Temporal range: Early Cretaceous (Albian–Aptian), ~112 Ma
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Diagram illustrating possible size and skeletal reconstruction combining several fossil specimens
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
Theropoda
Family:
†Spinosauridae
Subfamily:
†Baryonychinae
Genus:
†Cristatusaurus Taquet and Russell, 1998
Species:
†C. lapparenti
Binomial name
†Cristatusaurus lapparenti
Taquet and Russell, 1998
Synonyms
Suchomimus tenerensis? Sereno et al., 1998
Cristatusaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Niger, 112 million years ago. It was a baryonychine member of the Spinosauridae, a group of large bipedal carnivores with well-built forelimbs and elongated, crocodile-like skulls. The type species Cristatusaurus lapparenti was named in 1998 by scientists Philippe Taquet and Dale Russell, on the basis of jaw bones and some vertebrae. Two claw fossils were also later assigned to Cristatusaurus. The animal's generic name, which means "crested reptile", alludes to a sagittal crest on top of its snout; while the specific name is in honor of the French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent. Cristatusaurus is known from the Albian to Aptian Elrhaz Formation, where it would have coexisted with sauropod and iguanodontian dinosaurs, other theropods, and various crocodylomorphs.
Originally proposed to be an indeterminate species of Baryonyx, the identity of Cristatusaurus has been subject to debate, in part due to the fragmentary nature of its fossils. Some argue that it is probably the same dinosaur as Suchomimus, which has also been found in Niger, in the same sediment layers. In that case the genus Cristatusaurus would have priority, since it was named two months earlier. Others have concluded, however, that Cristatusaurus is a nomen dubium, considering it indistinguishable from both Suchomimus and Baryonyx. Some distinctions between the fossils of Cristatusaurus and Suchomimus have been pointed out, but it is uncertain whether these differences separate the two genera or if they are due to ontogeny (changes in an organism during growth). A recent study differentiated Cristatusaurus from Suchomimus and assigned it as a valid spinosaurid genus, placing the theropod just outside Baryonychinae.
case the genus Cristatusaurus would have priority, since it was named two months earlier. Others have concluded, however, that Cristatusaurus is a nomen dubium...
colleagues concluded that Suchomimus was identical to Cristatusaurus lapparenti, and despite Cristatusaurus having been named somewhat earlier than Suchomimus...
pit at their front end. Similar processes are present in Suchomimus, Cristatusaurus, and MNHN SAM 124, although not as exposed. These structures compose...
age). In 1998, these fossils became the basis of the genus and species Cristatusaurus lapparenti, named by Taquet and the palaeontologist Dale Russell. The...
Niger. They were in 1998 described as the holotype and paratypes of Cristatusaurus lapparenti, although after several inconclusive debates on whether or...
and Baryonychinae, to which they assigned Baryonyx, Suchomimus, and Cristatusaurus. Spinosaurines were distinguished by their unserrated, straighter, and...
for the genus, the complete shape of Irritator's crest is unknown. Cristatusaurus and Suchomimus (a possible synonym of the former) both had narrow premaxillary...
associated skeleton. A second, spinosaurid found in the formation, Cristatusaurus, is considered either a separate species or a synonym to Suchomimus...
other dinosaurs are known from Gaoufaoua: the theropods Suchomimus/Cristatusaurus, Kryptops, and Eocarcharia; the sauropod Nigersaurus; and the ornithopods...
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