Cryolophosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids CryolophosaurusTemporal range: Lower Jurassic
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Cryolophosaurus
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Cryolophosaurus was a type of meat-eating dinosaur called a theropod. It lived a very long time ago, during the Lower Jurassic period. This amazing dinosaur is special because it's the only theropod ever found in Antarctica! Imagine a dinosaur living in a place that's mostly ice today.
Scientists discovered Cryolophosaurus fossils in the Jurassic Hanson Formation, which is part of the Transantarctic Mountains. This discovery was a big deal. It showed that dinosaurs lived on every continent, even places that are super cold now. It also proved that some dinosaurs could handle colder climates back then.
Cryolophosaurus is also important because it's the oldest known tetanuran dinosaur from anywhere in the world. Tetanurans are a group of theropods that include many famous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor. Finding Cryolophosaurus from the early Jurassic helps us understand how these dinosaurs first evolved.
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Meet the Cold-Crested Lizard
The name Cryolophosaurus means "cold-crested lizard." This name comes from its most striking feature: a large, bony crest on top of its head. This crest sat right above its eyes and stuck upwards from its skull. Scientists are still not sure what the crest was for. Maybe it was used to attract a mate, or to show off to other dinosaurs.
Where Cryolophosaurus Lived
When Cryolophosaurus was alive, Antarctica was not the icy continent we know today. It was much warmer and covered in forests. The fossils of Cryolophosaurus were found about 650 kilometres (400 mi) from where the South Pole is now. However, back in the Jurassic period, this land was actually about 1,000 km (621 mi) or so farther north. This means it was closer to the equator and had a milder climate.
Other Ancient Neighbors
Along with Cryolophosaurus, scientists found other interesting fossils in the same area. These included parts of Glacialisaurus, which was a large plant-eating dinosaur. They also found a crow-sized pterosaur (a flying reptile), synapsids (ancient relatives of mammals), and another unknown theropod.
Scientists also found many plant fossils from the same time as Cryolophosaurus. These plant remains prove that thick forests and other plants once grew on Antarctica's surface. This was before the continent slowly drifted southward to its current icy location.
Images for kids
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The original skull fossil of Cryolophosaurus, called the holotype. It's kept at the Field Museum of Natural History.
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A reconstructed skeleton of Cryolophosaurus at Ohio State University.
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An artistic drawing of Cryolophosaurus showing what it might have looked like with scales.
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A more recent artistic drawing of the 'Cold-Crested Lizard'.
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A reconstructed skull of Cryolophosaurus.
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A reconstruction of the head of Cryolophosaurus, focusing on its unique crest.
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The fossilized hip bone of Cryolophosaurus. Notice the large loop on the pubis bone, which is different from later theropods.
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A close-up drawing of the head crest.
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Fossilized teeth from a young Cryolophosaurus.
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The fossilized left tibia (shin bone) of Cryolophosaurus (upper image) and the tibia and fibula (lower leg bones) with ankle bones (lower image).
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An artistic drawing of Cryolophosaurus in its ancient environment.
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See also
In Spanish: Cryolophosaurus ellioti para niños
