ACROCANTHOSAURUS
Acrocanthosaurus atokensis
Meaning: "High-Spined Lizard"
📊 STATS
Size comparison:
As long as two school buses parked end-to-end!
📖 ABOUT ACROCANTHOSAURUS
Meet Acrocanthosaurus, the 'High-Spined Lizard'! This mega-predator roamed North America long ago, sporting awesome spines on its back and a super strong bite!
Imagine a dinosaur with a built-in mohawk! That's Acrocanthosaurus, a massive carnivore that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 116 to 110 million years ago. Its name means 'High-Spined Lizard,' and it gets that name from the tall spines that ran along its backbone, possibly supporting a muscular ridge or even a small hump. These spines made it look even more impressive!
Acrocanthosaurus was a top predator, meaning it was at the top of the food chain. It hunted large herbivores like sauropods and ornithopods using its powerful legs and strong arms. Its bite force was incredible, allowing it to tear through flesh and bone. Fossils show evidence of Acrocanthosaurus hunting in what is now Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Scientists believe they were skilled hunters, stalking their prey and using their size and strength to take them down. Footprints suggest they might have even hunted in groups sometimes. This dinosaur was truly a king of its time!
🔬 CLASSIFICATION
- Group
- Theropoda
- Family
- Carcharodontosauridae
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (145-100 Ma)
- Era
- 116.0 - 110.0 million years ago
🗺️ DISCOVERY
- Year
- 1950
- Discovered by
- J. Willis Stovall
- Location
- Oklahoma, USA
- Fossils found in
- USA (Oklahoma, Texas, Utah)
🎨 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION
Artistic reconstruction of Acrocanthosaurus based on fossil evidence
🗺️ WHERE FOSSILS WERE FOUND
USA (Oklahoma, Texas, Utah)
🤓 FUN FACTS
- ✨ Acrocanthosaurus's footprints have been found alongside sauropod footprints, suggesting they were hunting the giant herbivores!
- ✨ Those cool spines on its back could have been used to attract mates!
- ✨ Scientists think Acrocanthosaurus might have been related to Giganotosaurus, another huge meat-eating dinosaur!
- ✨ Acrocanthosaurus lived at the same time as some early flowering plants were starting to appear!
- ✨ The first Acrocanthosaurus fossil was found in 1950 in Oklahoma!
💡 DID YOU KNOW?
Get this! Acrocanthosaurus had tiny arms compared to its body size, just like T-Rex! But unlike T-Rex, Acrocanthosaurus had three fingers on each hand!
