Dilophosaurs
Monolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus.
Cryolophosaurus is a large Theropod Dinosaur said by many to have lived in the early Jurassic period, putting it at around 188 million years ago by Evolutionary dating methods. The first specimen of Cryolophosaurus was excavated in 1991 in Antarctica, making it the first carnivorous Dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica and the first Dinosaur from the continent to be given an official name.
The name of this interesting reptile means "Cold Crest Lizard", a reference to both it's discovery in Antarctica and it's unique crest feature on it's head. This crest gave Cryolophosaurs the nickname "Elvisaurus" due to it's resemblance to Elvis Presley's pompadour haircut.
Cryolophosaurus was a smaller sized Theropod than many of the more famous species such as Tyrannosaurus Rex or Allosaurus based on the little fossil remains we have found. In fact there is only one specimen known and may represent a juvenile or sub-adult, and as such, not the full extent of the species' size. While Cryolophosaurus was no giant demi god of the Dinosaurs able to swallow horses or cattle in one gulp like it's larger "cousins", it was still large compared to a human being. Cryolophosaurus reached at least 21 feet long and is believed to reach a weight of just over 1,000 lbs, certainly enough to make a meal out of a human. The only known skull measures about 25 inches long and shows that the species possessed a number of recurved,blade-like teeth meaning it was likely a predator.
The crest it is famous for is an extension of the skull and sticks up perpendicular to the skull and fans out, looking like a comb. The crest was certainly too fragile for any sort of combat and was likely used for display purposes. It is unknown if the crest is a feature of just one sex or if both males and females.
While little is known about Cryolophosaurus it is clear that it adheres to the rules of nature in that it is a distinct creature with definitive features. It is one more of millions of organisms that display stability and design. Cryolophosaurus is not a huge titan like Spinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Or Giganatosaurus, and it may not have huge sickle shaped claws or travel in packs, but it is certainly a beautiful animal that demonstrates wonderful design and displays God's handiwork. Incidentally there is an ancient carving of three animals in Umm El-Kanatir in Rome, one of the animals is a horse being attacked by a large creature, The other is the large creature, and the 3rd is what looks strikingly like a Cryolophosaurus. This depiction would indeed not be possible unless humans had seen the animals.
Dilophosaurus.
A fierce predatory Theropod dinosaur with two thin crests on its head. It is believed that most of its prey consisted of small animals since the crests on its head were thin and fragile.
The first specimens of Dilophosaurus were discovered in Arizona in the summer of 1942 Sam Welles and were incorrectly classified as Megalosaurus. In 1964 new specimens with the distinctive double head-crests were found and the species was classified as a new species and renamed in 1970 due to the dual crests. Since it's inception into science, Evolutionary dating has placed this creature at 193 million years ago in what Evolutionists call the early Jurassic era.
The two crests on the head were very thin and fragile and while it is not certain what function they served, it has been suggested that they were used for sexual display. Given that these crests were so thin and delicate, and that the front portion of it's top jaw contained a notch made by a weak connection of the premaxillary and maxillary bones, it is likely that Dilophosaurs' diet consisted mostly of small animals and that Dilophosaurus did not attack large animals like many other Theropod Dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus or Allosaurus taking down Sauropods often larger than themselves.
Dilophosaurus became well known to the public in the 1993 blockbuster movie Jurassic Park. However in the movie the animal was portrayed at nearly 1/4 its real size at 3 foot tall and 5 foot long in order to avoid confusion with the Velociraptors. In reality a fully mature Dilophosaurus was 20 feet long and may have weighed 1,000 lbs.
The Dilophosaurus was also portrayed with a large expandable neck frill similar to a Frilled lizard from Australia, and also with the ability to spit a toxic substance similar to how a spitting cobra spits venom, aiming for the eyes as to blind the victim. In reality no evidence have been found for either of these two features and were the product of artistic license. Artistic license seems to also be prevalent in many accounts of dragons throughout history as can be seen in our section Dragons: The kings of legend.