Type Species: Elaphrosaurus bambergi
Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Theropoda – Ceratosauria – Neoceratosauria – Abelisauroidea – Noasauridae – Elaphrosaurinae
Time Period: Late Jurassic
Location: Africa
Diet: Carnivore
The lithe theropod Elaphrosaurus has a storied taxonomic history. It’s known from a single nearly-complete specimen from the Kimmeridgian stage in Africa, but this specimen lacks a head – and heads are notoriously helpful when it comes to classification. Elaphrosaurus had anatomical features similar to different theropod lineages; was it a ceratosaur? a coelophysoid? was it, perhaps, the ancestor of the later Cretaceous ostrich-mimic theropods? The current consensus is that Elaphrosaurus was a ceratosaur closely related to the beaked Limusaurus of the earlier Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic. Because we lack Elaphrosaurus’ skull, and because it’s assumed to have a close relationship with the omnivorous or herbivorous Limusaurus, Elaphrosaurus’ dietary preferences are dense with speculation; but, as we shall see, evidence from its long neck may give us a clue.
Elaphrosaurus is known from the African Tendagu Formation, but possible remains have been discovered in North America, hinting at a wide distribution throughout Gondwana and western Laurasia. This theropod was twenty feet long with slim, long legs; slender forelimbs with three digits each; a lightweight, shallow-chested body; a long, stiff tail; and a long, relatively stiff neck. This was the shortest theropod dinosaur in stature, at least when you go by the height of the hips compared to the creature’s overall length. Several Coelophysis-like teeth were discovered among Elaphrosaurus’ remains; though these have been attributed to Elaphrosaurus (and they may very well belong to Elaphrosaurus!) most scientists believe these were deposited by scavengers enjoying this specimen’s long-lost flesh. Although Elaphrosaurus’ neck was long, the design of the neck vertebrae indicate that I was much less flexible than those of other theropods. It likely supported a rather small skull. These traits argue against Elaphrosaurus being a predator of large prey; perhaps it hunted early ornithopods? The other theory is that Elaphrosaurus, like its (assumed) close relative Limusaurus, was omnivorous or even herbivorous.
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| a pack of Elaphrosaurus attack a juvenile sauropod in Late Jurassic Africa (this is assuming, of course, that Elaphrosaurus was a predator!) |
