Dilophosaurus wetherilli was a species of theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Jurassic period, about 193 million years ago. It was one of the first large predatory dinosaurs and had two distinctive crests on its skull. The name Dilophosaurus means “two-crested lizard” and the name wetherilli honors John Wetherill, a Navajo councilor who helped with the fossil collection. Dilophosaurus wetherilli was first described by Samuel P. Welles in 1954, based on three skeletons found in Arizona. The animal had a slender and lightly built body, a large but delicate skull, a narrow snout with a gap below the nostril, and long, curved, and serrated teeth. It had powerful arms with four fingers, each with a claw, and strong legs with stout feet and large claws. It was about 7 meters (23 feet) long and weighed about 400 kilograms (880 pounds). Dilophosaurus wetherilli may have hunted large prey, as well as smaller animals and fish.
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