Re: Oklahoma state fossil...

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@mailcity.com>]

On Mon, 22 May 2000 18:42:41   NJPharris wrote:
>In a message dated 5/22/2000 2:37:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
>dinoland@mailcity.com writes:
>
>> Does anybody know the size of this thing?  I know its an allosaur, and 
>going 
>> from that fact I would say that it would likely be smaller than T. rex.
>
>_Giganotosaurus_ and _Carcharodontosaurus_ are both allosauroids, and known 
>fossils indicate that they could reach the size of _Tyrannosaurus_ or bigger. 
> _Saurophaganax_ is, IIRC, only known from a portion of a single vertebra, 
>which indicates it was bigger than typical _Allosaurus_; I would have to say 
>that too little is known to say whether the entire animal would have been 
>larger than the largest known _T. rex_.

Yes, I should have said North American allosauroids.  The only North American 
allosauroid that I can think of off of the top of my head that has been 
reconstructed to possibly approach T. rex size was Epanterias, but that is 
still very questionable.  

What was the approximate age of Saurophaganax, and has anyone looked at its 
possible prey?  Judging from its discovery in the Morrison Formation, we can 
all make some very educated guesses, but has any herbivore material been found 
at the Saurophaganax site?

Steve


Steve Brusatte
Dino Land Paleontology
http://www.geocities.com/stegob


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