Cristatusaurus

Cristatusaurus
Holotype (MNHN GDF 366), consisting of jaw fossils, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Saurischia
Family:	†Spinosauridae
Subfamily:	†Baryonychinae
Genus:	†Cristatusaurus
Species:	†C. lapparenti
Binomial name
Cristatusaurus lapparenti Taquet and Russell, 1998

Cristatusaurus (meaning "Crested reptile") is an extinct genus of spinosaurid theropod dinosaur. It lived during the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Africa.

Cristatusaurus lapparenti claw fossil, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris

Its fossils were found at Gadoufaoua in Niger, Africa, in 1973. These fossils are quite similar to those of Baryonyx and Suchomimus. The type species, C. lapparenti, was formally described by Taquet and Russell, in 1998.^[1]

There is some debate over the identity of this creature, in that some argue that it may be the same dinosaur as Suchomimus, which has also been found in Niger. Some therefore suggest that Cristatusaurus is a dubious name.^[2]

References

1. ^ Taquet, P. and Russell, D.A. (1998). "New data on spinosaurid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of the Sahara". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences à Paris, Sciences de la Terre et des Planètes 327: 347-353
2. ^ Rauhut, O.W.M. (2003). "The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs". Special Papers in Palaeontology 69: 1-213.

External links

• Cristatusaurus in the Dinosaur Encyclopaedia

Dinosaurs portal