Dinosaurs! - Acrocanthosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus
"Top Spiny Lizard"

Order: Saurichia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Carnosauria

Physical Characteristics

43' in Length

Thick, strong hind limbs

Toes and fingers tipped with sharp claws

Comparatively small head

Jaws lined with sharp curved, serrated teeth

Bipedal

Fossil Sites

Oklahoma; USA

Geologic Age

Early Cretaceous

Paleo Notes

This dinosaur (family of Spinosauridae) is distinguished from all other meat-eating dinosaurs by bony spines jutting up from their backbones. The Acrocanthosaurus spines were 12" long. Scientists think the spines supported a long thin ridge of muscle down the dinosaur's back, forming a low but pronounced crest.

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