Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
224 / Mesozoic
Acrocanthosaurus
Acrocanthosaurus atokensis
Tall neural spines along the neck and back supported a muscular ridge rather than a paper-thin sail.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 113–110 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- River plains and open woodland · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Acrocanthosaurus?
Acrocanthosaurus (Acrocanthosaurus atokensis) was an extinct organism known from About 113–110 million years ago, with a range in River plains and open woodland · North America.
Life and ecology
Acrocanthosaurus was a huge carcharodontosaurid with a deep skull and powerful arms, capable of attacking large sauropods.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Acrocanthosaurus disappear?
Changing seaways and predator communities accompanied the disappearance of carcharodontosaurids from mid-Cretaceous North America; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Acrocanthosaurus?
Several skeletons and skulls constrain its anatomy; giant Texas tracks may record a large theropod moving near sauropods.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS