| Proceratosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Proceratosaurus bradleyi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Tyrannosauroidea |
| Family: | †Proceratosauridae |
| Genus: | †Proceratosaurus von Huene, 1926 |
| Species: | †P. bradleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Proceratosaurus bradleyi Woodward, 1910 [originally Megalosaurus] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Proceratosaurus ("before Ceratosaurus") is a genus of small-sized (9.8 feet long) theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic. It is a tyrannosauroid that fed on insects, lizards, mammals, and frogs. It lived in England. It has a small, pointed crest on its snout that looks similar to that of Ceratosaurus. It lived alongside other theropods, including Megalosaurus and Eustreptospondylus, sauropods, such as Cetiosaurus, stegosaurs, like Lexovisaurus, and ornithopods, like Callovosaurus and Camptosaurus.
Despite its size, Proceratosaurus was a fast and deadly carnivore. Its closet relatives are Chinese Guanlong and Russian Kileskus. It is almost impossible to believe that Proceratosaurus would evolve into giant, 43-foot long predators like Tyrannosaurus or Tarbosaurus.
Gallery
