Dinosaurs · Large theropod

Ceratosaurus

Say it Ser-AT-oh-sore-us. The name means ‘horned lizard’.

Ceratosaurus beside a person 1.75 m tall. Ticks mark every metre.Body shape drawn for this site, showing the general build of large theropods

Length: 7 m
Weight: 980 kg
Diet: Meat-eater
When: Late Jurassic152 to 145 million years ago
Fossils found in: Portugal, USA
Named by: Marsh (1884)
Family tree: Dinosauria › Saurischia › Theropoda › Ceratosauria

Where Ceratosaurus sits in the age of dinosaurs.Periods from the ICS chart; dinosaur dates from the Natural History Museum

Large theropods. Big two-legged meat-eaters, such as Tyrannosaurus. See all 63

Lived at the same time

Allosaurus · same country
Apatosaurus · same country
Barosaurus · same country
Brachiosaurus · same country
Camptosaurus · same country
Coelurus · same country
Diplodocus · same country
Dryosaurus · same country

Other large theropods

Allosaurus Late Jurassic
Elaphrosaurus Late Jurassic
Marshosaurus Late Jurassic
Saurophaganax Late Jurassic
Metriacanthosaurus Late Jurassic
Yangchuanosaurus Late Jurassic
Becklespinax Early Cretaceous
Piatnitzkysaurus Late Jurassic

Source: Ceratosaurus in the Natural History Museum Dino Directory, read 12 November 2026. Sizes are the museum's estimates for a typical adult. "Lived at the same time" lists dinosaurs whose dates overlap, which does not always mean they met.