Pogona barbata

Jun. 4, 2012 at 11:29am with 78 notes

Reblogged from dino-files

Name: Dilophosaurus
Pronounced: Die-Loaf-Oh-Saw-Russ
Classification: Theropod
Sub-family: Dilophosaurid
Temporal Range: Early Jurassic (193 Mya)
Length: 6 metres
Height: 2 metres
Weight: 500kg
Movement: Bipedal
Feeding Type: Carnivore

Information:
- Discovery: The first specimen of Dilophosaurus was discovered in 1942 by palaeontologist Sam Welles in Arizona, USA. This original specimen was initially named Megalosaurus; however Welles returned to the site of the original find ten years later and discovered another specimen of the same dinosaur. It was at this time that Welles renamed the species Dilophosaurus, due to the distinctive, double head crest. Dilophosaurus represents a dilophosaurid theropod dinosaur, making it a close relative of Cryolophosaurus. It is thought that Dilophosaurus is a direct descendant of Coelophysis, due to its similar skeletal characteristics.

- Statistics: Dilophosaurus was a fairly primitive theropod dinosaur, which would have grown to around 6 metres in length. It is thought that Dilophosaurus would have weighed about half a ton, making it much lighter than the related Cryolophosaurus.

- Description: Dilophosaurus is a very distinctive dinosaur, in that it is instantly recognisable by the two crests that are situated on top of its head. However, it did not have a neck frill or spit venom, like the Dilophosaurus depicted in the 1993 film, Jurassic Park. The crests themselves were likely used for display purposes and were probably brightly coloured. Palaeontologists believe that only male animals supported these head crests and that they would have been used to attract the attention of female animals during mating displays.
The crests are often found disarticulated from the skull fossils, hence why it was initially believed that the crests ran from the back of the skull, down the neck. However, such a reconstruction would have restricted the movement of the neck vertebrae, a flawed configuration for a predator, hence the acceptance of the crests being situated on top of the skull.
The skull of Dilophosaurus features a large notch in the upper jaw, which actually represents a structural weakness. This weakness suggests that Dilophosaurus possibly did not have as high a bite force as other similar-sized theropods. This bite force suggests that Dilophosaurus lived the life of a scavenger; where it would only need a bite force large enough to tear meat from a carcass. In this scenario, Dilophosaurus would have used its size to intimidate and drive off smaller predators, allowing it to dominate carcasses.