The Dinosaurs - Allosaurus

With long, sharp claws on its hands that dug into and held onto its victims and powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth that finished the job this was one mean predator of the Jurassic period.

Skeletons of large plant-eating dinosaurs have been found shattered and ripped apart by this mighty dinosaur of the theropod family. When an Allosaurus chewed into meat it tossed its head from side to side, breaking off some of its fragile teeth in the process.

To make matters worse, it is also thought Allosaurus could have hunted in packs. Now that's a scary thought! Even a heavily armoured herbivore like Stegosaurus couldn't have defended itself against a pack of hungry Allosaurus.

Scientists made a spooky discovery which they have termed the 'Allosaurus Graveyard' in Utah in North America. Since the 1920's they have excavated more than 10,000 dinosaur bones from the Utah quarry. About half of them, 5,000, come from Allosaurus dinosaurs and the rest belong to plant eaters like Stegosaurus and Barosaurus. Paleontologists believe the area was a place where plant eaters came to feed and these herbivores became trapped in the marshy ground. When the Allosaurus moved in to feast on the trapped herbivores they too got stuck in the mud and died. Imagine the sight of all those huge dinosaurs unable to move!

Allosaurus means 'different lizard' and got its names because the bones in its spine are different from those of any other dinosaur.