Elaphrosaurus is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 154 to 150 million years ago during the later part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Tanzania in Africa. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this genus is likely a ceratosaur, and earlier suggestions that it is a late surviving coelophysoid have been examined but generally dismissed.
Discovery[]
Elaphosaurus bambergi was discovered by Werner Janensch, I. Salim, H. Reck, and Parkinson in 1910 In Deutsch-Ostafrika. Janensch would go on to name it in 1920. The original fossil included 18 presacral vertebrae, 5 sacral vertebrae, 20 caudal vertebrae, a pelvic girdle, a nearly complete left hindlimb. The generic name combines the name "elaphros" and "sauros", while the specific name is named after Paul Bamberg.
Description[]
Elaphrosaurus is a medium-sized, but lightly-built, bipedal, carnivore, that could grow up to 6.2 meters (20 feet) long. Morphologically, this dinosaur is significant in two ways. First, it has a relatively long trunk but is very shallow-chested for a theropod of its size. Second, its has very short hindlimbs when compared to its relatively long trunk.
Gallery[]
In popular culture[]
- Elaphrosaurus appears on the holoscape in Jurassic World.
- Elaphrosaurus appeared on I’m a Dinosaur.