Dino of the Week: Lophostropheus

Type Species: Lophostropheus airelensis

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda

Time Period: Late Triassic to Early Jurassic

Location: France

Diet: Carnivore

Lophostropheus lived 200 million years ago at the boundary between the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic and the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic. As such it is one of the few Late Triassic creatures that survived into the burgeoning Jurassic Period. Lophostropheus was a medium-sized, moderately-built, bipedal carnivore. It could grow up to ten feet in length and likely weighed about 220-300 pounds. Its name means ‘crest lizard’ and is a reference to the predator’s skull crest. It likely preyed on small- to medium-sized prey.