Temporal range: Sinemurian-Maastrichtian, 199.3–66 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Skeletal reconstruction of Ceratosaurus nasicornis
Skeletal reconstruction of Carnotaurus sastrei
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
Theropoda
Clade:
Neotheropoda
Clade:
Averostra
Clade:
†Ceratosauria Marsh, 1884
Subgroups
†Berberosaurus
†Deltadromeus?
†Dandakosaurus?
†Fosterovenator?
†Saltriovenator
†Spinostropheus?
†Neoceratosauria
†Abelisauroidea
†Ceratosauridae
Ceratosaurs are members of the clade Ceratosauria, a group of dinosaurs defined as all theropods sharing a more recent common ancestor with Ceratosaurus than with birds. The oldest known ceratosaur, Saltriovenator, dates to the earliest part of the Jurassic, around 199 million years ago. Ceratosauria includes three major clades: Ceratosauridae, Noasauridae, and Abelisauridae, found primarily (though not exclusively) in the Southern Hemisphere. Originally, Ceratosauria included the above dinosaurs plus the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Coelophysoidea and Dilophosauridae, implying a much earlier divergence of ceratosaurs from other theropods. However, most recent studies have shown that coelophysoids and dilophosaurids do not form a natural group with other ceratosaurs, and are excluded from this group.[1]
Ceratosauria derives its names from the type species, Ceratosaurus nasicornis, described by O.C. Marsh in 1884. A moderately large predator from the Late Jurassic, Ceratosaurus nasicornis, was the first ceratosaur to be discovered. Ceratosaurs are generally moderately large in size, with some exceptions like the larger Carnotaurus and the significantly smaller noasaurs. The major defining characteristics of Ceratosauria include a robust skull with increased ornamentation or height and a shortening of the arms.[2] Both of these characteristics are generally accentuated in later members of the group, such as the abelisaurs, whereas more basal species such as C. nasicornis appear more similar to other basal theropods. The highly fragmented nature of the ceratosaur fossil record means that the characteristics, relationships, and early history of Ceratosauria remain mysterious and highly debated.
^Carrano, Matthew T.; Sampson, Scott D. (2008-01-01). "The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (2): 183–236. doi:10.1017/S1477201907002246. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 30068953.
^Cite error: The named reference Eoabelisaurus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Ceratosaurs are members of the clade Ceratosauria, a group of dinosaurs defined as all theropods sharing a more recent common ancestor with Ceratosaurus...
in the early cladistic classifications they were included under the Ceratosauria and considered a side-branch of more advanced theropods, they may have...
to Ceratosauria, a clade of theropod dinosaurs that diverged early on from the evolutionary lineage leading to modern birds. Within Ceratosauria, some...
Sampson (2008) and Carrano et al. (2012) assign Elaphrosaurus to the Ceratosauria. A re-study of the known fossil material, published in 2016, concluded...
Noasauridae is an extinct family of theropod dinosaurs belonging to the group Ceratosauria. They were closely related to the short-armed abelisaurids, although...
dinosaur diversity. Tetanurae likely diverged from its sister group, Ceratosauria, during the late Triassic. Tetanurae first appeared in the fossil record...
the Coelophysoidea in the group Ceratosauria. In 2000, paleontologist James H. Madsen and Welles divided Ceratosauria into the families Ceratosauridae...
Dinosaur vision was, in general, better than the vision of most other reptiles, although vision varied between dinosaur species. Coelurosaurs, for example...
created the new taxon Ceratosauria to include both the Ceratosauridae and the ostrich-like ornithomimids. The idea of the Ceratosauria was soon contested...
Abelisauridae is a family in rank-based Linnaean taxonomy, within the infraorder Ceratosauria and the superfamily Abelisauroidea, which also contains the family Noasauridae...
Carrano, Matthew T.; Sampson, Scott D. (January 2008). "The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (2):...
removed from the analysis, Deltadromeus would resolve to a member of Ceratosauria. In an analysis of Aoniraptor, which may be the same animal as Gualicho...
of coelophysoid research K. Carpenter, 1997, "A giant coelophysoid (Ceratosauria) theropod from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA", Neues Jahrbuch...
appear during the Early Jurassic, with the earliest known member of Ceratosauria being Saltriovenator from the early Sinemurian (199.3–197.5 million years...
and implications for the morphology of the Noasauridae (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) / Matthew T. Carrano, Mark A. Loewen, and Joseph J. W. Sertich. Rodrigo...
an extinct family of theropod dinosaurs belonging to the infraorder Ceratosauria. The family's type genus, Ceratosaurus, was first found in Jurassic rocks...
(Welles, 1984), Procompsognathidae (Parrish and Carpenter, 1986), and Ceratosauria (Gauthier, 1986). In 2004, "Syntarsus" was found to be synonymous with...
(1): 1–42. Carrano, M. T.; Sampson, S. D. (2008). "The phylogeny of Ceratosauria" (PDF). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (2): 183–236. doi:10...
2022). "Elemgasem nubilus: a new brachyrostran abelisaurid (Theropoda, Ceratosauria) from the Portezuelo Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia, Argentina"...
superfamily Abelisauroidea, which is in turn a subdivision of the infraorder Ceratosauria. Abelisaurids are known for their tall skulls with blunt snouts, extensive...
Berlin. 8: 225–235. Tykoski, Ronald S.; and Rowe, Timothy. (2004). "Ceratosauria", in The Dinosauria (2nd). 47–70. Janensch, Werner (1925). "Die Coelurosaurier...
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