Acrocanthosaurus

## *Acrocanthosaurus atokensis*

★★★★☆

* Blast
* Canopy
* Patina

## Diet

 Meat

**Nigel Marven**

The tall neural spines running down its back are what create that beautiful, scenic silhouette, though their function remains a bit of a mystery to us.

## In-Game

### Description

One of the largest theropods known to exist, *Acrocanthosaurus*' most notable trait is the tall neural spines that protrude to form a raised arch trailing from the back of the predators head to its tail. Similar to modern bison, these raised spines serve as attachments for powerful muscles, forging the raised spine that makes this animal so noteworthy.

### In-Game Trivia

"*Acrocanthosaurus, the 'High-Spined Lizard'. An apex predator, and a good one at that.*"

"*The tall neural spines running down its back are what create that beautiful, scenic silhouette, though their function remains a bit of a mystery to us. I’d love to go get a closer look at this particular specimen, but I think I’ll, uh, stay this side of the fence.*"

"*They have a great sense of smell, so if you ever find yourself trapped in the Acrocanthosaurus enclosure (and I certainly hope you never do), I don't recommend playing hide-and-seek. They'll sniff you out before you can clean your trousers!*"

"*Each side of its upper jaw sports nineteen razor-sharp teeth, but I don't recommend getting close enough to count them all.*"

## Paleontology

*Acrocanthosaurus* remains have been found in Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming, although teeth have been found as far as Maryland, suggesting a larger continent range. With a long, low and narrow snout, paired with its developed arms and heavy build, *Acrocanthosaurus* was perfectly built to hunt sauropods such as *Sauroposeidon*. The spines protruding from its back could be up to 2.5 times the height of the vertebrae they extended from.

*Acrocanthosaurus* certainly was the apex predator of its environment, however, as evidenced by its femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) length ratio, it was a rather slow runner, and would have ambushed prey instead. *Acrocanthosaurus* would have also used its large size and bulk to steal carcasses from smaller predators such as *Deinonychus*. *Acrocanthosaurus* prey includes ornithopods like *Tenotosaurus*, as well as sauropods like *Sauroposeidon* and *Astrodon*.

*Acrocanthosaurus* was discovered and named in 1950 by palaeontologists John Willis Stovall and Wann Langston Jr and its name means "high spined lizard" in reference to the high neural spines on its vertebrae.

While *Acrocanthosaurus* is exceeded in size by some of its relatives such as *Giganotosaurus,* *Mapusaurus,* and *Carcharodontosaurus*, *Acrocanthosaurus* certainly was one of the biggest theropods and is one of the biggest North American theropods, only being surpassed in size by *Saurophaganax* and *Tyrannosaurus*. *Acrocanthosaurus* was around 11.5 meters long (38 ft) and around 6.2 metric tons in weight (6.8 short tons). Despite being one of the largest carcharodontosaurids, *Acrocanthosaurus* was rather basal for a carcharodontosaur, while all the other giant carcharodontosaurids were in the subfamily Carcharodontosaurinae, and *Acrocanthosaurus* has often been described as the sister taxon to the equally basal *Eocarcharia* from Niger.

*Acrocanthosaurus* means "high spined lizard" which is in reference to its tall neural spines located on the dorsal vertebrae. The species name *atokensis* is named after Atoka County in Oklahoma where it was originally discovered.

The purpose of *Acrocanthosaurus's* sail is being debated. It is thought that *Acrocanthosaurus* would have used this spine as a visual for their health, so that they could show how healthy they were to potential mates and they would be able to pass down healthy genes. Another theory is that, like the modern day camel, *Acrocanthosaurus* possible used this sail as a fatty hump to store nutrients when food was scarce, so it would have enough to sustain itself.

## Gallery

* Renders
* Animations
* Concept Art

Acrocanthosaurus skins.Barranca (Scrapped Skin)Bullfrog (Scrapped Skin)Bestrewn (Scrapped Skin)Render of Acrocanthosaurus' Bestrewn skin.Render of Acrocanthosaurus' Bestrewn skin.Render of Acrocanthosaurus' Barranca skin.Blast skin and dataCanopy skin and dataPatina skin and dataAll Acrocanthosaurus skins and dataAcrocanthosaurus Species Profile.

Acrocanthosaurus Walk Animation.Acrocanthosaurus Run Animation.

Concept art of Acrocanthosaurus.
## Trivia

* Acrocanthosaurus was the first carcharodontosaurid added to Prehistoric Kingdom, being added before Carcharodontosaurus itself.
* Acrocanthosaurus was a surprise addition to the Early Access Launch, as it wasn't teased or acknowledged until the launch trailer.