Fun Monolophosaurus Facts For Kids

The Monolophosaurus is an extremely fun dinosaur to know about. This is a tetanuran theropod dinosaur that existed on earth during the Middle Jurassic period. The meaning of this dinosaur’s name translates to ‘the single-crested lizard’. If you want to know the story behind the name of this dinosaur, keep reading!

The fossil remains were found in the Shishugou Formation of present-day Xinjiang in China. The entire skeleton of this specimen was discovered in the year 1981. These animals had a carnivorous diet.

It has been estimated that this genus became extinct about 160 million years ago. There is only a single species falling under the genus, the Monolophosaurus jiangi.

Some of the prominent names in the research of this theropod include Zhao Xijin, Philip John Currie, and Thomas Carr.

How fun are these facts on the Monolophosaurus? Do you want to know about other exciting dinosaurs as well? For more relatable content, check out these Xenotarsosaurus facts and Chilantaisaurus facts for kids.

Monolophosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Monolophosaurus'?

The name of this dinosaur is pronounced as 'Mon-o-low-fo-saw-us' (/ˌmɒnoʊˌlɒfoʊˈsɔːrəs/ ).

What type of dinosaur was a Monolophosaurus?

This dinosaur species was a type of tetanuran theropod dinosaur.

In which geological period did Monolophosaurus roam the earth?

This theropod roamed the surface of the earth during the Middle Jurassic age.

When did the Monolophosaurus become extinct?

The Monolophosaurus became extinct about 160 million years ago.

Where did Monolophosaurus live?

The Monolophosaurus fossil remains were found in Xinjiang, China

What was the Monolophosaurus' habitat?

These theropod dinosaurs were said to survive in terrestrial habitats.

Who did Monolophosaurus live with?

Unfortunately, no related research is available on the way these dinosaurs lived.

How long did a Monolophosaurus live?

Sorry, we could not find any related information or research on the lifespan range of these members of the Tetanurae family.

How did they reproduce?

We do not have clear information on the reproductive features and ways of these theropod-type specimens.

Monolophosaurus Fun Facts

What did Monolophosaurus look like?

On the head, the snout present on the midline has the most prominent feature, a large crest. The front of the crest has been formed by the premaxillae. This continues behind, over the lacrimals and nasals, with the rear touching the frontals. The top of the crest is seen running parallel to the edge of the upper jaw.

The ascending branches observed on the praemaxillae are noticed to have a forked rear. The side of the praemaxillae displays a deep groove that runs from an opening situated in the ascending branch towards an opening right below the nostril.

Two pneumatic openings of unequal size are present within the depression situated around the upper rear of the nostril. The rear branch belonging to the lacrimal has a unique hatchet-shaped process that points upwards. The combined frontals are elongated and rectangular.

The Monolophosaurus skull length is about 3.1 in (8 cm). It is considerably flat but is more obscured with a large snout crest present, which occupies about 75% of the skull length, almost reaching up to the eye sockets.

This crest is formed largely by the dinosaur’s nasal bones. It has a triangular-shaped cross-section with a narrow top but a broad base. The nasal crest side has a series of swellings.

The vertebral column has nine cervical vertebrae present, five sacral, and 14 dorsals. The total tail vertebrae are not known.

The cervical vertebrae of the dinosaur’s neck are well pneumatized. The insides are clearly hollowed out by large air chambers. The neural spines of dinosaur’s cervical vertebrae are quite narrow, and decrease in width as it goes to the rear.

The ilium is seen with a convex upper profile. The front blade has a hook-shaped point. The edge of the front blade’s base is incised by a small groove. The ischia and pubic bones are quite resembling, both having a ‘foot’ and being connected with bony skirts.

How many bones did a Monolophosaurus have?

Not much content is available regarding the total number of bones of this medium-sized theropod.

How did they communicate?

Sorry, we do not have any clear information related to how the Monolophosaurus communicated.

How big was the Monolophosaurus?

The Monolophosaurus size of the only individual of this single-crest dinosaur known has been estimated to have a length of about 16.4 ft (5 m). This estimate was slightly raised to 18 ft (5.5 m) by Gregory S. Paul in the year 2010.

However, in 2016, the final estimate given to the type species was about 24.6 ft (7.5 m).

Keeping the estimate of the larger size in consideration, it would make them about 14 times the size of the Yamaceratops dorngobiensis.

How fast could a Monolophosaurus move?

Unfortunately, no research is available on the speed of this species.

How much did a Monolophosaurus weigh?

The earlier estimates stated that the Monolophosaurus had a weight of about 1,047.2 lb (475 kg). However, later predictions in 2016 claimed that this dinosaur was about 1,565.3 lb (710 kg) in weight.

What were the male and female names of the species?

You can call the male theropod of this type, a Monolophosaurus. The female specimen of this type can be called Monolophosaura.

What would you call a baby Monolophosaurus?

Like all baby dinosaurs, baby Monolophosaurus can be called a hatchling.

What did they eat?

This dinosaur type from China is said to be a carnivore. The diet mainly consisted of other animals and reptiles.

How aggressive were they?

Not much is known about how aggressive this species was!

In 'Jurassic World: The Game', this dinosaur can be unlocked after the event named Earth Shattering is completed.

Did you know...

The IVPP 84019 holotype was found at the Junggar Basin, within the layers of the Wucaiwan Formation, which is said to be dated between the Bathonian and Callovian ages of the Middle Jurassic period.

This holotype consists of an almost complete skeleton. It included the skull, the lower jaws, the pelvis, and the vertebral column. The shoulder girdle, the rear end of the tail, and the limbs have been lacking. This holotype is said to represent a subadult individual or an adult.

The anatomy of the type specimen was restored using plaster. The left side of the anatomy was encased properly in foam, which has unfortunately hindered subsequent research and study on the specimen.

To make things easier, a reconstruction of the missing elements was made to create an entire cast of the complete skeletal system mounts. This holotype was described by two studies conducted by American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, Stephen Brusatte in the year 2010, with only one specimen known in existence at that time.

In the year 2006, vertebrate paleontologist Thomas Carr brought about the suggestion that the Guanlong was actually a subadult individual of the Monolophosaurus. The Guanlong is another large, thin therapod specimen having a fenestrated midline crest, unearthed at the same formation.

Quite often, the Guanlong was considered to be a proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid. However, Carr conducted a deep analysis and concluded that both specimens were actually allosauroids.

This conclusion saw a new phase in the year 2010 when American researcher Gregory S. Paul renamed the Guanlong as a species under the Monolophosaurus genus, the Monolophosaurus wucaii. However, Brusatte later rejected this proposal and identity, showing that the Guanlong holotype actually belonged to a fully grown adult specimen.

Some of the dinosaurs discovered in China include Gobisaurus, Microraptor, Tsintaosaurus, Yimenosaurus, Bellusaurus, and Agilisaurus.

Zhao Xijin has named more than 15 dinosaur specimens.

Phillip Currie has had five different dinosaurs named in his honor.

Why are they called Monolophosaurus?

It was in the year 1981 when Dong Zhiming discovered a nearly complete skeleton of a new theropod type species. This discovery took place during a stratigraphic exploration conducted for the scope of improvement of the oil industry.

This fossil was not unearthed until the year 1984. In the year 1987, before this specimen was described in any scientific literature, it was mentioned in the press as the Jiangjunmiaosaurus, which was not a valid nomen nudum (scientific name).

Fast forward to the year 1992, Chinese vertebrate paleontologist Dong Zhiming referred to this type specimen as Monolophosaurus jiangjunmiaoi. A year later, in 1993, Canadian author Wayne Grady mentioned this dinosaur as Monolophosaurus dongi.

Both these names lacked a proper description and hence were concluded as nomina nuda as well.

Between the years 1993 and 1994, Canadian paleontologist Philip John Currie and Chinese paleontologist Zhao Xijin described as well as named the type species, Monolophosaurus jiangi.

The generic name of this dinosaur, Monolophosaurus, comes from the combination of the Greek words monos, meaning ‘single’ and lophos/lophè, meaning ‘a crest’. This name is given as a reference to the single crest present on the snout of this specimen.

The specific name, jiangi, refers to Jiangjunmiao. The Jiangjunmiao is an abandoned desert in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, China

How strong were Monolophosaurus’ teeth?

Unfortunately, there is not any information available about the type of teeth the Monolophosaurus species had.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Becklespinax fun facts for kids and Rahonavis interesting facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Monolophosaurus coloring pages.

Main image by Kabacchi.

Second image by BleachedRice.