The Allosaurus is not as well known as many other dinosaurs, but was the biggest meat eating dinosaur in North America. The T-Rex is regarded by some the king of the dinosaurs, but the Allosaurus would have been an interesting fight. They did not live in the same time period, so the outcome could only be speculated. The main rival of the Allosaurus was the smaller Ceratosaurus.
The Allosaurus lived 140-150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. It was a large dinosaur getting to 38′ long, 16.5′ tall and weighing 3-4 tons. The Allosaurus had a distinctive 3′ long skull with 2 short red brow-horns. The jaws were powerful and had long serrated teeth 2-4″ long. These huge teeth curved backwards making it easier to hold their prey. Also, the Allosaurus had a massive tail, bulky body, heavy bones, long legs, large feet, short arms and three fingered hands with sharp eagle like claws up to 6″ long. These claws made it easy to capture and hold on to its prey. The Allosaurus was known for its strong S shaped neck. The vertebrae were different from other dinosaurs thus earning the name “Different Lizard”.
The Allosaurus probably feasted on the Stegosaurus and other plant eaters. They had jaws like a snake making it easy to swallow large chunks of meat. During the late Jurassic period, the Allosaurus was the most abundant predator. It is believed by many they hunted in groups and like many large animals were a scavenger also.
It had a brain like an alligator and its intelligence was high among the dinosaurs. The Allosaurus was built for speed. The long tail would balance the front end while running, turning, or scratching an itch. The problem was with its short arms, the Allosaurus was prone to falls that could lead to severe injuries. However, most could survive with broken ribs and continue to prosper.
Even though, the first complete skeleton was found in Colorado in 1883, the Allosaurus is the State Dinosaur of Utah. More than 60 different complete and partial fossils were found in western North America between Wyoming to New Mexico. So far, there have been 3 different Allosaurus found to date.
Even though the Allosaurus was not as well known as its cousin T-Rex, it was a fearsome predator during the late Jurassic period. Many fossils have been found in the last 125 years especially in Utah.
