Forum Topic

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusAug-28-2013 6:19 PMThere are 4 notable large carnivores from the late Jurassic. They are Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, and Saurophaganax. So which of these is the true top predator of the late Jurassic? Even though Ceratosaurus may be my second favorite dinosaur, it was just not large enough to be the top predator. A large and dangerous animal, but not the top predator. So let's break the other 3 down shall we?
(Sizes are based off of my estimations and theories. Epanterias is excluded due to questionable validity. Everything said is my opinion)
Saurophaganax-
Averaged 30-33 ft long and 3 tons
Max size is 36-43 ft long and 3.5-4.5 tons
[img]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130420202534/planetdinosaur/images/1/19/Saurophaganax.png[/img]
Torvosaurus-
Averaged 29-33 ft long and 2-3 tons
Max Size is 36-40 ft long and 3.5-4 tons
[img]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120730171023/dinosaurs/images/2/2e/Dinosaur-revolution-torvosaurus-2.jpg[/img]
Allosaurus-
Averaged 26-33 ft long and 1.5-3 tons
Max Size is 36-40 ft long and 3.5-4 tons
[img]http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/naturelibrary/images/ic/credit/640x395/a/al/allosaurus/allosaurus_1.jpg[/img]
Personally, I think Allosaurus was the top predator. Even though Torvosaurus and Saurophaganax rivaled, if not exceeded, Allosaurus in size, they were not nearly as common. Allosaurus stands out as the most common large theropod of the late Jurassic. What that tells me is that Allosaurus was not only one of the largest predators in it's ecosystem, it was possibly the most efficient. It's size, relative intelligence(for it's time), pack hunting nature, and numbers make Allosaurus the top predator of the late Jurassic in my opinion.
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