Cristatusaurus

Cristatusaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous (Albian–Aptian),
~112 Ma
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Diagram illustrating possible size and skeletal reconstruction combining several fossil specimens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
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
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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 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
  2. ↑ Rauhut, O.W.M. (2003). "The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs". Special Papers in Palaeontology 69: 1-213.