Ceratosaurus Anatomy

Ceratosaurus has an interesting set of ridges and horn-like structures on its skull that gave two of the species their specific epithets: C. nasicornis ("nose-horn") and C. magnicornis ("large-horn").  The purpose of the horn was originally thought, by Marsh, to have been a "most powerful weapon" used by the theropod in both offensive and defensive matters. Many others agreed including Gilmore in 1920, Norman in 1985, and Paul in 1988. To be fair, Norman and Paul were more specific, arguing that the horns may have been used in intraspecific combat and headbutting. Rowe and Gauthier (1990) put forward a display only function for the horns, which appears to be the most popular hypothesis concerning Ceratosaurus horns.The assumption with these rugosities as display ornamentations often includes discussion of potentially brightly colored soft tissues covering and otherwise associated with the osteological structures.

American Museum of Natural History
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