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DVL-0036Specimen Record

Cryolophosaurus

Cryolophosaurus ellioti

CRY-oh-LOFF-oh-SOR-us el-ee-OT-eye

Illustration of Cryolophosaurus ellioti
  • Sideways Head Crest: Most crested dinosaurs had ridges running front-to-back along their skulls, but Cryolophosaurus was different — its bony crest ran sideways across its head like a funky pompadour hairstyle. This eye-catching headgear probably wasn't a weapon, but a way to show off to other Cryolophosaurus, hinting that even early meat-eating dinosaurs had surprisingly complex social lives.
  • Meat-Slicing Teeth: The teeth were curved backwards and flattened from side to side, with tiny saw-like edges running along both the front and back — perfect for slicing through flesh like steak knives. These chompers were built for hunting big plant-eaters like early long-necked dinosaurs, whose bones have been found in the same Antarctic rocks.
  • Still Growing: The only known skeleton belonged to a teenager! Scientists can tell because the skull bones hadn't fully fused together yet, and the leg bones show signs of rapid growth. At 6.5 metres long, this youngster was already impressive — fully grown adults may have been even bigger, making Cryolophosaurus one of the most fearsome hunters of the Early Jurassic world.
  • Grasping Arms: The arms were short but muscular, built for grabbing rather than running. While not completely preserved, what remains shows a predator that could seize struggling prey with its hands — a design that would eventually shrink down to the famously tiny arms of T. rex millions of years later.
  • Speedy Legs: Long, powerful legs ending in three-toed feet made Cryolophosaurus a capable pursuit hunter. Walking on its toes like a bird, it could chase down prey across the ancient forests of Antarctica — which back then was cool and green, not the frozen wasteland we know today.
●Early Jurassic201.3–174.7 myaSaurischiaTheropod🥩 Carnivore🦵 Biped

Antarctica's 'frozen crested lizard' sported a bizarre Elvis-like head crest and stalked polar forests 190 million years ago, proving dinosaurs thrived even near the South Pole.

Did you know?
  • Its distinctive crest earned it the nickname 'Elvisaurus' because it resembles Elvis Presley's pompadour hairstyle

About

Cryolophosaurus was a large predator that roamed Antarctica during the Early Jurassic, approximately 190 million years ago. Its most distinctive feature was an unusual bony that rose perpendicular to the skull, running side-to-side across the top of its head like a Spanish comb—earning it the nickname 'Elvisaurus' among paleontologists. Unlike the forward-facing crests of later theropods like Dilophosaurus, this unique ornamentation suggests Cryolophosaurus may represent an early experimental branch of theropod evolution.

During the Early Jurassic, Antarctica was positioned closer to the equator and connected to the supercontinent . While still experiencing polar conditions with extended periods of darkness, the region supported lush temperate forests rather than the frozen wasteland we know today. Cryolophosaurus likely hunted prosauropods and other herbivores that browsed these ancient woodlands, making it one of the apex predators of its ecosystem.

The dinosaur was discovered in 1991 by paleontologist William Hammer and his team on Mount Kirkpatrick in the Transantarctic Mountains, at an elevation of over 4,000 meters. The extreme conditions of Antarctic fieldwork made excavation extraordinarily challenging—fossils had to be extracted from frozen rock in sub-zero temperatures with limited working seasons. The species name honors David Elliot, the geologist who first spotted the fossils.

Cryolophosaurus holds the distinction of being one of the first carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in Antarctica and remains one of the largest known theropods from the Early Jurassic period worldwide. The known specimen appears to be a subadult, suggesting fully grown individuals may have been even larger—a tantalizing hint at the formidable predators that once stalked Earth's southernmost continent.

Quick Facts

Scientific name
Cryolophosaurus ellioti
Group
Theropod · Tetanurae
Lived
Early Jurassic, 190.8–182.7 million years ago
Diet
Carnivore
Movement
Walked on two legs
Fossils found in
Hanson Formation, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica
Discovery credited to
1991, William Hammer
Holotype
FMNH PR1821 · Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
DinoVault record
DVL-0036

Where Cryolophosaurus Roamed

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During the Early Jurassic, Cryolophosaurus inhabited a vastly different Antarctica—then part of the supercontinent Gondwana and positioned at much lower latitudes than today, featuring a temperate climate with seasonal forests and river valleys that supported a surprisingly diverse ecosystem far from any polar ice.

Keep exploring the vault

Massospondylus
🥩 Prey

Massospondylus

Massospondylus carinatus

Massospondylus was a common Early Jurassic prosauropod herbivore present in Gondwanan ecosystems.

Coelophysis
🧬 Ancestor

Coelophysis

Coelophysis bauri

Coelophysis represents the broader coelophysoid radiation of early theropods from the Late Triassic.

Dilophosaurus
🔀 Evolutionary echo

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus wetherilli

Both Cryolophosaurus and Dilophosaurus are early theropods that independently evolved prominent cranial crests, representing parallel experimentation with head ornamentation likely used for species recognition or display.

Monolophosaurus
🔀 Evolutionary echo

Monolophosaurus

Monolophosaurus jiangi

Both genera are crested theropods that evolved elaborate midline cranial crests independently - Cryolophosaurus with its distinctive transverse 'pompadour' crest and Monolophosaurus with its single median nasal crest.

Scelidosaurus
🗺️ Formation neighbor

Scelidosaurus

Scelidosaurus harrisonii

Both lived during the Early Jurassic period (around 190 mya).

Plateosaurus
🔀 Evolutionary echo

Plateosaurus

Plateosaurus engelhardti

Both represent early experiments in dinosaurian gigantism - Plateosaurus as an early large-bodied herbivore and Cryolophosaurus as one of the earliest large-bodied theropod predators.

Sources & Citation

Cite this record

Records are updated as research changes, so citations include the date you accessed this page.

Length estimates
Hammer & Hickerson 1994; Smith et al. 2007 (subadult specimen)
Height estimates
Estimated hip height based on limb proportions; Smith et al. 2007
Weight estimates
Benson et al. 2012; based on subadult specimen
Speed estimates
Inferred from limb proportions and comparison to similar-sized theropods