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sharp-clawed runner
Albertosaurus
Say it like this: “al-BUHR-to-SAWR-us”
Albertosaurus sarcophagus
Albertosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Canada.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1905 · Osborn, H. F.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 8–10 m · 26–33 ft
- Weight
- 1.7–3 tonnes
- Found in
- Canada · Horseshoe Canyon
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Albertosaurinae
The story in short
The genus Albertosaurus dates to 1905, the year H. F. Osborn described it. The name means “alberta lizard.”
Fossils referred to Albertosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Canada, including the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Albertosaurus at a length near 8–10 m and a body mass around 1.7–3 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Albertosaurinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.