Lophostropheus
Lophostropheus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived right at the end of the Triassic Period and the beginning of the Jurassic Period. It is one of the few dinosaurs that may have survived the big extinction that killed many other animals at that time.1
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Fun facts
Lophostropheus is known from only a partial skeleton, including a tooth, neck and back vertebrae, tail bones, and parts of the pelvis.12
Its neck vertebrae have special crests on the top and bottom, which is why it was named 'crest vertebrae'.1
This dinosaur was first thought to be a species of Halticosaurus, then Liliensternus, before getting its own name in 2007.1
Lophostropheus lived around 205 to 196 million years ago, right at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.1
It is the only theropod dinosaur known from good remains at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.1
Most asked questions about Lophostropheus
?How big was Lophostropheus?
Scientists estimate Lophostropheus was about 3 metres (10 feet) long and weighed up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Some researchers think it could have been 5.2 metres (17 feet) long and 136 kilograms (300 pounds).12
?What did Lophostropheus eat?
Lophostropheus was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It was a bipedal predator that probably hunted small animals.12
?When did Lophostropheus live?
Lophostropheus lived around 205 to 196 million years ago, right at the end of the Triassic Period and the beginning of the Jurassic Period. It is one of the few dinosaurs that may have survived the big extinction at that time.12
?Where was Lophostropheus found?
Lophostropheus fossils were found in Normandy, France, in a quarry called Airel.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Lophostropheus
- Named by
- Ezcurra and Cuny 20073
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Coelophysoidea3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Coelophysoidea3
- Age of the rocks
- 206 to 200 million years (Rhaetian / Hettangian)3
- Rock formations
- Moon-Airel3
- Countries
- France3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The fossils were found in 1959 by Claude Pareyn in a quarry in Normandy, France. They were first described in 1966 as Halticosaurus, then in 1993 as Liliensternus airelensis, and finally named Lophostropheus by Martin Ezcurra and Gilles Cuny in 2007.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Lophostropheus was. Different estimates range from 3 metres to 5.2 metres long.1
Where the facts come from
- Lophostropheus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Lophostropheus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Lophostropheus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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