Ceratosaurus

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* Evolution

***Ceratosaurus*** is a genus of theropod dinosaur in the *Jurassic World Evolution* series. Distinguished by a bladed horn on its snout, *Ceratosaurus* originated from Late Jurassic North America, Africa, and Europe.

In *Evolution*, *Ceratosaurus* is the first large carnivore available in the Campaign Mode on Isla Matanceros.

## History

*Ceratosaurus* was one of the animals illegally cloned by InGen on Isla Sorna in 1999, soon after the company had been acquired by Masrani Global. After InGen abandoned the cloning facility on Sorna, the *Ceratosaurus* was released into the wilds of the island, where it was briefly encountered by the survivors of a plane crash on the island in 2001. The existence of the *Ceratosaurus*, which was absent on InGen's list, was later reported to the authorities, as with the presence of *Corythosaurus*, *Ankylosaurus*, and a *Spinosaurus*, though these reports were later covered up.

Several *Ceratosaurus* were present on Isla Nublar around the time of the incident in 2015, and were encountered by the survivors of Camp Cretaceous; Jurassic World's resident summer camp. As of 2018, it has been revealed that the *Ceratosaurus* population was the victim of an unconfirmed form of cruelty, likely referring to the aforementioned 1999 illegal cloning event.

## Characteristics

Measuring at around seven meters in length and just under one ton in weight, *Ceratosaurus* is an average-sized theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period. This carnivore is best known for possessing a large, blade-shaped horn on its snout and an unusual configuration of two hornlets above each of its eyes, which gave rise to its name – *Ceratosaurus* translates to “*Horned Lizard*”. An unusual feature of *Ceratosaurus* was the dermal armor, or large number of osteoderms, in the middle of its back. The base genome of *Ceratosaurus* has a red head, neck, and upper back, and a creamy body with dark black stripes.

## Gameplay

### *Evolution*

#### Behaviour

*Ceratosaurus* is an aggressive and voracious predator, that targets mainly smaller herbivores but can also tackle larger herbivores, including *Triceratops*. They can either be housed alone, in pairs or in a group of three. They can also be housed safely with almost all sauropods, except *Nigersaurus*.

#### Skins

 NULL

 COASTAL

 JUNGLE

 RAINFOREST

 SAVANNAH

 WETLAND

 Jungle: Isla Matanceros Challenge Mode Jurassic Difficulty Unlock

## Paleontology

    The first discovery of Ceratosaurus came in 1883-1884, when Marshall Parker Felch dug up a near-complete skeleton in Cañon City, Colorado – one of many dinosaurs found in the area around this time. *Ceratosaurus* was also found in the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in Utah, and from the Dry Mesa Quarry in Colorado. Further *Ceratosaurus* remains have been found across North America, with some fossils unearthed as far away as Portugal. While specimens have been reported from Tanzania, Uruguay, and Switzerland, most scientists doubt their assistant to this genus. In the Morrison Formation, it is one of the rarer theropods, being overshadowed by the more common *Allosaurus*. An interesting feature of *Ceratosaurus* are the lines of osteoderms, raised bony growths, down its back which are similar to a crocodile. These act as a type of armor, which suggests that *Ceratosaurus* competed with and even fought with larger carnivores such as *Torvosaurus* and *Allosaurus*. It can be deduced that *Ceratosaurus* was in the middle of the food chain or lived in a different area to these other predators. Its primary prey was small to medium ornithopod dinosaurs such as *Dryosaurus*, *Camptosaurus* or *Nanosaurus*. There are some species of *Ceratosaurus* that have been estimated to be as big as some *Allosaurus*. However, there aren't enough bones to show how big the species actually got.

*Ceratosaurus* most famous feature is its three horns, one on its snout and two above its eyes. Originally it was believed to have been a dangerous weapon used to attack herbivores or rivals. In recent studies, it has been concluded that the horns were too blunt and fragile to be used as weapons and were more likely a display feature that helped it attract mates. Its four-fingered arms were short but strangely muscular and its fangs were some of longest in comparison to its skull with them going past its bottom jaw on some specimens which probably means its jaw could open incredibly wide to swallow food. It could possibly have used these fangs to rip out the jugular of larger prey. *Ceratosaurus* tail was very flexible and helped it swim which may point to it supplementing its diet with aquatic prey.

Even though the *Ceratosaurus* was smaller than the *Allosaurus*, its closest relative, *Genyodectes*, survived further than the Allosaurids, appearing in the Early Cretaceous.

### Paleoecology

Living in North America around 150 million years ago, all North American *Ceratosaurus* finds come from the Morrison Formation which had a semiarid environment with distinct wet and dry seasons. It housed a variety of different sauropods like *Apatosaurus*, *Brontosaurus*, *Brachiosaurus*, *Camarasaurus*, and *Diplodocus*. Other dinosaurs known from the *Morrison Formation* include fearsome theropods *Allosaurus* and *Torvosaurus*, as well as herbivores such as *Dryosaurus* and *Stegosaurus*. Herbivorous dinosaurs from the formation include the sauropods *Dinheirosaurus* and *Zby*, as well as the stegosaur *Miragaia*. As a carnivore further down the food chain, *Ceratosaurus* kept clear of larger dinosaurs, prowling the forests for smaller herbivores to prey upon. The Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is a mudstone site on the floodplain for a river system. The Dry Mesa Quarry site appears to have been a mass grave as a result of a drought, followed by a flash flood.

## Behind the scenes

The design of the *Ceratosaurus* in *Jurassic World Evolution* is based on the dinosaur's brief appearance in 2001's *Jurassic Park III*. Much like their work on the *Mamenchisaurus*, the development team took some liberties with the movie design of the *Ceratosaurus*, and redesigned some areas of the animal to be more scientifically accurate, such as the narrower, longer skull. Its inclusion in the game was first revealed on December 23, 2017, in an IGN First video that showcased some of the new species. It received a Species Profile a month later, on January 26, 2018.

Post-launch, in response to community feedback regarding inaccurate dinosaur sizes, the *Ceratosaurus* was downsized in Update 1.4 from 9.6 metres to 9 metres. The Jungle cosmetic skin was added to the game with Update 1.6 on December 13th, 2018.

## Gallery

VideosSpecies Profile - Ceratosaurus
Images
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *What Killed the Gene Guard Act?*. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
2. ↑ Johnston, Joe. (Director). (2001). *Jurassic Park III* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
3. ↑ Lueras, L., Kreamer, S., Spielberg, S., Trevorrow, C., Marshall, F. (Executive Producers). (2020–present). *Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous* [TV series]. Universal Pictures; DreamWorks Animation Television.
4. ↑ Dinosaur Protection Group. (2018). *Dinosaurs Are Mortal. Cruelty Is Timeless.* [Poster]. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
5. ↑ IGN. (December 23, 2017). *Jurassic World Evolution: Up Close With the Dinosaurs - IGN First* [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
6. ↑ Frontier Developments. (January 26, 2018). *Species Profile - Ceratosaurus* [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
7. ↑ Marit, Bo. [Bo\_Frontier]. (August 16, 2018). *Important News about Dinosaur Sizes* [Online forum post]. Reddit. Retrieved April 9, 2021.