26th November 2015
N e w s a d e m ic .co m ™
- British English edition
page
4
they died out when a large asteroid
hit the Earth. Others think that huge
volcanic eruptions poisoned the air
and blocked out the Sun.
Allosaurus
was a carnivore, or
meat eater. It walked on two legs
and had an oversized skull and big,
sharp, saw-like teeth. The dinosaur’s
long, powerful tail balanced its large
head. The front arms, or limbs, were
very short. Each ended in three fin
gers with sharp curved claws.
Allo-
saurus
are believed to have hunted
in packs. They probably preyed on
other larger plant-eating dinosaurs.
A llosaurus skeleton
A German palaeontologist, or
scientist who studies fossils, dug up
the
Allosaurus
skeleton. He found
it in the state o f Wyoming, in the
USA. Only one other young
Allo
saurus
has ever been found. Most
o f this one’s bones were missing.
The bones in Wyoming were scat
tered over a wide area. They were
mixed up with the bones o f a sauro-
pod. These dinosaurs had very long
necks and tails. They walked on four
thick legs. Sauropods ate vegetation
such as grasses, and the leaves and
smaller branches o f trees. Some
grew to an enormous size.
The excavation o f the
Allosau
rus
’ bones took three years. The
skeleton is the most complete juve
nile
Allosaurus
skeleton ever found.
It has been nicknamed ‘Young
A l’. Even though fossils are usu
ally called bones, they have really
turned into stone.
Two years ago the German sci
entists managed to sell another di
nosaur skeleton. It was found in the
same area of Wyoming. This dino
saur was a type of sauropod called
diplodocus. It also lived about
150 million years ago. The scien
tist was allowed to take the bones
out o f the USA. This was because
they were found on private land.
He and the landowner agreed to
share the money from the auction.
The diplodocus sold for £400,000
(US$601,500). It was bought by a
museum in Denmark.
The company arranging the auc
tion expected Young Al to sell for
between £300,000 and £500,000
(US$451,000
and US$752,000).
However, the offers, or bids, re
ceived were all below the reserved
price. This is the minimum amount
that an owner has decided to sell
something for. The auction com
pany now expects other possible
buyers, who did not take part in the
auction, to make higher bids. □
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