Ceratosaurus - C. nasicornis

• Timeline: ~150 mya (Late Jurassic)
• Location: Utah, Tanzania, Portugal
• Size: Length: ~14-20 ft. Height: ~8 ft. Weight: ~1 ton

Ceratosaurus means 'horned lizard' in Greek and is named so because of the cool-looking rough crest it had at the tip of its nose and the similar looking horns above its eyes. Ceratosaurus had quite a larger head compared to its body than other theropods. It had a mouth with very sharp teeth, along with powerful legs and 4-clawed hands, exactly what you would expect from carnivorous dinosaur. In fact, this Dino is pretty much the first thing that comes to mind when I hear "theropod" partly because of When Dinosaurs Roamed America. That's not to say that its a generic dinosaur, for one it had a layer of bony armor running down its spine and scientists theorize it might of had semi-aquatic habits because of its longer than usual body and tail, sort of like Spinosaurus. Ceratosaurus is actually smaller than some the more famous theropods (roughly half the weight of Allosaurus and its cousin C. dentisulcatus) but yet, its size could be what helped it to actively hunt and kill one of the most famous Dinos, Stegosaurus, its size might mean it would have preferred to hunt in groups, making for a more successful kill. So, Ceratosaurus happens to be a dear friend of mine because it appeared in one of the first Dino films I have seen and has an intimidating face with an ornate of protrusions of bone, making up for its smaller size compared to its competitors.

Stegosaurus

• Timeline: 155-150 mya (millions of years ago)
• Location: Western U.S. and Portugal
• Size: Length: 25-30 ft  Height: 9 ft. tall at hips Weight: 6,000-7,000 lbs.

This week's dinosaur of the week is a favorite among children and sticks with adults. It is the...... Stegosaurus!  Stegosaurus was  quadripedal, it walked on all four feet, and probably traveled in herds, as nearly every herbivorous dinosaur did for protection. Likewise, every herbivore is known to be a herbivore because of its small head and flat teeth which are terrible for hunting and consuming meat. It had 3- foot long plates called 'scutes' running along its back, terminating in four sharp tail spikes at the end which can only be used for protection, right? Well were still not sure what these scutes are for, one theory says that they could be used for protection like the armor on an ankylosaurus. Another says that, like the spinosaurus, they could be used to absorb heat in the morning sun to get its blood warm, remember, dinosaurs belong to the class reptilia, so their body temperature would be regulated by their surroundings, or like this theory says, by the sun. Contrary to popular belief, Stegosaurus would never be seen fighting back against a T-Rex, they lived millions of years apart, a larger interval exists between its existence and a T-rex's than a T-rex's and our existence. This is the case with so many species of dinosaurs that are often depicted to have lived at the same time when in reality, they are separated by millions of years. It is noteworthy to point out that the stegosaurus once was thought to have had a second brain in a cavity in its tale which would be responsible for moving the back of the animal. Now there exists more evidence it is in fact not a second brain, although is one of the findings that supports the idea that a larger animal, especially a warm-blooded one, requires a more powerful brain in order to simply move. This can also be seen as evidence that dinosaurs could not have been warm-blooded, a lot of arguing has been made over whether or not dinosaurs are cold or warm blooded, this I will talk more of later.

Hello there! I'm Jesus and I think dinosaurs are really awesome! Some of these animals to me are some the most fascinating, most elegant, and frankly cool looking creatures I've ever learned about.So, I made a blog in which I could talk about dinosaurs we all know and love like the triceratops, stegosaurus, and of course the T-rex. But also to introduce other species of dinos you may have never heard of, some being very odd, as well as clear up a few facts about dinosaurs that everybody has taken for granted. Like the fact that an ichthyosaur [ik-thee-uh-sawr] is not a dinosaur. The goal is to introduce at least one dino every week but there may be more than one per week, I don't know yet.