ceratosaur

ce·rat·o·saur

(sə-răt′ə-sôr′)

Any of various theropod dinosaurs of the group Ceratosauria of the Triassic and Jurassic Periods, often with a crest or horn on the head, and including coelophysis and dilophosaurus.

[From New Latin Cerātosauria, group name, after Cerātosaurus, type genus : Greek keras, kerāt-, horn; see ker- in Indo-European roots + Greek sauros, lizard.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

ceratosaur - primitive medium-sized theropod; swift-running bipedal carnivorous dinosaur having grasping hands with sharp claws and a short horn between the nostrils; Jurassic in North America

ceratosaurus

bird-footed dinosaur, theropod, theropod dinosaur - any of numerous carnivorous dinosaurs of the Triassic to Cretaceous with short forelimbs that walked or ran on strong hind legs

suborder Ceratosaura - primitive saurischian dinosaurs

coelophysis - one of the oldest known dinosaurs; late Triassic; cannibalistic

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References in periodicals archive ?

(2009a): A Jurassic ceratosaur from China helps clarify avian digital homologies.

The evolution of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs during the Mesozoic in Asia/ La evolucion de los grandes dinosaurios teropodos durante el Mesozoico de Asia

Kelvingrove has the best display in Scotland of objects from Ancient Egypt, including a real mummy - one of over 80 treasures loaned by the British Museum, London Then there's the four-metre Ceratosaur - are you brave enough to stare into its jaws - just one of the unbelievable variety of objects to gape at, from archaeology to world cultures, natural history to Sicilian soap operas, and the Wild West to art and design.

Feelgood facto r; GORDON BARR was all smiles on a weekend break to Glasgow, where art, luxury, pampering and some retail therapy made for a memorable visit

Our son was particularly taken with the real Second World War Spitfire soaring above a menagerie of record-breaking beasts in the West Court gallery, as well as a four-metre Ceratosaur dinosaur skeleton.