Ceratosaurus

Ceratosaurus ("horned lizard") was a predatorial Theropod Dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic Period in western United States, eastern Africa, and Portugal (of the western European coast).

This information is given about Ceratosaurus in Jurassic Park: Explorer: Ceratosaurus - small and more bird-like than it's cousin Allosaurus. Ceratosaurus was named for the single horn on it's snout. It was probably a scavenger, but may have also hunted aquatic prey.

Indeed it was relatively small, around 20 feet (6 meters) in length and is said to weigh half its larger relative Allosaurus, the apex predator of the time. In the late Jurassic period, Allosaurus took their place in America, by terrorizing the population of any Ceratosaurus they could find. Yet there still were some in Europe. It sported a nose crest that may glow a bright color during mating season to attract members of the opposite sex. If it hunted, it hunted in pairs (male and female). It worked liked this: first, the female and male would take positions. The female stayed back near it's hiding spot, while the male went out to sniff out anything that could be a potential prey item. The Ceratosaurus would then flush out the animal it was attacking, chasing it to the female in hiding, who would then exterminate the victim.

In Jurassic Park III
Ceratosaurus was in Jurassic Park III, making a brief appearance on the river bank, sniffing the dung-covered main characters, then promptly walking away, most likely because it realized it was in Spinosaurus territory after recognizing the smell, or because the humans were not suitable prey. Not much is shown of this animal.

Some of the Carnotaurus' actions were transferred to this dinosaur in Jurassic Park III as Carnotaurus was not in any of the films, the character of this dinosaur strongly resembles that of the Carnotaurus in The Lost World novel.

It is believed by some that this Ceratosaurus was made from recycled T. rex DNA due to it looking somewhat like a Tyrannosaurus. The Ceratosaurus in Jurassic Park III only had 1 horn, while the real Ceratosaurus had 3. It probably had 1 due to the recycled T. rex DNA.

In Jurassic Park inspired games
Ceratosaurus is also available as a two-star small carnivore in the game Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, appearing as it does in the movie, and hunting larger herbivores in packs. It is know to be a cannibal when no food is around. Supprisingly, the JPOG Ceratosaurus's upper jaw is actually smaller than the movie's design.

Ceratosaurus is featured in the DVD game Jurassic Park: Explorer. A player earns a dinosaur when he/she wins a minigame, when the earned dinosaur is a Ceratosaurus this video will be shown.

Ceratosaurus is also featured in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.

Links

 * Ceratosaurus on Wikipedia