Allosaurus

An Allosaurus killing an Apatosaurus, as witnessed by the Fourth Doctor. (PROSE: The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book)

The Allosaurus was a dinosaur which lived during the Jurassic period.

Biology

Allosaurus was a highly aggressive theropod predator that would not hesitate to attack even large, well-protected creatures such as Stegosaurus. Ranging in size from 9 to 12 metres, the fearless creatures usually attacked their prey from ambush, hooking them with powerful claws and then tearing off strips of flesh with its shredding bite. Allosaurus teeth constantly replaced themselves and investigators may have found discarded teeth buried in the carcasses of their prey before encountering the beasts themselves.

Allosaurus was similar in appearance to Tyrannosaurus Rex, but had much stronger forelimbs used to hold onto their prey, much like a modern lion. It was not as fast as a T-Rex, and its vision was poor in comparison. It was not so bright either, so an Allosaurus that latcheed onto a victim would not let go, even if that victim was a vehicle or a piece of machinery that the dinosaur mistook for prey. (PROSE: Prehistory Repeating Itself ^[+]Loading...["Prehistory Repeating Itself (feature)"])

History

They were among the creatures which preyed on Apatosaurs. The Fourth Doctor and his companion witnessed one Allosaurus successfully killing and eating an Apatosaur, but also saw another one foolishly attacking a Stegosaurus and being forced to retreat. (PROSE: The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book) Jago and Litefoot encountered one when they accidentally travelled to around 150,000,000 BC from 1894. (AUDIO: The Monstrous Menagerie) By 2014, an Allosaurus skeleton carbon dated to just over a century earlier was stored in the Vault. (AUDIO: The Screaming Skull)