Ceratosuchops fossil map
Where fossils of Ceratosuchops have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 130 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 130 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 125.77–121.4 million years ago (Barremian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Spinosauridae |
| Named by | Barker et al. 2021 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | Wessex |
About Ceratosuchops
Ceratosuchops (meaning "horned crocodile face") is a genus of spinosaurid from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of Britain. The type species is Ceratosuchops inferodios, known from skull fragments (a snout tip and a partial braincase) recovered between 2013–2017 from Chilton Chine on the Isle of Wight, and housed at the Dinosaur Isle Museum in Sandown. It was named in 2021 by a team consisting of Chris Tijani Barker, Darren Naish, David W. E. Hone, and colleagues, alongside Riparovenator milnerae.
Ceratosuchops is notably distinguished from its close relatives by the presence of a bony lump, known as a boss, which extends from each postorbital bone, hence its genus name. These bosses may have served a function in signalling, or, like similar structures in other species, might have been involved in combat behaviours. The size of C. inferodios is difficult to deduce, given the fragmentary nature of its remains, though it may have been similar to that of Baryonyx. Analysis of the braincase and neuroanatomy of C. inferodios suggests that it was very similar to other basal tetanurans, and that baryonychines likely underwent few changes to their brain anatomy as a result of their shift from terrestrial to aquatic prey.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ceratosuchops (revision 1368875112), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q108742018.
