“The Crested Predator of the Early Jurassic”
Binomial Dilophosaurus wetherilli · die-LOH-foh-SORE-us
Early Jurassic - 193-183 Ma
IllustrationDilophosaurus fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 4 source-backed records currently shown. Southwestern North America, especially Kayenta Formation records in Arizona, with selected broader Early Jurassic context. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include Kayenta, Dharmaram. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Dilophosaurus was a crested theropod from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation. Fossil Atlas uses the page to connect popular recognition with source-backed fossil locations and caveats.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured6 m · 20 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured1.8 m (6 ft)
Body mass
estimate400 kg · 880 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate40 km/h · 25 mph
Modelled, debated
Dilophosaurus was the largest predator in the Kayenta Formation ecosystem and one of the biggest theropods of the Early Jurassic. Its paired skull crests are the most distinctive feature and were probably used for display, as they were too thin and fragile to function as weapons. Nothing in the fossil record supports the neck frill or venom depicted in the 1993 film Jurassic Park; those features were invented for the movie.
The crests
Two thin, parallel crests running along the top of the skull. Made of thin bone, probably covered in keratin. Almost certainly a display structure, not a weapon.
No frill, no venom
The 1993 film added a neck frill and venom to Dilophosaurus. Neither appears in any fossil. The frill and venom were invented for the screenplay.
The jaws
A gap between the front teeth and the cheek teeth, called a subnarial gap, led early researchers to suggest the front of the skull was weak. More recent analysis indicates the skull was adequately robust for active predation.
Size
At around 6 metres, Dilophosaurus was large for the Early Jurassic but modest compared with later Jurassic and Cretaceous giant theropods.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
193-183 million years ago
Dilophosaurus is famous for paired crests, not for the fictional frill or venom seen in movies.
Its Kayenta Formation records make a compact, strong hotspot page.
It is one of the best-known Early Jurassic predators in public searches.
Jesse Williams, a Navajo man working with the University of California, found the first Dilophosaurus bones on the Navajo Nation in Arizona in 1940. Samuel Welles described the material in 1954 but initially missed the crests, which had not survived well. A second, better specimen collected in 1964 included the crests, and Welles revised the description in 1970. The species name wetherilli honours John Wetherill, the Navajo Nation trader who guided the original expedition.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Dilophosaurus.
Sarahsaurus
A small early sauropodomorph sharing the Kayenta Formation.
Scutellosaurus
A small armored dinosaur from the same Kayenta deposits.
Megapnosaurus
An early theropod from the Kayenta, much smaller than Dilophosaurus.
Other members of Dilophosauridae.
Ceratosaurus
A later, horned ceratosaur from the Jurassic, in the same broader ceratosaur group.
Carnotaurus
A Cretaceous abelisaurid ceratosaur from South America, showing how the group evolved after the Jurassic.
Coelophysis
An earlier, much smaller theropod from the Late Triassic, useful for understanding the origins of the predatory theropod lineage.
Pins show selected fossil records for Dilophosaurus; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
No open specimen media or embeddable model assets are available in the local enrichment data yet.
Dilophosaurus is represented here by selected fossil records from southwestern north america, especially kayenta formation records in arizona, with selected broader early jurassic context. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include Kayenta. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Dilophosaurus map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
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