images

Dilophosaurus amidst Williamsonia

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

t-din02-00021

Date

2009-02-28

A colorful adult male Dilophosaurus explores a hilltop that is host to Williamsonia gigas, Sago Palms, and ferns. The tree-like Williamsonia gigas was a seed plant belonging to the order of Bennettitales and reigned for 130 million years before becoming extinct. Williamsonia gigas produced what appears to be large flowers, which were really a group of seeds surrounded by a crown of leaf-like structures known as bracteae. True flowers didn't begin to dominate the landscape until relatively recently--about 50 million years ago. The 0ther flora illustrated here live to this day, including the coniferous Araucaria, ferns, and Sago Palms (which in reality are not palms but a type of gymnosperm).
The first known predatory dinosaur appeared 190 million years ago during the early Jurassic period. Christened Dilophosaurus (meaning "two-crested lizard," because it had a pair of distinctive bony crests on its head) this bipedal saurischian grew up to 20 feet long, stood 8 feet tall, and weighed as much as a half ton. Dilophosaurus roamed the Earth 100 million years before its larger and more celebrated cousin Tyrannosaurus Rex roared onto the scene.