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Difference Between Allosaurus and Torvosaurus

Most of us have the inclination to know about the unusual, especially when something is not contemporary and has left some references of its existence in the past. Owing to this inquisitive nature of man, AnimalSake puts forth some vital information about the differences between Allosaurus and Torvosaurus.

Strange, but True!

Modern-day birds are said to have evolved from dinosaurs!

The term Allosaurus means “different lizard.” It belongs to the family Allosauridae, and the genus of dinosaurs. The term Torvosaurus means “savage”, which belongs to the family Megalosauridae and genus of dinosaurs. These gigantic creatures stepped on the surface of the Earth about 150 million years ago, and ever since they became extinct, they have captivated the minds of humans. Though they were both massive in size and the outward features were very similar, yet there are points to differentiate them. The following lines will mark a clear comparison between the two―Allosaurus vs. Torvosaurus.

Differentiation Points

ALLOSAURUS TORVOSAURUS
  • Allosaurus lived in the later half of the Jurassic period.Charles Marsh has given this extraordinary discovery to mankind way back in 1877. Scientific studies have so far laid that there are about seven species of this massive reptile.
  • Many researchers are of the opinion that these animals are just the oversized extension of Allosaurus. They too lived in the later Jurassic period, and were discovered by James A. Jensen in 1979.
Skull, Teeth, and Claws
  • The skull was designed in such a way so as to contain the jaw bones, but it made the bite radius of the animal really wide. This helped it to become an enormous hunter. The nose and the mouth portions of this mammal were smaller, compared to its hind side. This favored hunting. The limbs were smaller, compared to its big size, but were certainly powerful. The teeth were sharp and pointed, definitely adding to its meat-eating feature.
  • The snout area was small. The front tooth were pointed outwards. They walked on their legs. Their arms were short with sharp claws. The teeth were very sharp, which enabled them to become the largest predator ever.
Size and Height
  • Studies reveal that it was of a gigantic structure, like most of the dinosaurs. The unusual feature of this reptile was the big size of its skull, which was mounted on its relatively smaller neck. It has been found in several fossil studies that the height of an adult Allosaurus was about 30 ft tall and 40 ft in length.
  • The height of this adult mammal was in the range of about 32 – 40 ft. The length was about 60 ft, and it is believed that it apparently had scales over its skin. It is supposedly the largest of the therapod dinosaur, which lived during the Jurassic era.
Diet
  • It was definitely carnivorous, and ate other herbivore dinosaurs like Stegosaurus. It also ate sauropods.
  • Its eating habit was carnivorous. It ate Camptosaurus.
Habitat
  • It inhabited the Morrison formation of N. America, Portugal, and Tanzania.
  • Its fossils were discovered in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, though a few years back, one such fossil was found in Europe.
Lifespan
  • Its lifespan was around 25 – 30 years.
  • It had a lifespan of around 30 years.
Skin Type
  • In one word, it can be said that its skin was reptile-like. It perhaps was like the touch of leather. It didn’t have scales.
  • Quite opposingly, its skin had ridges and scales. Some even had spikes.

Allosaurus and Torvosaurus have faded from the face of the Earth millions of years ago, but have left indelible marks suggesting their existence at some point of time. Ongoing studies will, for sure, bring up new insights about them, motivate many to study about them, and also inspire creativity in the form of movies, stories, and pictures.

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