Albertosaurus was a carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaur that lived in the
late Cretaceous period,
approximately 76 to 74 million years ago, in
North America. It was a bipedal (walking on two legs) creature, with
tiny two-fingered hands, and a massive head containing dozens of large
sharp teeth.
Albertosaurus was around 26 feet (7.9 meters) long, and weighed
approximately 3 tons. It was much smaller than its relative
Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The first specimen discovered was a partial skull discovered in 1884
from an outcrop near the Red Deer River in Alberta,
Canada,
and was
initially incorrectly assigned to the the species
Dryptosaurus (also known at the tim as "Laelaps incrassatus")
by
Edward D. Cope.
The name Albertosaurus was coined by
Henry Fairfield Osborn,
in a brief note in his
1905
paper describing
Tyrannosaurus Rex.
About 30
fossil specimens
of Albertosaurus have been found to date. This includes 22 individuals
found at a single site, which is highly suggestive of pack behavior.
Finally, it is worth noting that some paleontologists have suggested that the Asian
Tyrannosauroid, Alectrosaurus,
may actually be a species of Albertosaurus.
"Albertosaurus" means "Alberta lizard" (after the province of Alberta in Canada). The name was chosen by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1905.
Albertosaurus was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Albertosaurus was not closely related to lizards, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Albertosaurus was a Theropod - a member of a group of related bipedal dinosaurs that included the ancestors of birds (although Albertosaurus was not itself an ancestor of birds).
Albertosaurus lived between about 76 million years ago and 74 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period.
Albertosaurus lived in North America.
Albertosaurus was a carnivore (meat-eater).
Albertosaurus may well have been a pack animal with several individuals working together to bring down prey.
Fossils of 22 individuals were found together at one site, which is the reason why scientists think that Albertosaurus was a pack hunter.
Albertosaurus was about 26 feet (7.9 meters) long.
Albertosaurus weighed about 3 tons.
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