Ceratosaurus

Ceratosaurus was a medium-sized theropod. The original specimen was about 5.3 to 5.7 metres (17 to 18.7 feet) long, while a larger specimen reached around 7 metres (23 feet).3

Ceratosaurus was a carnivore, a meat eater. It may have preyed on plant-eating dinosaurs, and some scientists suggested it also ate aquatic prey like fish and turtles, though that idea has been rejected by more recent studies.34

The sources do not mention feathers on Ceratosaurus. It is known to have had a row of small bony plates (osteoderms) along its back, but no feather impressions have been found.3

No, Ceratosaurus was smaller. Allosaurus was a larger theropod, while Ceratosaurus was medium-sized, around 5.3 to 7 metres long. The sources do not give an exact size for Allosaurus, but they describe Ceratosaurus as rarer and smaller.32

The horn on its snout was probably not used as a weapon. Scientists think it was used for display, like to attract mates or show off.3

Some scientists once thought Ceratosaurus could swim because of its deep tail, but later studies rejected that idea. The deep tail is not unique to swimming dinosaurs.3

Ceratosaurus lived during the Late Jurassic period, around 155 million years ago, in North America and Europe.3

The first nearly complete skeleton was found in Garden Park, Colorado, in the Morrison Formation. Later, fossils were found in Portugal, and fragmentary remains were reported from Tanzania, Uruguay, and Switzerland, but those are not widely accepted.3

Ceratosaurus had only three teeth in its premaxilla, the front part of the upper jaw. This is unusual among large meat-eating dinosaurs.2

There is no evidence that Ceratosaurus hunted in groups. All known individuals were found alone, so scientists think it was a solitary hunter.1