<P> Dilophosaurus (/ daɪˌloʊfəˈsɔːrəs, - foʊ - / dy - LOHF - o - SOR - əs) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago . Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserved were collected in 1942 . The most complete specimen became the holotype of a new species in the genus Megalosaurus, named M. wetherilli by Samuel P. Welles in 1954 . Welles found a larger skeleton belonging to the same species in 1964 . Realizing it bore crests on its skull, he assigned the species to the new genus Dilophosaurus in 1970, as D. wetherilli . The genus name means "two - crested lizard", and the species name honors John Wetherill, a Navajo councilor . Further specimens have since been found, including an infant . Footprints have also been attributed to the animal, including resting traces . Another species, D. sinensis from China, was named in 1993, but was later found to belong to the genus Sinosaurus . </P> <P> At about 7 meters (23 ft) in length, with a weight of about 400 kilograms (880 lb), Dilophosaurus was one of the earliest large predatory dinosaurs, though it was smaller than some later theropods . It was slender and lightly built, and though the skull was proportionally large, it was delicate . The snout was narrow, and the upper jaw had a gap or kink below the nostril . It had a pair of longitudinal, plate - shaped crests on its skull, similar to a cassowary with two crests . The mandible was slender and delicate at the front, but deep at the back . The teeth were long, curved, thin, and compressed sideways . Those in the lower jaw were much smaller than those of the upper jaw . Most of the teeth had serrations at their front and back edges . The neck was long, and its vertebrae were hollow, and very light . The arms were powerful, with a long and slender upper arm bone . The hands had four fingers: the first was short but strong and bore a large claw, the two following fingers were longer and slenderer with smaller claws, and the fourth was vestigial . The thigh bone was massive, the feet were stout, and the toes bore large claws . </P> <P> Dilophosaurus is a member of the family Dilophosauridae along with Dracovenator, a group placed between the Coelophysidae and later theropods . Dilophosaurus would have been active and bipedal, and may have hunted large animals, though it could also have fed on smaller animals and fish . The function of the crests is unknown; they were too weak for battle, but may have been used in visual display, such as species recognition and sexual selection . It may have grown rapidly, attaining a growth rate of 30 to 35 kilograms (66 to 77 lb) per year early in life . The holotype specimen had multiple paleopathologies, including healed injuries and signs of a developmental anomaly . Dilophosaurus is known from the Kayenta Formation, and lived alongside dinosaurs such as Megapnosaurus and Sarahsaurus . Dilophosaurus was featured in the novel Jurassic Park and its movie adaptation, wherein it was given the fictional abilities to spit venom and expand a cowl on its neck, as well as being smaller than the real animal . It was designated as the state dinosaur of Connecticut in 2017 . </P> <P> Dilophosaurus was one of the earliest large predatory dinosaurs, a medium - sized theropod, though small compared to some of the later theropods . Slender and lightly built, its size was comparable to that of a brown bear . The largest known specimen weighed about 400 kilograms (880 lb), measured about 7 meters (23 ft) in length, and its skull was 590 millimeters (1.94 ft) long . The smaller holotype specimen weighed about 283 kilograms (624 lb), was 6.03 meters (19.8 ft) long, with a hip height of about 1.36 meters (4.5 ft), and its skull was 523 millimeters (1.716 ft) long . A resting trace of a theropod similar to Dilophosaurus and Liliensternus has been interpreted by some researchers as showing impressions of feathers around the belly and feet, similar to down . Other researchers instead interpret these impressions as sedimentological artifacts created as the dinosaur moved, though this interpretation does not rule out that the track - maker could have borne feathers . </P>

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