Ceratosaurus V3

***Ceratosaurus americanus*** (name meaning "American horn lizard") is a species of medium-sized carnivorous theropod dinosaur that originally lived in the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian) in what is now North America, and possibly Africa and Europe, as an extinct species of *Ceratosaurus*, and the genus itself was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and, unlike the first two (re)created species, has been deliberately introduced throughout the modern forests, open woodlands, grasslands, shrublands, and scrublands across North America to help boost biodiversity and to help regulate the modern populations of ornithopods and other herbivorous non-avian dinosaurs. *Ceratosaurus americanus* greatly resembles and is almost identical to *Ceratosaurus megacornis*, but with a slightly lighter skin coloration, more apparent white stripes, and presence of small, lighter-colored, circular bony armor. Although mostly featherless, *Ceratosaurus americanus* has primitive feathers on its arms, throat, and the back of its head. *Ceratosaurus americanus* is a rather large carnivore, growing to be around 5.3 metres (17 feet) or 5.69 metres (18.7 feet) long and weighing about as much as a large hippopotamus. *Ceratosaurus americanus* is characterized by deep jaws that supports proportionally very long, blade-like teeth, a prominent, ridge-like horn on the midline of the snout, and a pair of horns over the eyes. The forelimbs are very short, but remained fully functional; the hand has four fingers. The tail is deep from top to bottom. A row of small osteoderms (skin bones) is present down the middle of the neck, back, and tail. Additional osteoderms are present at some positions on the animal's body in some individual *Ceratosaurus americanus*. *Ceratosaurus americanus* mainly feeds on medium-sized to large animals, with some as big as elephants, although it also hunts aquatic prey such as fish. Despite this, it only preys on non-mammalian prey and, as such, possess little to no danger to sapient mammals such as humans. The nasal horn is used solely for display to either attract mates or to intimidate rivals, either their species or other carnivores. The eggs of *Ceratosaurus americanus* are laid around 3-4 months after mating seasons, the eggs then hatch around 2-3 months after that, and the hatchlings are cared for by their mothers until they are almost fully grown, when they must fend for themselves. The average lifespan of *Ceratosaurus americanus* is between 20 and 25 years on average, although specimens reaching 30 years or more have been recorded. Although adult *Ceratosaurus americanus* has almost no natural predators (other than *Metriacanthosaurus*, *Allosaurus*, *Acrocanthosaurus*, and *Tyrannosaurus*), the babies are preyed on by many small and medium-sized predators such as canids, and the old and ill specimens are most often brought down by slightly smaller solitary predators (including short-faced bears) and/or much smaller pack-hunting predators (such as American lions). The conservation status of *Ceratosaurus americanus* is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts and the animal's wide range.