The prior extinction likely opened up new ecological niches for this dino and its megapredator cousins, the paleontologists said. Rauhut said he believes the explosive evolution of this newly discovered dino's group is linked to a mass extinction episode that happened about 180 million years ago. The T-Rex is more popular than the Allosaurus, chiefly because it is the first dinosaur in the movie Jurassic Park to have a proper attack scene of its own. 'The fossil displays a very unusual combination of skeletal characters, which is difficult to reconcile with the currently accepted picture of the relationships between the three large groups that comprise the tetanurans - Megalosauria, Allosauria and Coelurosauria,' Rauhut said in a statement.Īsfaltovenator's hybrid mix of traits prompted the duo to dig deeper into the other dinosaurs, whose varieties were rapidly expanding during the Middle Jurassic period. So the paleontologists who discovered the massive monster - a new cousin to the iconic allosaurus, tyrannosaurus and velociraptor - paid tribute by naming the new genus Asfaltovenator vialidadi.ĭescribing the dino's remains in the online journal Scientific Reports on Wednesday, paleontologists Oliver Rauhust and Diego Pol said the find is the most complete dinosaur skeleton yet discovered from the early phase of the Middle Jurassic. Find out about these incredible dinosaurs. le m rn eo reu r sowruethrcbsitee.cisbo,omo.k Allosaurus Facts for. Allosaurus was a powerful and wily hunter, but Brachiosaurus had a huge size advantage.

If it wasn't for road maintenance in Argentina, the world might never have known about a 26-foot-long, 168-million-year-old lizard king preserved in remarkable detail under the asphalt of Patagonia. Dinog w neyloaodnd fre th e e, omp lementary educa tional re so u rc e s fo ww wfro. Gabriel Lio/Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

The newly discovered Asfaltovenator vialidadi joins a host of Jurassic megapredators.

Allosaurus vs t rex