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sharp-clawed runner
Dilophosaurus
Say it like this: “dy-LOH-fuh-SOR-uhs, -foh-”
Dilophosaurus wetherilli
Dilophosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 201.4 to 184.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1970 · Welles, S. P.
- Hip height
- 1.4 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 6–7 m · 20–23 ft
- Weight
- 283–400 kg · 624–882 lb
- Found in
- the United States · Kayenta
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Neotheropoda
The story in short
The genus Dilophosaurus dates to 1970, the year S. P. Welles described it.
Fossils referred to Dilophosaurus date to the Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian · Pliensbachian), roughly 201.4 to 184.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kayenta Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Dilophosaurus at a length near 6–7 m, hips about 1.4 m high, and a body mass around 283–400 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Neotheropoda, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus ellioti
Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago
Dolichosuchus
Dolichosuchus cristatus
Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Dracovenator
Dracovenator regenti
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago