Allosaurus europeaus is a smaller species of allosaurus known from the Lourinhã Formation in what is now Portugal.
Allosaurus fragilis is the medium sized species of the Allosaurus genus, it is known from the Morrison Formation
Allosaurus jimmadseni is the largest species definitively within the Allosaurus genus, and hails from the Morrison Formation
Allosaurus is a large carnivorous theropod that lived in North America and Europe during the Jurassic. Allosaurus will consist of three species in Prehistoric Kingdom, A. europaeus, A. fragilis, and A. jimmadseni. It is also the base genus for Saurophaganax.
It is yet to be added to Prehistoric Kingdom.
In-Game[]
Description[]
Allosaurus is the poster-boy medium theropod, known for its large head, developed arms, and a mouth full of dozens of serrated teeth. It is also recognized for its distinct pair of crests above the eyes, a trait which varies among the various species of Allosaurus. In-game, all three skins correspond to a different species of Allosaurus.
- Allosaurus fragilis is the most plain of the 3 Allosaurus species, with a subdued brown spotting with brighter orange crests which are more sharply pointed than the other species. A. fragilis also has teardrop markings underneath its eyes not unlike those seen in big cats such as Panthera, used to cut down on glare while hunting.
- Allosaurus jimmadseni bears complex stripes and splotches on a green background with striking yellow-orange rounded crests. It is the largest on average of the Allosaurus species in-game, and also has a much smoother "cheekbone" region than the other Allosaurus species, as seen in the fossil remains of these animals.
- Allosaurus europaeus is the smallest and was found in Portugal rather than North America. Unlike its relatives, A. europaeus has far more boxy crests with enhanced nasal crests compared to the pointed and rounded ridges of A. fragilis and A. jimmadseni. A. europaeus also is the only species of Allosaurus in-game to poses sexual dimorphism, with the males of this species bearing striking blue highlights on its crests and body not dissimilar to those of a Peacock.
Management[]
To be announced.
In-Game Trivia[]
Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven
Paleontology[]
A. fragilis and A. jimmadseni lived alongside other famous dinosaur species from the Morrison Formation, such as Dryosaurus, Stegosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. A. europaeus was contemporaneous with Miragaia, Lusotitan, Dinheirosaurus, Lourinhanosaurus, and the European Torvosaurus species T. gurneyi.
A. jimmadseni was described in 2020 and named after James H. Madsen Jr. who was the first state paleontologist in Utah. Unlike A. fragilis, A. jimmadseni had thin, blade-like crests that ran over its snout and reached its highest point over the eyes, and a much more shallow jugal bone in the animal's jaw. Being discovered from the Lower Morrison Formation, A. jimmadseni is geologically the oldest species of Allosaurus.
Allosaurus was named in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh and its name means "different lizard".
Paleoecology[]
It is commonly said that Allosaurus's jaws were analogous to the blade of a hatchet due to its large gape and strong neck muscles, however even with its wide gape a hatchet style bite would not be able to make proper contact with the prey animal in a vast majority of instances with the lower jaw getting in the way. It is far more likely to have been biting and tearing in a normal theropod fashion while using its robust forearms and strong neck muscles to help subdue large struggling prey, a method that has been compared to the hunting methods of saber-toothed cats such as Smilodon by paleontologist Dr. Robert T. Bakker. Despite lacking the distinctive saber-teeth of the felids, both Allosaurus and Smilodon have reduced bite forces, increased jaw gape, powerful neck musculature, and powerful arms used to grapple prey. This view is backed up by injuries to the tendons of the arm sustained by Allosaurus, showcasing their use in strenuous activities. Once prey has been subdued, their powerful neck muscles would have been used in concert with their feet to tear out chunks of flesh in a similar manner to a modern falcon.
Allosaurus seems to have had a varied diet, with numerous bite marks on sauropods and injuries consistent with strikes from the thagomizers of Stegosaurus. These theropods are widely known to have numerous grievous pathologies, with famous individuals such as "Big Al" sporting suites of life-altering injuries. Some have used this abundance of injuries to suggest it was an abnormally aggressive theropod, however any such interpretations are speculative and unable to be tested with current available data. Some have also suggested that Allosaurus was primarily a scavenging animal living off of sauropod carcasses, however while Allosaurus likely would have scavenged when it could, numerous instances of active hunting behavior are known from Allosaurus. This includes mired sauropods at the remarkable Howe Dinosaur Quarry which are preserved with limb bones still standing, surrounded by the rest of their remains and numerous Allosaurus teeth.
There is also evidence for cannibalism amongst Allosaurs, such as shed teeth amongst rib fragments, possible tooth marks on a shoulder blade, and cannibalized skeletons among the bones at various lair sites. It has been speculated that Allosaurus was a pack hunter due to the large accumulation of Allosaurus remains at the same sites, comparable to mass death assemblages of more recent pack hunters such as Dire Wolves in the La Brea Tar Pits. However doubts of the Cleveland Loid Dinosaur Quarry representing a predator trap have been raised due to peculiarities at the site. Cooperative hunting may have been useful in hunting large sauropods, however confirmation of this strategy being used in Allosaurus is unknown.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Allosaurus was one of the dinosaurs available in the 2017 Prehistoric Kingdom demo.
- Initially Allosaurus was going to have two feathered skins but they were cut, this skins were present in the 2017 demo.
- Allosaurus is one of the most popular theropods, appearing in multiple pieces of media, such as the Jurassic Park franchise, prominently featuring in Battle at Big Rock, and Walking With Dinosaurs.
- Allosaurus also had a large presence in classical dinosaur media, such as its starring role in The Valley of Gwangi.
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