Alamosaurus/Segments

Main **Segments**

MainSegments

These are Prehistoric Planet segments which feature ***Alamosaurus***.

## North America

***“ The coast of the vast, inland sea that almost splits North America in half. Here in the south, as the tide falls, giants are drawn to the shoreline. These Alamosaurs are a hundred feet long, and weigh some 80 tonnes. They are the largest dinosaurs on the continent. So huge that no predator can tackle them. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
In the first segment of North America, by the shores of the Western Interior Seaway, a herd of *Alamosaurus* travel along a beach. Given their great size, the titanosaurs are able to travel without fear of harm from any predator.

***“ Some live to a great age. This male is around 70 years old. Many in the herd are likely to be his offspring. But his long life is now coming to an end. His immense body is beginning to fail him. He may not survive the night. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
As they go around a bend in the path, one 70 year-old male, feeling that his time is up, slowly drops down on the beach, the rest of the herd moving on without him. Accepting that his long life is at its end, the old male lays his head on the sand, closes his eyes, and peacefully passes away.

***“ Dawn. And these troodontids have picked up a scent. They're quick to investigate anything new, especially if it might be worth eating. But biting through a three inch-thick hide is beyond their power. Very frustrating. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
The next day, a trio of troodontids visit the beach, having smelled the corpse of the recently-deceased titanosaur. Skittishly, they explore and climb atop the dead sauropod, looking for the best part to start their meal. To their frustration, however, the small theropods found themselves unable to bite through the titanosaur's hide, which is three inches thick.

***“ Tyrannosaurus rex. North America's top predator. With his six inch-long teeth, tearing through an Alamosaur's tough skin is not a problem. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
As they continued to attempt to take bites out of the corpse, the troodontids are then scared away by a male *Tyrannosaurus*, which is easily able to feed on the carcass with his six-inch teeth and bone-crushing bite. One troodontid manages to take one strip of meat as the *T. rex* feeds before being forced away again.

***“ T. rex might be able to bully troodontids, but a carcass as big as this soon attracts more formidable competition... ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
The smell of the massive carcass, extremely visible on the open beach, soon attracts the attention of other carnivores. As he is eating his meal, the *T. rex* soon hears a series of booming calls from above, and turns towards the source of the noise, growling in frustration upon realizing that he can no longer eat the carcass undisturbed.

***“ Quetzalcoatlus, a giant pterosaur. One of the few creatures that will challenge an adult tyrannosaur. One strike from its six foot-long beak could easily cost T. rex an eye. Even so, it seems that he's not going to back down. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
A *Quetzalcoatlus* lands down on the beach, eyeing the dead titanosaur right in front of it. The *T. rex* roars at the *Quetzalcoatlus* in an attempt to scare it off, but the azhdarchid pays no heed to the theropod's warnings as it slowly marches towards the carcass. The *T. rex* turns to face the pterosaur, revealing that his right eye is milky, with a horizontal scar across the eyeball, implied by the narration to have been rendered blind by a prior *Quetzalcoatlus* attack. As the *T. rex* continued to growl at it, the azhdarchid paused its advance to test the extent of the *T. rex's* aggression. Believing that his taller, lankier rival would not attempt to challenge him further than it already has, the *T. rex* turns back to his meal, prompting the *Quetzalcoatlus* to try and walk towards the carcass again.

***“ But the arrival of a second Quetzalcoatlus changes the odds. After all, two beaks are deadlier than one. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
No sooner did the theropod return to eating than another bellow echoed from the skies. Both the *T. rex* and the *Quetzalcoatlus* paused to turn their attention to the new arrival. A second *Quetzalcoatlus* has landed on the beach, and together, the two pterosaurs boldly close in on the *T. rex*.

Both *Quetzalcoatlus* charge in, snapping their beaks to make clear their defiance, but quickly dart away as the aggravated *T. rex* rushed towards them. Their intent is not to take on their heavier and more powerful adversary head-on, however. Instead, they plan to repeatedly harass and even injure him until they had inflicted enough discomfort to convince him to leave. While one *Quetzalcoatlus* gets chased off by the *T. rex*, the other lands atop the *Alamosaurus* corpse, diverting the *T. rex's* attention and enraging him even further.

As this azhdarchid gets into a squabbling match with the *T. rex*, having the annoyed theropod's undivided attention, the other *Quetzalcoatlus* flies at the *T. rex* from behind, almost pecking him in the back as it passed overhead. With the *T. rex* distracted yet again, the other *Quetzalcoatlus* leaps off the dead *Alamosaurus* to take part in the aerial harassment. Again and again, the two *Quetzalcoatlus* strike the *T. rex* in the back with their long beaks as he tried to swing around and grab one of them.

***“ For T. rex, this is now too dangerous. Some fights just aren't worth the risk. For now, the flying giants have won. They quickly eat all they can. But T. rex will almost certainly be back to claim his share once his flying rivals leave. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
Overwhelmed by the assault, the *T. rex*, unwilling to risk receiving potentially more grievous injuries, abandons the titanosaur corpse to the azhdarchids, whom promptly feast on the bountiful meal. Given how the *Quetzalcoatlus* pair are unlikely to strip a considerable amount of the massive carcass clean, the *T. rex* will almost certainly return to feast on what's left once the pterosaurs have had their fill and moved on.

## Prehistoric Planet: Uncovered - How Did Dinosaurs Get So Big?

  **How Did Dinosaurs Get So Big?**
**Subject**
The evolutionary means and efficient systems that let sauropods attain their massive sizes.

**Experts**
Professor Paul Barrett, Dr. Susannah Maidment
Footage of *Alamosaurus*, along with most of the other sauropods in the series, is used in this Uncovered segment, which is dedicated to discussing how sauropods got to grow bigger than their modern counterparts.