Elaphrosaurus

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Elaphrosaurus
Fossil range: Late Jurassic

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Ceratosauria
Genus:	Elaphrosaurus

Binomial name

Elaphrosaurus bambergi
Janensch, 1920

Elaphrosaurus (meaning "lightweight reptile") was a carnivore from late Jurassic Tanzania, 145 mya. Scientists aren't sure what its head looked like, as its skull was never found. Elaphrosaurus was probably a Ceratosaur and probably was about 5 meters long. It was found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, which has also yielded Brachiosaurus, Allosaurus, and Kentrosaurus, to name a few.

What is known about Elaphrosaurus comes from a nearly complete skeleton found in the Tendaguru Beds. What is known about it is that it was a long slender dinosaur, with a long neck, possibly for digging into carrion. There have been very few theropod skeletons found there; instead, only fragments were uncovered the majority of the time, and this was a rare find.

Because the skeleton had no head, the Elaphrosaurus on display has a skull based on Velociraptor. A related animal, or perhaps the same species, has been found in the Morrison Formation.

When it was alive, it would have been about 16.5 feet long, possibly 5 feet tall at the hip, weighing about 460 pounds. It was built as a fast runner, probably running down small prey on the open plains. Because of its long legs, some think it may have been the fastest runner of the Jurassic.