Acrocanthosaurus
This Cretaceous dinosaur is a classic predator: it has a big head filled with sharp teeth, powerful legs and a big, bulky body. There is also an interesting decorative feature not normally seen on dinosaurs of this type - a frill.
Spiny
The most striking feature of this powerful dinosaur is a series of spikes running down its spine. The spikes measure around 0.4 metre (1.3 feet) in length, which is big, but probably not long enough to be useful as a form of defence. Instead, they support a frill which runs down the length of the body. But what is the purpose of this crest? If you can answer that, you’re going to be a great palaeontologist because nobody is sure at the moment.
Track attack
Acrocanthosaurus is nearly as big as Tyrannosaurus rex and it would seem just as fearsome a predator. There are some dinosaur tracks in Texas called the Paluxy River tracks. Some palaeontologists believe that a set of these belong to Acrocanthosaurus and, if that’s true, the tracks show it chasing Pelorosaurus (pe-LOH-ro-SORE-us), a type of sauropod twice the size of this predator.
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