Allosaurus
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“
|
An Allosaurus, a meat-eater, the most vicious pest of the ancient world.
|
„
|
— Professor Challenger (The Lost World [1925]) |
Allosaurus is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs which lived in the United States and Europe during the Late Jurassic Period. It has become one of the most recognizable theropod dinosaurs, appearing in numerous forms of media such as the films The Lost World (1925) and One Million Years B.C. (1966), the Jurassic Park short film Battle at Big Rock (2019), and the original Walking With Dinosaurs miniseries, which was followed by a special episode chronicling the life of a real Allosaurus nicknamed "Big Al". An Allosaurus-like theropod also fights King Kong in the 1933 King Kong film, while Gorosaurus, a monster in the Godzilla franchise, is stated to be an Allosaurus descendant.[2] It is usually depicted as a fast and dangerous predator, as it most likely was in real life.
Name
The name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard" and is a combination of two Greek words — ἄλλος (allos, meaning "different") and σαῦρος (sauros, meaning "lizard").
The theropod dinosaur from the original 1933 King Kong was not named in the film, while the screenplay and 1932 novelization simply called it a "Meat-Eater". Though Willis O'Brien and Marcel Delgado referred to the Meat-Eater as a Tyrannosaurus rex, Merian C. Cooper called it an Allosaurus.[4] The Meat-Eater was also referred to as simply an allosaur in Kong Reborn, Russell Blackford's 2005 sequel to the 1932 novelization, which means that, although it may not be an Allosaurus, it is a member of the clade Allosauridae.
Appearance
Since its discovery in the 1800s, Allosaurus has generally been depicted in media as a large bipedal theropod, with two lacrimal horns resting above each eye atop its head, three fingers, and sharp teeth. Like many theropods, it was originally depicted standing upright until the 1990s, after which it was given a more horizontal stance to suit later studies on its posture and anatomy. Most modern depictions give Allosaurus a less blocky skull with more pointed lacrimal horns, arms of moderate length, and lips protecting its teeth. Its build is moderately muscled, and well-suited to swift movement for an animal its size. Like other bipedal dinosaurs, Allosaurus is now thought to have wrists held in neutral position instead of pronated like in earlier depictions.
In The Lost World, Allosaurus' design is consistent with its early depictions of the theropod, with rough scaly skin like that of a Gila monster. Its eyebrow ridges are round and less defined than later recreations.
History
- The Lost World (1925)
- King Kong (1933)
- King Kong Escapes (1967)
- GODZILLA (1998) (mentioned)
The Lost World
|
Please help improve this article by contributing useful information or discussing ideas on its talk page. |
The Challenger expedition first witnessed an Allosaurus battling a Trachodon, with the battle ending after the Allosaurus grabbed the Trachodon and ripped out its throat, then allowed the hadrosaur's carcass to fall into a bog. It then menaced a Triceratops protecting its young, but retreated after the Triceratops stabbed the Allosaurus with one of its horns. Next, it encountered the camp where the Professor Challenger and his party were staying on the plateau, but they repelled it with their guns and by throwing a torch into its mouth. It finally challenged an Agathaumas to a battle, jumping onto the ceratopsian's back, but was killed when the Agathaumas gored it with its nose horn.
Another Allosaurus later battled a Brontosaurus, with the Brontosaurus falling off the cliff edge of the plateau after it grabbed the throat of the Allosaurus. After this, the Allosaurus simply walked away.
Several other Allosauruses fled the volcanic lava along with other inhabitants of the plateau. After the catastrophe ended, a pack of predators began to devour the dead dinosaur.
King Kong
- Main article: Meat-Eater.
King Kong Escapes
- Main article: Gorosaurus.
GODZILLA
After hearing news about the sunken fishing trawlers, Elsie Chapman speculates that the animal they are looking for is a "Theropoda Allosaurus."
Abilities
Durability
Specimen USNM 2315, the lower jaw of an Allosaurus fragilis, shows evidence of healing after having been broken, the cause of which is thought to be intraspecific combat.[5][6]
In The Lost World, the Allosaurus survived injuries from a Triceratops' horns, along with gunfire and a torch in its mouth, before succumbing to the horn of an Agathaumas.
Physical abilities
Like most theropods, Allosaurus has sharp teeth that it uses to bite through the tough skin of its prey. Allosaurus also has sharp, curved claws that it uses to scar its enemies.
Books
- Anthony Browne's King Kong (1994)
- GODZILLA (1998) (mentioned)
Anthony Browne's King Kong
An Allosaurus attacked Ann Darrow, but King Kong fended it off, landing several blows. The Eighth Wonder of the World finished the theropod off by breaking its jaws, killing it.
Comics
- Konga #3 (1961)
Konga
An Allosaurus is depicted on the cover of "The Rulers" story attacking a Stegosaurus, and is shown in the comic itself growling at another, larger theropod. The same dinosaur is shown in the same picture with animals from the late Cretaceous period.
Trivia
- In the 1996 script for Peter Jackson's King Kong film, which was eventually replaced by the 2005 King Kong film, Kong would have battled a group of allosaurs, likely based on Merian C. Cooper's identification of the Meat-Eater as an Allosaurus. In the 2005 film, Kong instead fought a trio of Vastatosaurus rex, descendants of Tyrannosaurus rex.
- In 1998 GODZILLA, Elsie Chapman and Mendel Craven claim that "Theropoda Allosaurus" became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, around 60 million years ago. In reality, all unquestionable Allosaurus fossils are known from the Jurassic strata, with the latest being dated to the Tithonian stage.
- In HarperPrism novelization of the movie, Craven claims that Allosaurus fossils have only been found in Wyoming and Utah, although at the time of publication its fossils had also been described from other states, including Colorado and New Mexico.
- In the behind-the-scenes documentary The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs, paleontologist Peter Dodson watches a fragment of The Lost World where an Allosaurus attacks an Agathaumas and explains the outdated aspects of dinosaur reconstructions.
- The battle between the Allosaurus and the Agathaumas is also shown in the fourth episode of the first series of Primeval, when a captured dodo grabs a TV remote and accidentally turns on The Lost World. Frightened by their roar, the dodo smashes the screen with its beak. In this fragment, Allosaurus and Agathaumas emit the roars of the gorgonopsid and Scutosaurus from the same series.
Related characters
|
|
|
External links
References
This is a list of references for Allosaurus. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
|
Comments
Showing 25 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.
|
|