Outcrops of the Erlhaz Formation, (Gadoufaoua in lower right)
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Life restoration
