Allosaurus ("different lizard") was the most common predator of the Late Jurassic period and the most dangerous. Like most meat-eating dinosaurs, its jaws were filled with serrated teeth shaped like blades. Computer studies suggest that Allosaurus attacked by using its upper jaw like a battle axe to hack at its victim, then it used its lower jaw to bite out a slice of meat. It might have been easy for an Allosaurus to kill a fairly defenseless dinosaur like Camptosaurus, but Stegosaurus could certainly put up a fight, and the sauropods (giant long-necks) were so huge that they could easily crush even an adult Allosaurus. We know that Allosaurus led a dangerous life. The Allosaurus on display at the Smithsonian Institute has a smashed shoulder blade, many broken ribs, and a lower jaw so damaged that paleontologists didn't realize it was an Allosaurus jaw for over 100 years! But these were tough dinosaurs: Their bones show that they lived long enough for their wounds to heal. from the Jurassic Park wiki
from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human-allosaurus_size_comparison.svg |
Allosaurus from Safari Ltd. 7.5” L x 3.75” H (19 x 9.5 cm)
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