Elaphrosaurus
Name:
Elaphrosaurus
(Lightweight lizard).
Phonetic: E-laf-roe-sore-us.
Named By: Werner Janensch - 1920.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Ceratosauria.
Species: E. bambergi (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Around 6.2 meters long.
Known locations: Tanzania - Tendaguru
Formation. Possibly also USA - Morrison Formation.
Time period: Tithonian of the Jurassic, possibly
into early Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skeleton.
Skull unknown.
Elaphrosaurus
has been something of an enigma for palaeontologists as while it is
generally regarded as a ceratosaur, its proportions are similar to
some other kinds of theropods. The overall appearance of
Elaphrosaurus is that of a lightweight hunter that
relied more upon
speed rather than strength to take down prey. The tibia in particular
is longer than the femur which is a good sign that Elaphrosaurus
would
have been a fast runner. In fact it is these leg proportions that
once led to the suggestion that Elaphrosaurus may
have been a primitive
ornithomimosaur
after it was initially thought to have been a late
surviving coelophysid. The latter conclusion was based upon the long
neck that probably supported a smaller skull than other theropods which
are known to have larger skulls on shorter necks.
Some
changes regarding the assignment of fossils have taken place over the
years. A former species named from Nigerian fossil material called
Elaphrosaurus gautieri was renamed in 2004 as Spinostropheus.
Other remains from the Morrison Formation of the United States have
been regarded as possibly being the same genus as Elaphrosaurus,
but
at the time of writing are not yet officially recognised.
Further reading
- Ueber Elaphrosaurus bambergi und die
Megalosaurier aus den
Tendaguru-Schichten Deutsch-Ostafrikas [On Elaphrosaurus
bambergi and
the megalosaurs of the Tendaguru Formation of German East Africa] -
Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin
1920:225-235 - W. Janensch - 1920.
- Elaphrosaurus, an ornithomimid dinosaur from the
Upper Jurassic of
North America and Africa - Pal�ontologische Zeitschrift. 56, 265-275 -
P. Galton - 1982.
- The second record of the African theropod Elaphrosaurus
(Dinosauria,
Ceratosauria) from the Western Hemisphere - Neues Jahrbuch f�r Geologie
und Pal�ontologie Monatshefte. 2001(9), 565-576 - Chure - 2001.
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