Acrocanthosaurus -- The Dinosauricon

	*Acrocanthosaurus* "high spine lizard"
	[ Measurements \| Time \| Place \| Remains \| Essay \| Images ]

CLASSIFICATION

Acrocanthosaurus Stovall & Langston, 1950

TYPE SPECIES:

A. atokensis Stovall & Langston, 1950

MISASSIGNED SPECIES:
A. altispinax Paul, 1988 "tall-spined high spine lizard" = Becklespinax altispinax

Animalia
Vertebrata
Tetrapoda
Sauropsida
Archosauromorpha
Ornithodira
Dinosauria
Theropoda
Tetanurae
Carnosauria
Allosauridae

see also: Genus Index, Classification

REMAINS

MUO 8-0-59 [holotype]: partial skeleton
MUO 8-0-58 [paratype]: partial postcranium
teeth

see also: Anatomy

ESSAY

This large animal had long vertebrae along its back, possibly forming a sail. The vertebral spines were 20-30 cm (8-12 inches) high along the neck and tail, possibly up to 50 cm (20 inches) along the back. It was once classified as a spinosaur, since, like Spinosaurus, it had long vertebral spines. But the rest of the animal is little like Spinosaurus, and even the "fin" is different. It may be a late allosaurine or an early carcharodontosaurine.

IMAGES

Click on thumbnail to see full image.


PATRICK O'BRIEN Paint	An Astrodon johnstoni defends its young from an *Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis*.	(*Acrocanthosaurus* had taller spines than depicted here.)

BRETT BOOTH Pencil	*Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis* family at their nesting grounds	(The family consists of two pairs of adults, two juveniles and four chicks.)

JULIUS CSOTONYI Pencil, Ink	*Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis* is interrupted from its morning drink by a crackling in the bushes.

JUSTIN F. C. MILLER Pencil	*Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis*

KELLY E. TAYLOR Paint	the high-spined predator *Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis*

SHIRAISHI MINEO Digital (Two-Dimensional)	*Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis* on the go

RICHARD D. DOBBS JR. Ink	Two *Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis* lurk through the forest.

TODD MARSHALL Pencil	an excited *Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis*

JULIUS CSOTONYI Ink	"A" predators: I. *Alectrosaurus* *olseni* II. *Acrocanthosaurus* *atokensis* III. *Alioramus* *remotus* IV. *Allosaurus* *fragilis*	(These are not to the same scale.)