Some of these spines were over a foot tall. The sail was formed by very tall spines on the bones of the spine (vertebrae). Acrocanthosaurus had one feature that made it look very different from other theropods the tall "sail" along its neck, back, and tail. It lived alongside the small raptor Deinonychus, some small ankylosaurs, and hunted large sauropods.
And in 2012, the pubic bones, vertebrae, and fibula of a juvenile Acrocanthosaurus were found in the Cloverly Formation in Wyoming, suggesting this theropod was the only large predator in this formation during the time of the dinosaurs.Īcrocanthosaurus was a large carnosaur theropod dinosaur that had a large head, many sharp teeth, strong arms, powerful back legs, and a long slender tail that balanced its body when it ran. It's been found in several states along the western half of America, including Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, and even as far east as Maryland some specimens have been found, suggesting Acrocanthosaurus was a very successful predator. Since then, several more Acrocanthosaurus specimens have been found, and even a very well preserved fossil trackway of it chasing down a Sauroposeidon. However, it was first discovered in 1940s but hadn't gained any attention until its rediscovery a decade later.
It wasn't long afterward that it was officially named Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, or "Atoka's high-spined lizard", after the tall spines along its back and the area in Oklahoma where it was first found. They were taken to a nearby museum and were found to belong to a new species of very large theropod dinosaur. Willis Stovall and Wann Langston, Jr, was excavating in the deserts of Oklahoma when they came across very large fossilized bones and tall vertebrae. Ian Malcolm Velociraptor Jurassic Park: The Game Dr.In 1950, a team of scientists, led by paleontologists J.