| Allosaurus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Allosaurus | |||
| Order | Saurischia | |||
| Suborder | Theropoda | |||
| Class | Dinosauria | |||
| Name Translation | Strange Lizard | |||
| Period | Late Jurassic (156-145 million years ago) | |||
| Diet | Meat | |||
| Size | 28-32 ft (up to 39 ft if Epanterias is a large A. fragilis) | |||
Stegosaurus Threat - Walking With Dinosaurs - BBC
Allosaurus (al-OH-sore-US) (March, 1877) meaning, "different, other-lizard", was one of the largest Jurassic predators known, growing in average up to 28 feet (8.5 meters) while larger animals could grow up to 32 feet (9.7 meters). It had a large skull with eye ridges, and claws designed for gripping. It ate many different dinosaurs, such as the Dryosaurus, the stegosaurid Stegosaurus, and even young sauropods like Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Due to its large size and 'new-age' design, the previous apex Jurassic predator Ceratosaurus was very hard competition since it was around the same size, but Allosaurus itself had to deal with harder competition from a large megalosaurid named Torvosaurus as well as the similar-sized Megalosaurus. Saurophaganax is a larger allosaurid genus that grew up to 39 feet (12 meters). One particularly well-preserved specimen, nicknamed "Big Al", was found not too long ago in Wyoming. While Allosaurus was a hunter, it was also a scavenger. It would find dead animals or animals dying to feast on. "Big Al" had many different injuries from throughout its short, seven year life, yet surviving all but the last one, an infected toe wound. This would have left the animal unable to hunt, and it would have starved and/or died of thirst.
Skull
Allosaurus' skull was double hinged. This allowed it to open its mouth extremely wide, allowing it to have a huge bite radius. One hinge was near the front of the jaw like a snake's, and the other was near the back of the jawbone. However, recent studies seem to show that Allosaurus had a relatively low bite force, much less than the value of sharks and crocodiles and even
inferior to that of most big cats, despite being much bigger. It seems that Allosaurus attacked like an axe, using its double-hinged jaw to open really wide and dropping the top part of its skull into its prey with a large amount of pressure while holding it steady with its strong arms.
A constant repetition of this method would have led to a massive amount of blood loss and shock. It was a very efficient way of killing, and it's probably why Allosaurus was so successful as
JFC Allosaurus
a hunter.
Allosaurus from BBC Planet Dinosaur
In Popular Culture
Allosaurus has appeared multiple times in the famous Walking With Dinosaurs series. It was featured in the special, The Ballad of Big Al.
Allosaurus has been featured in three episodes of the History Channel series Jurassic Fight Club fighting two Ceratosaurus as three Allosaurus attack a Stegosaurus, however one gets killed as a herd of Camarasaurus come to drink the water but one gets stuck, as it gets the Allosaurus's attention.
Allosaurus can also be found in the Dinosaur Digs expansion pack for the popular PC game, Zoo Tycoon.
Allosaurus also was on a list of animals supossedly to be in the fourth Jurassic Park movie, however it isn't confirmed.
Allosaurus has also been featured in the Jurassic Park park-builder sim Operation Genesis.
Allosaurus from Dinosaur Revolution
Allosaurus appears in the game Dino Crisis 2 as a mid-game rival and in the arena as a fighter. Allosaurus also appears in Dinosaur King and Dinosaur Master.
It also appears in Din
osaur Revolution. The main allosaur in the show has its jaw broken by the tail of a Dinheirosaurus. It also was shown to attack a Torvosaurus despite the size difference.
Allosaurus appears in Planet Dinosaur where it fails on its first hunt for a Stegosaurus. It later kills a Camptosaurus, but unfortunately a Saurophaganax steals its prey.
Allosaurus has only appeared in The Land Before Time VI: the Secret of Saurus Rock, where she serves as the main antagonist of the film.
In the cartoon The Terrible Thunderlizards, Squat is an Allosaurus.