Big Al was super big dinosaur! Let’s learn five awesome Allosaurus facts for kids.
Allosaurus lived around 145 million years ago, during the Jurassic period. This was at the same time as the Diplodocus and Stegosaurus dinosaurs. The name Allosaurus comes from the Greek words meaning “strange reptile.” When the fossils were first discovered in the 1870s, the Allosaurus’ backbone/spine was a long strange shape, different to other dinosaurs at the time.
The allosaurus ate meat. Their jaws contained around 70 teeth which pointed backwards and were very sharp. This helped to cut through flesh. If an allosaurus lost its teeth it was able to grow more. Although they were top carnivores, they still had to be careful of their large and powerful prey. An Allosaurus fossil has shown that they were injured by other dinosaurs such as a Stegosaurus. They had three fingers on their arms to also help them rip apart meat.
Allosaurus was a large bipedal dinosaur. Bipedal means that it stood and walked on two legs. They were also a part of the theropod family, which were a group of dinosaurs that ran on two feet. Allosaurus’ feet had three clawed toes and they had a smaller claw further up the foot. Its hind legs were long and powerful and its arms were short and strong. An Allosaurus’ claws were up to 15 cm long.
The biggest Allosaurus measured up to 12 metres long. The average Allosaurus was around 8.5 m long. It is estimated that the Allosaurus probably weighed between 1.4 tonnes and 2 tonnes. Although they were quite large it is said that they ran quite fast. Although the Allosaurus was big they hunted in packs. Sometimes they would have hunted along and when they did they would hide among thick plants and then jump out on its prey.
Nearly all Allosaurus fossils have been found in the USA, with the majority being found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. The Allosaurus was named in 1877 by American palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. He also discovered the Apatosaurus in that same year. Perhaps the most famous Allosaurus is ‘Big Al’. Big Al is the name given to an over 95% complete Allosaurus fossil found in 1991 in the Howe Dinosaur Quarry, in Wyoming.
We hope you enjoyed learning more things about Allosaurus as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this dinosaur is, you can move on to learn about other dinosaurs like: Apatosaurus, Velociraptor, Ankylosaurus and Brontosaurus.
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