25 Dilophosaurus Facts For Kids

For all you fans of the Dilophosaurus, or the “spitting dinosaur” and there are plenty of them, we have some unfortunate news. If you are a fan of this carnivorous dinosaur because of its appearance in Jurassic Park (it was a pretty cool appearance it has to be said) that wasn’t a dilophosaurus, at least not compared to the real dinosaur. However the real Dilophosaurus was just as cool, if not even cooler and we take a look at some dilophosaurus facts below.

dinosaur facts for kids

Dilophosaurus was a carnivorous dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period, 193 to 176 million years ago. It was a large, bipedal predator with long legs and a long neck with twin crests on its head. It was about 20 ft long and could weigh up to 1000 lb. Unlike movie depictions it did not have poison or a neck frill.

The fill around the neck of Dilophosaurus made it instantly recognisable in Jurassic Park, there was one problem, it didn’t have one. No sign of that 2ft wide frill has ever been found, oh…. and it wasn’t poisonous either... sorry…. and one more thing. it was about 20 ft long and would have had immense difficulty in getting in the jeep with Dennis Nedry!

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We will look at these differences below in out of our 25 dilophosaurus facts for kids article.

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Quick Dilophosaurus Facts

Dilophosaurus means two ridged or crested lizard due to the crests on its head.

Dilophosaurus was over 20ft long and would weigh about 1000 lb, (450 Kg)

The first fossil of Dilophosaurus was found in Arizona in 1940, and incorrectly identified as a megalosaurus

They lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 193 million years ago


It is not known what purpose these crests served, but they may have been used for display or to attract mates or to recognize others of the same species

It DID NOT have a frill around it neck or the ability to spit poison like in the movies.

Dilophosaurus has 5 syllables and is said like this
Die – loff – oh – saw – Rus

Dilophosaurus Facts for Kids.

1. Dilophosaurus was a large, carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 193 million years ago. It was not the only “lophosaurus” there is also a monolophosaurus with a single crest as well.

2. Dilophosaurus was over 20ft long and would weigh about 1000 lb, (450 Kg)

3. The first fossil of Dilophosaurus was found in Arizona in 1940, and incorrectly identified as a megalosaurus ( a lot of dinosaurs were back then) It was reclassified as Dilophosaurus in 1970.

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4. The name Dilophosaurus means “double-crested lizard.” as it has two prominent ridges on its head.

dilophosaurus Fact sheet

5. Dilophosaurus walked, and ran on two legs and is classified as a theropod dinosaur. .

6. It had a long, slender body and long powerful arms with four fingers at the end, one of which had a large claw on the end.

7. Dilophosaurus had two crests on its head – just above its eyes.

8. It is not known what purpose these crests served, but they may have been used for display or to attract mates or to recognize others of the same species. They were not strong enough to fight with or offer protection.

9. Dilophosaurus is the state dinosaur of Connecticut.

10. Dilophosaurus head was about 2ft long (60 cm) and overall the body was compared in size to a brown bear. The skull was large when compared to the body of Dilophosaurus.

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11. Dilophosaurus was thought to be a fast runner and could reach speeds of up to 25 mph.

12. It is still not known for sure if Dilophosaurus had feathers, but some imprints in a fossil may show them, but other scientists say they are just marks as the dinosaur moved. If it does have feathers it would be an early example of them.

13. Dilophosaurus teeth were pointed sharp and serrated to pierce and cut through meat They over 60 teeth in their large jaws

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14. Dilophosaurus was though to not have a strong bite, and because of this scientists think they would have hunted smaller, rather than larger prey. Even if they hunted in packs. however studies in 2020 Suggested it was actually stronger than was though and could have attacked dinosaurs as large as Sarahsaurus which was 13 ft long and 440 lbs, after teeth marks were found in their bones,

15. Dilophosaurus is one of the most well-known dinosaurs due to its appearance in the film “Jurassic Park.” however as we mentioned it looked a lot different in the movie than it would have in real life. You can see the table below.

Table 1: Differences between Real Dilophosaurus and Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus

FeatureIn Real LifeIn Jurassic Park
HeadNo Frill, though it did have two crests on its headHad a frill going all the way round head used as a warning, threat.
PoisonNo evidence it had venom or poison at allCould spit poison in a thick black goo aiming for the eyes.
LengthCould be up to 20 ft longseemed to appear about 6-7 feet long.
WeightCould be up to 1000 lbsFrom its size maybe 120-180 lbs
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16. Dilophosaurus is believed to have been a pack hunter and may have worked together with other members of its pack to take down prey.

17. Dilophosaurus fossils have been found in North America, where it would have lived 193 million years ago. Tracks have been found in Utah as well.

18. The nostrils on Dilophosaurus were similar to spinosaurus, and this along with its pointy teeth have led some scientists to suggest that the Dilophosaurus ate fish as part of its diet as well.

19. Dilophosaurus would have lived coelophysis, Sarahsaurus and Scutellosaurus fossils of which have been found with Dilophosaurus.

printable Dinosaur coloring pages set 1

Dilophosaurus Coloring Pages, and other dinosaur coloring pages.

21. It is thought with the speed it would have moved that the Dilophosaurus was warm blooded.

22. Dilophosaurus was called “Dilophosaurus wetherilli” was named in honor of James Wetherill, a paleontologist

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23. Over 60 fossils of Dilophosaurus feet have been found and they have shown that this dinosaur was light on its feet when running and hunting.

24. Dilophosaurus was featured in the film Jurassic Park, but hasnt been since. However it is due to appear in the upcoming Jurassic World Dominion movie.

25. Dilophosaurus is not an easy dinosaur name to say, we break it into its five syllables here. Die – Loff – oh – Saw – Rus which makes it easier.

Die – Loff – Oh – Saw – Rus

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Conclusion

Dilophosaurus is certainly a striking looking dinosaur, even without the movie added frills and poison. It was bigger than people imagine and certainly the apex predator in its environment. Hopefully the truth about its appearance will nto affect its populaily with fans of dinosaurs all over the world Its double crest, what ever the reason it had it, must have been an awesome sight. hopefully our dilophosaurus facts have help you learn more about this beautiful dinosaur.

You can check out their pages and other herbivores and carnivores on pages on our site. you can also learn more about this the parasaurolophus on our Questions and Answers pages too

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Some of My Dinosaur Resource Recommendations for Home and School.

Thanks for taking the time to read our facts and questions articles, as a teacher myself i have struggled to find resources in one place and that is why this website was born. I simply love teaching students about dinosaurs both in my role as a language and General Studies teacher. However there is sometimes a need for something more concrete than a printout (as useful as we think ours are! )

Sometimes having something tactile to touch in those tiny hands help to focus and cement learning and develop those big brains! Hope they are helpful too.

Dinosaur Books and Readers

There are of course hundreds of excellent, and not so excellent books on Dinosaurs for Children out there. So rather than, yet, go into huge detail. I will highlight the ones I love to use with my students from ages 6 to 10. We have include AR in these as well. ( nothing quite like a moving dinosaur in front of you!

Fossil Sets

I cant say how great these are to use in a classroom while reading with a group. the chance to read about a dinosaur and then touch a real piece is simply great. I have a selection ( self confessed dinosaur geek) but a cheap set of 10 or so will do the trick just as well. Dinosaur poop is great as well!!! i pass it round and ask them to guess what it is first!

Dinosaur Figures

I actually use realia in a lot of classes especially with animals and dinosaurs, and figures help to show the kind of animal we are reading about. It is possible to spend hundreds of dollars on dinosaur figures but there is no need, either as a teacher or a parent. The set below and similar we have used to help students picture dinosaurs to great effect.

References

https://www.activewild.com/dilophosaurus/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilophosaurus

https://www.thoughtco.com/things-to-know-dilophosaurus-1093784

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