World of Dinosaurs/Allosaurus
Basics[edit | edit source]
Allosaurus means "other lizard"
Allosuarus fragilis is the state fossil of Utah
Allosaurus lived during the Jurassic Period
Anatomy[edit | edit source]
Allosaurus is a lanky meat-eating dinosaur.
Look for these features:
- furcula (wish bone, which is found in the theropod clade)
- smooth ankle and smooth hips
- ankle raised off the ground (found in derived theropods)
Phylogeny[edit | edit source]
Allosaurus is a meat-eating beasty, a theropod dinosaur.
All theropods are dinosaurs.
All dinosaurs are amniotes and all dinosaurs are tetrapods.
Biomechanics[edit | edit source]
Allosaurus have jaws that can offer a stronger bite than an alligator, but not quite as powerful as a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Fossil Record[edit | edit source]
Visit the paleobiology database, at paleodb.org
Allosaurus fossils are relatively common in Utah, including many scattered (disarticulated) skeletons at the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry in Utah.
Ecology[edit | edit source]
Allosaurus is a meat-eating dinosaur which co-occured with Stegosaurus.
Ferns, shrubs, and trees would have been common, but flowering plants, fruit trees, or grass were NOT around yet!
Biogeography[edit | edit source]
Rocks from the Jurassic period indicate hotter, wetter conditions than we experience on Earth today.
Rocks do not show signs of ice caps near the poles, of traveling ice-bergs, or other signs of "ice house" conditions.
Allosaurus would have roamed deserts and river systems. The super-continent Pangea was splitting up throughout the Jurassic Period, adding volcanic activity, particularly along the west coast, and warm, seasonally-variable habitats.