Dubai Restless Planet

Albertosaurus, the Alberta lizard was among the more fearsome predators in Cretaceous Alberta, was a carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period, approximately 76 to 74 million years ago, in North America.

Albertosaurus was around 26 feet (7.9 metres) long, and weighed approximately 3 tons. It was much smaller than its relative Tyrannosaurus Rex.

This dinosaur walked on two legs, and like the T-rex, had a large head with many sharp teeth. Its long tail likely provided balance, and enabled it to make quick turns when chasing its prey. Albertosaurus was about 9 metres long, and weighed somewhere around 2500 kg on average. It may have been able to run at speeds of up to 40 km/h for short distances.

The strong skull and jaws of Albertosaurus held around 80 banana-shaped teeth. Linear rows of thickly rounded serrations formed ridges along the front and back edges of the teeth. Rather than slicing like a steak knife, these enormous teeth punctured and gripped. As in most tyrannosaurids, Albertosaurus had skull ornamentation in the form of small hornlike projections of bone on top of the head.

It possessed a wide muzzle on its large skull, lined with sharp, long, saw-toothed teeth, suitable for meat eating. Its teeth were perfect for tearing flesh and its powerful jaws were used to rip carcasses apart.

Scientific classification of Albertosaurus has been revised several times and may change further as more specimens are discovered. For example, Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus may be two names given to the same animal, or they may be different enough to require their distinct names.

Characteristics

• Meaning:Lizard from Alberta
• Length:9 meters (30 feet)
• Height:3.4 meters (11 feet) at the hips 
• Weight:2500 kilograms  (6,000 pounds)
• Type of feeder:meat eater  (carnivore)
• Teeth:35 sharp, teeth
• Food:other dinosaurs 
• How it walked:walked on two back legs 
• Period:Cretaceous 
• Dinosaur groupSaurischia