Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
271 / Mesozoic
Ceratosaurus
Ceratosaurus nasicornis
A nasal horn, brow ridges and small midline osteoderms made this predator unmistakable.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 153–148 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Jurassic
- Geographic range
- River plains · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Ceratosaurus?
Ceratosaurus (Ceratosaurus nasicornis) was an extinct organism known from About 153–148 million years ago, with a range in River plains · North America.
Life and ecology
Ceratosaurus shared the Morrison ecosystem with larger theropods and may have reduced competition through different prey or habitats.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Ceratosaurus disappear?
Late Jurassic environmental and dinosaur turnover provides context, but the end of its North American record does not by itself show an extinction mechanism.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Ceratosaurus?
Several skeletons preserve the nasal horn, four-fingered hand and skin osteoderms.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS