Allosaurus

Allosaurus (al·lo·saur·us) (al-OH-sore-US) (March, 1877) meaning, "different lizard", is arguably one of the most well known Jurassic predators known, growing to about 28 - 29 feet (8.5 to 9 meters) on average and capable of reaching up to 12–13 meters. It had a large skull with eye ridges, and claws designed for gripping. Its diet may have included many different dinosaurs, mainly smaller ones such as the Dryosaurus and Camptosaurus, but in packs it may have hunted the stegosaurid Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, and even young sauropods.   
There are currently three species of Allosaurus known: A. fragilis, A. europaeus and A. lucasi.
Allosaurus was certainly not the only apex predator in the Jurassic, as it would have to compete against bigger predators, such as Saurophaganax and not the bigger but the main rivals Ceratosaurusand Torvosaurus. However, its weak bite force is misleading. Its skull would have been used almost like a hatchet to smack down on prey, causing heavy bleeding. It couldn't take down sauropods, but it was the perfect predator for smaller prey items. Smaller prey such as Dryosaurus and Camptosaurus would be ideal because Allosauruswas speedy with a "hatchet" mouth that could cause bleeding, and the smaller animals would bleed out quicker. One particularly well-preserved specimen, nicknamed "Big Al", was found not too long ago in Wyoming. While Allosaurus was a hunter, it was also a scavenger (like all predators). It would find dead animals or animals dying to feast on. "Big Al" had many different injuries from throughout its short, seven-year life, yet surviving all but the last one, an infected toe wound. This would have left the animal unable to hunt, and it would have starved and/or died of thirst. Allosaurus skull was double hinged. This allowed it to open its mouth extremely wide, allowing it to have a huge bite radius. One hinge was near the front of the jaw like a snake's, and the other was near the back of the jawbone. However, recent studies seem to show that Allosaurus had a relatively low bite force of only 350 pounds per square inch, much less than the value of sharks and crocodiles and even inferior to that of most big cats, despite being much bigger. Its seems that Allosaurus attacked like an axe, using its double-hinged jaw to open really wide and dropping the top part of its skull into its prey with a large amount of pressure while holding it steady with its strong arms. Constant repetition of this method would have led to a massive amount of blood loss and shock. It was a very efficient way of killing, and it's probably why Allosaurus was so successful as a hunter.  
Allosaurus-fragilis-exhibit.jpg|Allosaurus Skeleton
MV5BNDM0MTQ2NWUtOWEwMi00N2VkLWE1N2YtZTc0ZGY3MmVkZDUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDcxMTk4Mzc@. V1 SY1000 CR0,0,1333,1000 AL .jpg|Allosaurus as it appears in Walking with Dinosaurs
8b5d030cba529ef0016a8e2d51da6532.jpg|Allosaurus hunting a Dryosaurus 
Jurassicb.jpg|Allosaurus attacking a sauropod
File:Allosaurus p1.jpg|Allosaurus Body
File:Allosaurus p3.jpg|Allosaurus head and teeth
File:Allosaurus p4.jpg|Allosaurus Skin
File:Allosaurus p2.jpg|Allosaurus Feet
Category:Dinosaurs
Category:Extinct Animals
Category:Jurassic Animals
Category:Wyoming Animals
Category:Colorado Animals
Category:Theropods
Category:American Animals
Category:Mesozoic Animals