Acrocanthosaurus
From Freepedia
| Acrocanthosaurus
Conservation status: Fossil | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Acrocanthosaurus atokensis Stovall & Langston, 1950 |
Acrocanthosaurus (ack-row-CAN-tho-SORE-us) was a very large member of the Allosauridae family. It may represent an evolutionary link between the Late Jurassic Allosaurus and the gigantic Late Cretaceous Carcharodontosaurus. Estimates place its size at about 40 feet (12 meters) long and 13 feet (4 meters) tall. The only described species to date is A. atokensis. A. atokensis is part of the Allosauroidea, a group which included Allosauridae, Sinraptoridae, and Carcharodontosauridae, along with basal allosaurids such as Monolophosaurus, Crylophosaurus, and Fukuiraptor ect. Acrocanthosaurus could be classified with the Carcharodontosaurids or the Allosaurids. Allosauroiea was not related to the Tyrannosauroidea.
Acrocanthosaurus was particularly noteworthy both for its size and for the low row of spines running along its back. The function of these spines remains unknown: they may have acted as muscle anchors or they may have supported a sail of skin. Even though Acrocanthosaurus had a sail, it was not a Spinosauroid.
It was named by J. Willis Stovall and Wann Langston, Jr. in 1950. The name means "high spined lizard", from the Greek akros ("high"), akantha ("spine") and sauros ("lizard"). It is from the Early Cretaceous of North America.
External links
- "Acrocanthosaurus". DinoData.
- "Fran" the Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, from the Worldwide Museum
of Natural History.
- Acro FAQ, from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
