Torvosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids TorvosaurusTemporal range: Upper Jurassic
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| Mounted Torvosaurus skeleton in the Museum of Ancient Life, Utah | |
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Torvosaurus
Galton & Jensen, 1979
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Torvosaurus was a large carnivorous dinosaur, from the Upper Jurassic. It lived about 153 to 148 million years ago in what is now Colorado and Portugal.
Torvosaurus, possibly the largest carnivore of its time, was a large, heavily-built, bipedal carnivore. It grew to 9 to 11 meters (30 to 36 ft) in length and an estimated weight of about 2 metric tons (2.2 tons). Its hands and arms were about average for its size. In proportion, Allosaurus had more powerful arms, and T. rex had tiny arms.
Studies suggest that the paleoenvironment of this part of the Morrison Formation had rivers flowing from the west into a basin with a giant, saline alkaline lake. There were extensive wetlands nearby. Fossils from the Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry of western Colorado show one of the most diverse Upper Jurassic vertebrate assemblages in the world. The Dry Mesa Quarry has produced the remains of the sauropods Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Barosaurus, Supersaurus, Dystylosaurus, Camarasaurus, the iguanodontid Camptosaurus, and the theropods Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus and Ornitholestes, as well as Dryosaurus, and Stegosaurus.
Images for kids
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Maxillae of T. gurneyi and T. tanneri compared
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Restoration of T. tanneri
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Skeletal restoration showing the size of T. gurneyi, known remains highlighted
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Torvosaurus sp. in Japan
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Caudal vertebra of T. gurneyi
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Teeth of T. gurneyi
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Claw cast of T. tanneri, Natural History Museum, London
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Femur and tibia referred to T. gurneyi
See also
In Spanish: Torvosaurus para niños
