Monolophosaurus Characteristics

Monolophosaurus measured 16 feet (5 metres) in length, 6 feet in height and weighed 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds). It was a bipedal dinosaur and walked on its 2 hind legs. It had powerful, long hind legs and short fore limbs that were all equipped with sharp claws. Its long, stiff pointed tail was heavy and probably used as a counter-balance. Monolophosaurus had a large head that featured a single prominent crest on the top. The crest was used as a dominence characteristic. The bigger the crest, the more easier it would have been to mate with females.

Monolophosaurus had large, powerful jaws that were equipped with many sharp serrated teeth that could deliver a fatal bite.

Monolophosaurus was a ferocious carnivore and ate other dinosaurs. It would have terrorized the huge plant eating dinosaurs that shared its landscape at that time, probably targeting juveniles and the weak and old.

A nearly complete skeleton was unearthed in 1984 Monolophosaurus was named by Currie and Zhao et al. in 1994. The type species is M. jiangi.