Cristatusaurus

Name: Cristatusaurus ‭(‬Crested lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Kris-tah-tu-sore-us.
Named By: P.‭ ‬Taquet‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Russell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Spinosauridae,‭ ‬Baryonychinae.
Species: C.‭ ‬lapparenti‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of fossil remains.
Known locations: Niger.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Initially described upon partial upper and lower jaw bones from a juvenile individual.‭ ‬Additional premaxillae,‭ ‬claw and four dorsal‭ (‬back‭) ‬vertebrae have now been attributed to the genus.

       Cristatusaurus is recorded as a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous.‭ ‬Africa has been an important source of spinosauird fossil material,‭ ‬however usually only snouts and teeth,‭ ‬and a few isolated bone fragments are found.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬Cristatusaurus is no exception,‭ ‬and at the time of writing only some upper and lower jaw bones,‭ ‬a claw and a handful of vertebrae have been found for the genus.‭ ‬To cast further doubt upon the validity of the genus,‭ ‬some researchers have pointed out that the fossils attributed to Cristatusaurus are really not that different from other early Cretaceous spinosaurid genera such as Baryonyx and Suchomimus.‭ ‬It is for these observations that Cristatusaurus is often listed as a Nomen dubium.

Further reading
-‭ ‬New data on spinosaurid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of the Sahara.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Comptes Rendus de l'Acad�mie des Sciences � Paris,‭ ‬Sciences de la Terre et des Plan�tes‭ ‬327:347-353.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Taquet‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Russell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998.
-‭ ‬The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. -‭ ‬Special Papers in Palaeontology‭ ‬69:‭ ‬1-213.‭ ‬-‭ ‬O.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Rauhut‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites