| Description | Cryolophosaurus (or ; "CRY-oh-loaf-oh-SAWR-us") is a genus of large theropods known from only a single species Cryolophosaurus ellioti, known from the early Jurassic period of Antarctica. It was about 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) long and 465 kilograms (1,025 lb) in weight, making it one of the largest theropods of its time. Individuals of this species may have grown even larger, because the only known specimen probably represents a sub-adult. Cryolophosaurus is known from a skull, a femur and other material, the skull and femur of which have caused its classification to vary greatly. The femur possesses many primitive characteristics that have classified Cryolophosaurus as a dilophosaurid or a neotheropod outside of Dilophosauridae and Averostra, where as the skull has many advanced features, leading the genus to be considered a tetanuran, an abelisaurid, a ceratosaur and even an allosaurid. Since its original description, the consensus is that Cryolophosaurus is either a primitive member of the Tetanurae or a close relative of that group.
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| Source Data | |
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| Rank | species |
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| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Dinosauria : Hadrosauridae : Cryolophosaurus : Cryolophosaurus ellioti |
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| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Saurischia : Cryolophosaurus : Cryolophosaurus ellioti |
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| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted |
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Classification
(PBDB,GBIF) | |
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| Generic Name | Cryolophosaurus |
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| Scientific Name | Cryolophosaurus ellioti Hammer & Hickerson, 1994 |
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| Opinions (PBDB) | | Name | Rank | Opinion | Evidence | Author |
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| Cryolophosaurus ellioti | species | belongs to Cryolophosaurus | stated without evidence | Hammer and Hickerson, 1994 | | Cryolophosaurus ellioti | species | belongs to Cryolophosaurus | stated with evidence | Holtz et al., 2004 | | Cryolophosaurus ellioti | species | belongs to Cryolophosaurus | stated without evidence | Smith et al., 2005 | | Cryolophosaurus ellioti | species | belongs to Cryolophosaurus | stated with evidence | Carrano et al., 2012 | | Cryolophosaurus ellioti | species | belongs to Cryolophosaurus | stated without evidence | Coria et al., 2013 |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct |
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| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 1 |
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| First Recorded Appearance | 199 - 183 Ma
Early Jurassic |
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| Last Recorded Appearance | 199 - 183 Ma
Early Jurassic |
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| Environment | terrestrial (based on Theropoda) |
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| Motility | actively mobile (based on Theropoda) |
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| Diet | carnivore (based on Theropoda) |
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| Reproduction | oviparous, dispersal=direct/internal,mobile (based on Theropoda) |
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| Ontogeny | accretion,modification of parts (based on Theropoda) |
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| Taphonomy | hydroxylapatite,compact or dense (based on Theropoda) |
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| Primary Reference (PBDB) | W. R. Hammer and W. J. Hickerson. 1994. A crested theropod dinosaur from Antarctica. Science 264:828-830 |
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| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryolophosaurus_ellioti |
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| Hammer W. R., Hickerson W. J. (1994) A crested theropod dinosaur from Antarctica, Science 264, 828-830 |
| Gasparini Z., Pereda-Suberbiola X., et al (1996) New data on the ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of the Antarctic Peninsula, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39 3, 583-594 |
| Molnar R. E., Angriman A. L., et al (1996) An Antarctic Cretaceous theropod, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39 3, 669-674 |
| Rich T. H. (1996) Significance of polar dinosaurs in Gondwana, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39 3, 711-717 |
| Holtz, Jr. T. R., Molnar R. E., et al (2004) Basal Tetanurae, The Dinosauria (second edition). University of California Press, Berkeley, 71-110 |
| Smith N. D., Pol D. (2007) Anatomy of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52 4, 657-674 |
| Langer M. C., Ezcurra M. D., et al (2010) The origin and early evolution of dinosaurs, Biological Reviews 85, 55-110 doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00094.x |
| Carrano M. T., Benson R. B. J., et al (2012) The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda), Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10 2, 211-300 doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927 |
| Coria R. A., Moly J. J., et al (2013) A new ornithopod (Dinosauria; Ornithischia) from Antarctica, Cretaceous Research 41, 186-193 doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.12.004 |
| Delsate D., Ezcurra M. D. (2014) The first Early Jurassic (late Hettangian) theropod dinosaur remains from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Geological Belgica 17 2, 175-181 |
| Martill D. M., Vidovic S. U., et al (2016) The oldest Jurassic dinosaur: a basal neotheropod from the Hettangian of Great Britain, PLoS ONE 11 1, e0145713:1-38 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145713 |
| Dal Sasso C., Maganuco S., et al (2018) The oldest ceratosaurian (Dinosauria: Theropoda), from the Lower Jurassic of Italy, sheds light on the evolution of the three-fingered hand of birds, PeerJ 6, e5976:1-78 doi:10.7717/peerj.5976 |
| W. R. Hammer, W. J. Hickerson (1994) A crested theropod dinosaur from Antarctica: Science: 828--830 - via Catalogue of Life |
| M. T. Carrano, R. B. J. Benson, S. D. Sampson (2012) The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda): Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 2: 211--300 (10.1080/14772019.2011.630927) - via Catalogue of Life |
Cryolophosaurus ellioti ✝
