Allosaurus in Hot Pursuit BYU Dinosaur Exhibit

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=c526hV95UiU

Hips don’t lie! • #Camptosaurus is a classic Late #Jurassic (150 mya) #ornithopod #dinosaur that may very well be one of the ancestors of North American #iguanodons. • At 20’ long and ~1,000 lbs, it relied on speed to escape. Alas, #Allosaurus was speedy and armed with massive hand claws, sharp toe claws, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Camptosaurus was no match for Allosaurus yet, even so, Allosaurus needed to be careful when attacking an adult as they did have powerful legs and could have blinded an Allo with their above-average thumb claw. • Marsh originally named it in 1879 as #Camptonotus “flexible back,” but in 1885 wrote, “Camptonotus, applied to a genus of Jurassic reptiles, has also been used, and Camptosaurus may be substituted.” And just like that Camptosaurus “flexible lizard” was born! • #Apatosaurus has one of the larger hip/pelvic/sacral regions in #sauropod dinosaurs. This is a rather large lad, over 6’ across between the iliac blades. They may be a tad smooshed cranial-caudally though, which would exaggerate that width a tad. As preserved, it has only 2 of the 5 sacral vertebrae they possess. • The giant hips allowed massive muscles to attach, muscles that powered a 40’+ tail that ended in a literal “bone chain,” with 6” tail bones the thickness and shape of a large middle finger being attached one after another, ensconced in tightly wrapped scales. • A shake of the hips and an Allosaurus has a shattered skull compliments of a high-speed whip. You see bones in this area oft-injured. I suspect many had them stepped upon or damaged to the point of falling off. Did they grow back? I’ve always wondered! • You can see in the background an over 30 foot long #Allosaurus from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, as well as a skull of Allosaurus jimmadseni (not labeled) and another gorgeous Apatosaurus femur. • This iconic display of “hot pursuit” is at the Brigham Young University Museum of paleontology in Provo, Utah. • #FossilCrates

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