Cryolophosaurus

Cryolophosaurus ellioti

The first carnivorous dinosaur described from Antarctica, Cryolophosaurus ellioti carried a distinctive fan-shaped crest running crosswise over its head, which earned it the nickname Elvisaurus. Roughly 6.5 meters long and near 465 kilograms, it lived during the Early Jurassic, roughly 201 to 175 million years ago, when the southern continent lay in a far milder climate than today. William Hammer and William Hickerson reported it in 1994 from Mount Kirkpatrick. Its name means frozen crested lizard, a reference to both the transverse ornament and the icy locality where it was unearthed, and its discovery extended the known range of early theropods to the polar south.

Cryolophosaurus means frozen crested lizard and was the first carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Antarctica. It had a distinctive fan-shaped crest running across the top of its head, earning it the nickname Elvisaurus.

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Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Human Scale
Length	6.5 m	roughly the length of a large SUV
Height	2.0 m	—
Weight	465 kg	about 7 adult humans

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Cryolophosaurus was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Jurassic Early Mesozoic Era

Cryolophosaurus lived during the Jurassic Early period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 201.4 to 174.7 million years ago.

After the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, dinosaurs rapidly diversified and became the dominant land vertebrates. Early sauropods and theropods began to evolve larger body sizes.

Discovery & Naming

Named By	William Hammer & William Hickerson
Discovery Year	1994
Discovery Location	Mount Kirkpatrick, Antarctica

Classification

Dinosauria → Saurischia → Theropoda → Cryolophosaurus

Beast feet

Bipedal, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs that include the largest land predators ever to live. Theropods gave rise to modern birds. Ranges from tiny Compsognathus to massive Tyrannosaurus rex.