| Albertosaurus | |
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Kingdom: |
Animalia |
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Phylum: |
Chordata |
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Class: |
Reptilia |
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Superorder: |
Dinosauria |
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Order: |
Saurischia |
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Suborder: |
Theropoda |
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Superfamily: |
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Family: |
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Genus: |
†Albertosaurus |
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Species: |
†A. sarcophagus (type) |
Albertosaurus was a genus of tyrannosaur from the Campanian Stage (late Cretaceous) that lived in Canada and the U.S. A member of the family Tyrannosauridae, Albertosaurus is most comparable to Gorgosaurus. At 9 meters (30 feet) long, Albertosaurus was a large tyrannosaur but, not the largest of the family.
Description[]
Skull[]
The skull of Albertosaurus was a large meter (3.3 ft) skull with a fenestrae opening to reduce weight and provide muscle space. Albertosaurus had 60 banana shaped teeth with D-shaped cross sections. In several specimens, the teeth appear to be cracked. This is attributed to the fact that tyrannosaur teeth are used as holdfasts fir tearing chunks of flesh as a pose to knives for cutting flesh.
Posture[]
Typical to most skull was perched upon an S-shaped neck. Reduced forelimbs helped balance the skull's massive bulk. The body posture would have been the same as other tyrannosaurs, vertebrae horizontal to the ground and tail held erect for balance. This helped distribute the body weight more evenly and most of the weight would have been on the hips.
Pack Behavior[]
Remains of 22 individual Albertosaurus were found in the the Dry Island Bone Bed. The group of Albertosaurus were composed primarily of young adult dinosaurs, along with several sub-adults and juveniles. Normally, the overwhelming abundance of predators to prey in one spot indicates a predator trap (quicksand, tar pits, ect.) however, as there appears to be no herbivores, and that all the Albertosaurus seemed to have died at the same time, they were likely a pack. However, it is also possible that they were all driven together by a flood or some other reason. They may have died at various spots upriver and there corpses al deposited in one location.
Classification[]
Albertosaurus is a member of the subfamily Albertasaurinae along with Gorgosaurus. More broadly, Albertosaurus is a member of the family Tyrannosauridae, which include the largest tyrannosaurus of all time.
Gallery[]
