CERATOSAURUS

PRONUNCIATION:	sih-RAT-uh-SAWR-us
TRANSLATION:	Horned Lizard
ALSO KNOWN AS:	n/a
DESCRIPTION:	Carnivore, Bipedal
ORDER:	Saurischia
SUBORDER:	Theropoda
INFRAORDER:	Ceratosauria
MICRO-ORDER:	n/a
SUPERFAMILY:	n/a
FAMILY:	Ceratosauridae
HEIGHT:	13 feet (4.0 meters)
LENGTH:	20 feet (6.1 meters)
WEIGHT:	3,000 lbs (1,360 kg)
PERIOD:	Late Jurassic
NOTES:	Ceratosaurus was found in western North America. It has horns above and forward of its eyes, resembling those of Allosaurus, but it Ceratosaurus derives its name from its extremely unusual, rather large nose horn. Because Ceratosaurus was a very large predator, it is not likely that the horn was a weapon. Possibly it was a secondary sex characteristic, identifying males or females; perhaps it was used in ritual mating battles between males. It has also been suggested that the horn was used by hatchlings to break out of their eggs.