Alectrosaurus was an Asian
Theropod dinosaur
that is related to Tyrannosaurus rex.
It was a carnivore (meat-eater), and lived in what is today the Gobi desert in
Mongolia and China,
during late Cretaceous period,
between about 83 and 74 million years ago.
Alectrosaurus was probably a maximum of about 17 feet (5 meters) long, and probably
weighed somewhere between ½ ton and 1 ton. A number of details of the creature
are currently unclear, because only partial fossil
specimens have so far been found. Additionally, some paleontologists have suggested that Alectrosaurus may actually
be a species
of Albertosaurus.
The first
fossil specimen of
Alectrosaurus was discovered by George Olsen in
1923.
It was named by Charles W. Gilmore in
1933.
Literally translated from the Greek, "Alectrosaurus" means "unmarried lizard"
- Gilmore, chose "unmarried" in the sense of "being alone" - at the time
Alectrosaurus was discovered, it was thought to be quite unlike other
Asian dinosaurs - although
part of the reason was this was that a number of
fossil bones from an unrelated
dinosaur were initially also thought to belong to the animal.
"Alectrosaurus" means "unmarried lizard". Its name was chosen because when first found, it was very different from the carnivorous Asian dinosaurs then known.
Alectrosaurus was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Alectrosaurus was not closely related to lizards, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Alectrosaurus was a Theropod - a member of a group of related bipedal dinosaurs that included the ancestors of birds (although Alectrosaurus was not itself an ancestor of birds).
Alectrosaurus lived between about 83 million years ago and 74 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period.
Alectrosaurus lived in what is now the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia and China.
Alectrosaurus was a carnivore (meat-eater).
The first fossils of Alectrosaurus were discovered in 1923, and named in 1933. Since then, a number of other partial skeletons have been found.
Alectrosaurus was about 17 feet (5 meters) long.
Alectrosaurus probably weighed somewhere between ½ ton and 1 ton.
Linking to This Page
We do hope that you find this site useful.
We welcome people linking to this website or citing us.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE,COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
In Association With Amazon.com Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In Association With Amazon.co.uk Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. As an Amazon Associate, our company earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon, the Amazon logo, Endless, and the Endless logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Disclosure:
Our company's websites' content (including this website's content) includes advertisements for
our own company's websites, products, and services,
and for other organization's websites, products, and services.
In the case of links to other organization's websites,
our company may receive a payment, (1) if you purchase products or services,
or (2) if you sign-up for third party offers, after following links from this website.
Unless specifically otherwise stated, information about other organization's products and services,
is based on information provided by that organization,
the product/service vendor, and/or publicly available information - and should
not be taken to mean that we have used the product/service in question.
Additionally, our company's websites contain some adverts which we are paid
to display, but whose content is not selected by us, such as Google AdSense ads. For more
detailed information, please see Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures
Our sites use cookies, some of which may already be set on your computer. Use of our site constitutes consent for this. For details, please see Privacy.
Click privacy for information about our company's privacy, data collection and data retention policies, and your rights.