Cryolophosaurus

Cryolophosaurus was discovered in the Hanson Formation of Antarctica. It lived in the early Jurassic between 190-182 million years ago. Though Antarctica was further north than it is now, it was still very close to the “bottom” of the world and would have experienced long consistent seasons of spring and summers with light almost all day and falls and winters that were all dark for most of the day. That said the climate was very warm and probably hot during the sunny summer days. It may have cooled slightly in the long winter nights, but it never froze. Ferns and conifers would have been dominant as well as bloodworts and many mosses.

Cryolophosaurus was a fairly large predator at about 21 feet long and had a prominent crest on its head over the eyes. It is thought this was for species recognition. It is a primitive dinosaur and shows aspects of later types ranging from Dilophosaurids to possibly Allosaurids or even Abelisaurids. It shared the landscape with Glacialisaurus, a dinosaur very similar to Plateosaurus, and early giant and as yet unnamed sauropods, a species of Coelophysis a dicynodont called Tritylodon and the pterosaur called Dimorphodon. It may have preyed on young Glacialisaurus or any of the aforementioned species.

As for feathers or protofeathers, there is no evidence for their existence on the one skeleton that was uncovered. Furthermore there is no evidence for feathers on non-coelisaurian dinosaurs such as allosaurs and tetanurans. That said, feathers may have been useful for warmth during cooler long and dark nights and there are no skin fossils to say it did not have feathers.

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