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Description
Unlike the noasaurs of the known world, where females are nearly double the mass of their gracile counterparts, male Ziphonodon are the substantially larger sex. Terrestrial abelisaurids like the land sharks of the northern prairies have larger females, and it is assumed this condition is the case in Ziphonodon due to females still having to nest on shore. Males can still walk about out of water, but they’re unable to run due to their greater density than conventional theropods of this size. When hunting on land they tend to do so from ambush, which is possible thanks to the lack of sauropods meaning these forests are denser. They don’t need to be proficient in open terrain, as there’s plenty of prey in the water and nearby patches of land, but females must still go on land to nest. They usually do so within the wetlands, though, preferring high enough islands that they can be confident ground water won’t seep in rather than going out onto dry land where they won’t be as close to their food source. Finding and defending a territory that not only has good nesting opportunities and ample food can be hard to come by, so while they are smaller than males, females are much more violent with territorial disputes than males. The greater size of males helps them travel, for even though they are territorial, their territories must intersect with those of several females. So as to not overhunt in the females territory, the best ranges for males to occupy are those near a source of food for larger prey, often with a section with land and forest.

Description
Unlike the noasaurs of the known world, where females are nearly double the mass of their gracile counterparts, male Ziphonodon are the substantially larger sex. Terrestrial abelisaurids like the land sharks of the northern prairies have larger females, and it is assumed this condition is the case in Ziphonodon due to females still having to nest on shore. Males can still walk about out of water, but they’re unable to run due to their greater density than conventional theropods of this size. When hunting on land they tend to do so from ambush, which is possible thanks to the lack of sauropods meaning these forests are denser. They don’t need to be proficient in open terrain, as there’s plenty of prey in the water and nearby patches of land, but females must still go on land to nest. They usually do so within the wetlands, though, preferring high enough islands that they can be confident ground water won’t seep in rather than going out onto dry land where they won’t be as close to their food source. Finding and defending a territory that not only has good nesting opportunities and ample food can be hard to come by, so while they are smaller than males, females are much more violent with territorial disputes than males. The greater size of males helps them travel, for even though they are territorial, their territories must intersect with those of several females. So as to not overhunt in the females territory, the best ranges for males to occupy are those near a source of food for larger prey, often with a section with land and forest.