Elaphrosaurus by Moondawg

Elaphrosaurus

Author: Ghirin

Elaphrosaurus (meaning "lightweight lizard") was a carnivore from late Jurassic Tanzania, 145 mya.

Scientists aren't sure what its head looked like, as its skull was never found. Elaphrosaurus was probably a ceratosaur and probably was about 5 meters long. It was found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, which has also yielded Brachiosaurus, Allosaurus, and Kentrosaurus, to name a few.

A related animal, perhaps the same species, was found in the Morrison Formation. Few theropod skeletons have been found, most discoveries being fragments. Material from the Early Cretaceous of Niger was named E. gautieri in 1960, but it has since been renamed Spinostropheus by Sereno et al. (2004). What is known about Elaphrosaurus mostly comes from a single nearly complete skeleton. No skull has been found.

Hypothetical restoration of an Elaphrosaurus bambergii skull, Naturkundemuseum Berlin. No skull has ever been found.It was long and slender, with a long neck, possibly for digging into carrion. It was about 6.2 meters (20 ft) long, 1.46 meters (4.79 ft) tall at the hip, and weighed about 210 kilograms (460 lb).[1] The tibia (shin bone) of Elaphrosaurus was considerably longer than its femur (thigh bone), which indicates that it could probably run very fast.

*Inspired by the Zoo Tycoon Brains Trust at the Zoo Tek Evolved Forums.*