Albertosaurus comes from the same dinosaur family as a better known and slightly larger relative, Tyrannosaurus. It lived before Tyrannosaurus, and the two creatures are similar in several ways - both had large heads and tiny front arms. A noticeable difference between Albertosaurus and its close cousin Tyrannosaurus is in the position of its eyes. While the eyes of Tyrannosaurus looked straight ahead, those of Albertosaurus were positioned at the sides of its head. As a meat eater, or carnivore, Albertosaurus was a hunter. It was a "land shark" that preyed on slower-moving animals, such as duck-billed dinosaurus the size of modern rhinoceroses. Their only chance of escape from the kicks and blows of its powerful legs would have been to out run it, or drive into thick vegetation for cover. In Canada, a group of Albertosaurus skeletons have been found close together in one place, and this suggested it lived in packs with its fellow dinosaurs.

Discovery

In 1884 Joseph Tyrrell Led an expedition from the Canadian Geological Survey to explore part of Alberta, a vast area in the west of Canada. Has team of scientists set out to make the first detailed maps of the region and to look for useful mineral deposits. But, as well as discovering vast deposits of coal, they found something totally unexpected. On June 9, in the valley of the Red Deer River, Tyrrell discoverd fossilized bones belonging to a large meat-eating dinosaur. Although these were not the first dinosaur remains found in Canada (the first were found in 1874), they caused great excitment because they came from a preveously unknown speicies. The new dinosaur was named Albertosaurus after the area in which it was found. Many other Albertosaurus fossils have since been found in Alberta, Canada and in the western USA.

Body Facts

Its body was balanced by a long, flexible tail. Albertosaurus walked on two strong, muscular back legs. It was probably a fast runner - up to 30 kph (19 mph). Its tiny front arms ended in two small fingers. Like Tyrannosaurus, Albertosaurus had a large head. Two small, blunt horns near its eyes may have been used for display - to attack a mate or frighten an enemy. The eyes of Albertosaurus were on the sides of its head. because of this, it is thought that Albertosaurus could not see as well as Tyrannosaurus. Dispite its poorer eyesight, Albertosaurus was still a firce predator.

THE MOST COMPLETE CARNIVORE

The Albertosaurus specimen on display in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, is one of the most complete fossils of a meat-eating dinosaur found in North America. It was discovered in 1917 by the fossil collector, Charles Sternberg, and bought by the Museum in 1918 for US $ 200