Mayotte Island 1 franc Dilophosaurus 2017

Mayotte Island 1 franc Dinosaur Dilophosaurus  2017.

The Latin name Dilophosaurus comes from the Greek words "lizard with two combs." The basis was an unusual bone formation on the skull, which is a two flat semicircular crest. The famous ravenous theropod lived at the dawn of the era of giant lizards. Fast and incredibly flexible, he was a true master in the hunt for herbivorous dinosaurs who lived in the neighborhood.
The body length of the dilophosaurus reached 7 meters. The height is up to 2.8 meters. He hung up to 400 kilograms. It is one of the largest predatory dinosaurs of the beginning of the Jurassic period.

Dilofosaurus was the largest predator, and indeed a dinosaur of its own formation. In this sense, it can be called a tyrannosaurus of the dawn of giant reptiles. The adult was able to cope alone with almost any local animal. However, the sarazaurs or Scelidosaurus, well protected and capable of giving a serious rebuff, dilofosaurs could still hunt in pairs or even a larger number.

The Early Jurassic theropod occupied the top of the ecological pyramid. Judging by narrow jaws and long teeth, he preferred to hunt relatively small animals, taking advantage of the strength and length of the step. High speed and flexibility allowed him to catch even very miniature dinosaurs, such as Scutellosaurus.

The head of the dilophosaurus was adorned on either side with two semicircular bone crests. Some experts believe that such crests were found only in males and helped them to attract females during the mating season.
In different individuals the crests had different shapes - perhaps, this is a manifestation of sexual dimorphism.

Opened in 1954 (USA, Arizona), but was described in more than ten years.

One of two coins of the third series.

Mayotte Island overseas department of France.