The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World: The Definitive Dinosaur Encyclopedia with Stunning Illustrations, Embark on a Prehistoric Quest!

by Steve Brusatte

Computer models find that the thin teeth of Allosaurus couldn’t bite very strongly on their own, but the skull could withstand massive amounts of impact force. We also know that Allosaurus could open its jaws obscenely wide, so we think a hungry Allosaurus would attack with mouth agape and slash down at its prey, slicing through the skin and muscle with its thin but sharp teeth, which were lined up along its jaws like the blades of scissors. Many a Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus probably breathed its last this way. If for some reason the blood-lusting Allosaurus couldn’t quite knock off its victim using only its jaws of death, it could always finish the job with a couple of swipes of its clawed, three-fingered arms, which were longer and more versatile than the stubby little forelimbs of T. rex.