Acrocanthosaurus (ack-row-CAN-tho-SORE-us) was a very large member of the Allosauridae family. It may represent an evolutionary link between the Late Jurassic Allosaurus and the gigantic Late Cretaceous Carcharodontosaurus. Estimates place its size at about 40 feet (12 meters) long and 13 feet (4 meters) tall.
Acrocanthosaurus was particularly noteworthy both for its size and for the low row of spines running along its back. The function of these spines remains unknown: they may have acted as muscle anchors or they may have supported a sail of skin.
It was named by J. Willis Stovall and Wann Langston, Jr. in 1950. The name means "high spined lizard", from the Greek akros ("high"), akantha ("spine") and sauros ("lizard"). It is from the Early Cretaceous of North America.
External links
of Natural History.
- Acro FAQ, from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.