Elaphrosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Elaphrosaurus"
fossil_range = Late Jurassic
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Saurischia
subordo = Theropoda
infraordo = Ceratosauria
genus = "Elaphrosaurus"
genus_authority = Janensch, 1920
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"E. bambergi" Janensch, 1920 (type)

"Elaphrosaurus" (meaning "lightweight lizard") is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the late Jurassic of Tanzania, 145 mya. "Elaphrosaurus" was probably a ceratosaur about 6 meters (20 ft) long. Suggestions that it is a late surviving coelophysoid have been entertained but are generally dismissed. A skeleton was found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, which also yielded "Brachiosaurus", "Allosaurus", and "Kentrosaurus". A related animal, perhaps the same species, was found in the Morrison Formation.cite book |last=Paul |first=Gregory S. |title=Predatory Dinosaurs of the World |year=1988 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-671-61946-2 |chapter=Genus "Elaphrosaurus" |pages=pp. 265-266 ] Few theropod skeletons have been found, most discoveries being fragments. Material from the Early Cretaceous of Niger was named "E. gautieri" in 1960, but it has since been renamed "Spinostropheus" by Sereno "et al". (2004). What is known about "Elaphrosaurus" mostly comes from a single nearly complete skeleton. No skull has been found.

It was long and slender, with a long neck, possibly for digging into carrion. It was about 6.2 meters (20 ft) long, 1.46 meters (4.79 ft) tall at the hip, and weighed about 210 kilograms (460 lb). It was fast, probably running down small prey on open plains. The long legs suggest it may have been one of the fastest Jurassic dinosaurs.Fact|date=June 2008

References

* [http://www.geocities.com/jaffacity/Dinosaur_Palestine.html Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2006). "Ornithomimid Dinosaur Tracks from Beit Zeit, West of Jerusalem, Palestine."] "Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin", Number 56, August 2006. pp.1-7.