The first specimens were found in Niger in 1973 by a french paleontologist named Philippe Taquet. The name of the animal refers to the latin word for crest, ""crista"," because it had a crest on its snout. The species ""lapparenti"" is named after another french paleontologist called Albert-Félix de Lapparent. The fossils discovered so far include two broken snout bones, some pieces from the upper and lower jaws, a claw, and four backbones (also called <nowiki>"vertebrae"). Scientists aren'</nowiki>t sure if "Cristatusaurus" is a new species, some of them say it could be the same dinosaur as "Suchomimus" or "Baryonyx."