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DinoFan83 · 12-24-2020, 08:46 PM

Cryolophosaurus (pronounced /ˌkraɪ.ɵˌlɒfɵˈsɔrəs/ or /kraɪˌɒlɵfəˈsɔrəs/, meaning "cold crest lizard") was a medium-sized probable ceratosaur theropod dinosaur, with a bizarre crest on its head that looked like a Spanish comb. Due to the resemblance of this feature to Elvis Presley's pompadour haircut from the 1950s, this dinosaur was at one point informally known as "Elvisaurus".
Cryolophosaurus was excavated from Antarctica's Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian stage) Hanson Formation (former the upper Falla Formation) by paleontologist Dr. William Hammer in 1991. It is the first carnivorous dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica and the first dinosaur of any kind from the continent to be officially named. Dating from the Early Jurassic Period, it was originally described as the earliest known tetanuran, though subsequent studies have found that it is likely to be a ceratosaur.
The holotype and only known individual of Cryolophosaurus is estimated as by Gregory S. Paul at 5 meters long and weighing 350 kilograms; this individual may represent a sub-adult and thus not fully grown, however.
A high, narrow skull was discovered, likely to be over 65 centimeters long when complete. The peculiar nasal crest runs just over the eyes, where it rises up perpendicular to the skull and fans out. It is furrowed, giving it a comb-like appearance. It is an extension of the skull bones, near the tear ducts, fused on either side to horns which rise from the eye sockets (orbital horns). While other theropods like the Monolophosaurus have crests, they usually run along the skull instead of across it.
Known remains consists of an incomplete skull and mandibles lacking most of their front half; nine maxillary teeth; a fragmentary sixth cervical centrum; cervical vertebrae 7-10; several posterior cervical ribs; several anterior dorsal vertebrae; most mid and posterior dorsal vertebrae; several dorsal ribs; the fifth sacral vertebrae; three chevrons; many partial and complete caudal vertebrae and centra; two partial humeri; a proximal radius; a proximal ulna; a partial ilium; a proximal pubis; both ischia, but only one distal; two incomplete femora; the distal end of a tibia; the distal end of a fibula, and the astragalus and calcaneum.. These specimens were formally named and described in 1994 by Hammer and William J. Hickerson, in the journal Science.
The name Cryolophosaurus ellioti was derived from the Greek êñõïò (meaning 'cold' or 'frozen'), ëïöïò (meaning 'crest') and óáõñïò (meaning 'lizard'). Hammer and Hickerson named the species C. ellioti after David Elliot, who had made the initial discovery of the fossils.
Overall, the animal was relatively lightly built with a large head and moderately strong arms.

DinoFan83 · 12-24-2020, 08:54 PM

Cryolophosaurus skull restoration by Greg Paul.