|
Allosaurus was 28 to 40 feet long and it had 2.5 to 5 tons of weight.
|
|
Allosaurus had large head, short neck and a pair of horns on top of the head (above the eyes). It had two short arms with three fingers equipped with sharp claws. He walked on two legs and used long, muscular tail for balancing.
|
|
Allosaurus is also known as great-great grandfather of T-Rex. Unlike T-Rex which had two fingers on each hand, Allosaurus had three fingers on its front limbs.
|
|
Allosaurus was initially named "Antrodemus" when it was first discovered. During the 1970s, its name was officially changed to "Allosaurus".
|
|
Name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard" and it refers to unusually light vertebrae that are not typical for dinosaurs.
|
|
Allosaurus was a carnivore. His diet was based on herbivorous dinosaurs and various carcasses (it was also a scavenger).
|
|
Due to its large, sharp teeth Allosaurus was able to attack much larger dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus and nearly 50-tons-heavy Sauropods. This fact is based on the clearly visible bite marks on the neck bones of Stegosaurus.
|
|
Allosaurus had 16 teeth (on average) in each jaw. They were 3 to 4 inches long and serrated on the edges. Old, worn-out teeth were frequently replaced with newly formed teeth.
|
|
Natural enemies of young Allosaurus were large, bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs from the suborder Theropoda.
|
|
At the age of 15 years, Allosaurus was fully grown and sexually mature.
|
|
Allosaurus had an average lifespan of 25 to 30 years.
|
|
"Big Al" is the most popular and one of the best-preserved fossils of Allosaurus. It was discovered in 1991 in Wyoming, USA. Based on the analysis of skeleton, scientists concluded that it died during its early teenage years due to bone fractures and bacterial infections.
|
|
Most fossils of Allosaurus originate from Morrison Formation in the western part of the USA (sedimentary rocks formed during the Upper Jurassic).
|
|
Allosaurus teeth are very common fossils because they were frequently discarded and replaced with new teeth throughout the life of a dinosaur. It is even possible to purchase Allosaurus tooth for few hundred dollars today.
|
|
Allosaurus was the star of "The Lost World" movie from 1925, first movie that was entirely dedicated to dinosaurs.
|
