The Elvis Dinosaur

Cryolophosaurus the Elvis Dinosaur

Cryolophosaurus was a Theropod (meat eating carnivore) of the Early Jurassic Period that lived in Antarctica.  Antarctica was not as far south back then so it was warmer than it is now.  In the Northern Hemisphere we tend to think of it being warmer down south, but the South Pole is the coldest place in the world.  In reality, it is warmest at the Equator...which is south of the Northern Hemisphere. 

Back to Cryolophosaurus...  This was a fairly large Theropod but not a T. rex sized animal.  That being said, Cryolophosaurus was around 10 feet tall, 26 feet long, and weighed 1,100 lbs.  In metrics those measurements are:  9 meters tall, 8 meters long, and weighed or massed at about 500 kg. 

The most striking feature of this dinosaur was its crest. It was not like the hollow duckbill dinos' or hadrosaur hollow crests.  It was solid bone.  It looks a bit like a swoop hairdo like Elvis Presley once had so Cryolophosaurus is nicknamed: "The Elvis Dinosaur!" 

The medium sized Pterosaur also lived in the Antarctic.  It is called Dimorphodon.  It was about 3 feet or about a meter long.  It weighed 4.4 lbs or a mass of 2 kg.  By the way.... (warning...retired science teacher geeking out) n...Pounds or lbs are a measure of weight and kilograms or kg are a measure of mass...I had to say that.

Dimorphodon probably primarily ate fish and of course it may have been a scavenger eating dead animals that it found on the shore.