Torvosaurusvs Allosaurus & Rhamphorhyncus

Torvosaurus with Rhamphorhynchus

Torvosaurus is a type of Allosaur that was REALLY big.  Don't get confused.  A Torvosaurus is possibly a type of Allosaur, but it was NOT Allosaurus.  Torvosaurus had a much bigger skull and larger overall size compared to the Allosaurus. They lived in the Late Jurassic Period, at the same time, however the widely known Allosaurs was clearly not the top predator in this ancient ecosystem.  There are few remains of Torvosaurus, compared to many skeletons of Allosaurus.  There are some main differences in the two Theropod dinosuars.  Torvosaurus had a heavier overall or more robust build.  That makes Allosaurs more gracile. Robust means big or hefty, while gracile means lightly built or thinner.  The many specimens found of Allosaurus (over 40) while only a few Torvosaurs are known....they have been found in Portugal and in the Western US near the Utah/Colorado border.

Both animals were around 40 ft (12 m) long at the biggest, but agian, Torvosaurus was much more robust.  Both had the "S-curve" neck but the head of the Torvosaurus was huge, more like a Tyrannosaurus rex head.  (Remember that T. rex lived millions of years later, in the Cretaceous Period.)  So T. rex never fought with a Torvosaursus or an Allosaurus.

For years the overall length of Torvosaurus was thought to be 33 feet ( 10 m) ...that changed recently with the find of a new skeleton of Torvosaur in Colorado, near the Utah border...in fact near Dinosaur National Monument.  This new find is estimated to be 40+ (12 m+) feet long.   It clearly was the top predator of the Late Jurassic.  A very large Torvosaurus was found in Wyaoming as well...found by Robert Bakker the famous paleontologist.

Torvosaurus had short but powerful arms.  They were NOT tiny like T. rex arms.  These arms were functional with very large claws for grasping and/or killing prey.  The upper arm bone or humerus was much shorter than the forearm bones or radius and ulna bones.

Torvosaurus vs Allosaurus

It is clear that in a confrontation or fight that if the Allosaurus did not back down then the Torvosaurus would have lunch.  Lunch being the Allosaurus.  Of course, there is significant evidence that Theropods hunted in packs.  If a sole Torvosaurus went up against a pack of Allosaurus then that might have a different outcome...and the Allosaurus pack would have lunch.

A large skeleton of Torvosaurs can been seen in the entryway of the Museum of Ancient Life located in Lehi, Utah...at Thanksgiving Point.  I drew the dinosaur by examining this skeleton.  This skeleton is actually a model.  The original skeleton is located at the  BYU Paleontology Museum.   In fact, when they were setting up the museum at Thanksgiving Point the American Paleontological Associates asked BYU if they could have their unprepared skeleton of Torvosaurs with the stipoulation that they American Paleontological Associates, would prepare the fossilized skeleton IF they could make a copy for the Museum of Ancient Life.  (Many prepared exhibits are of replica bones of dinosurs.  This leaves the real bones available for study.)  By the way, the first Torvosaurus was discovered by Dinosaur Jim Jensen, of BYU.

There are two species of Torvosaurus.  The first part of the scientific name is the Genus.  Both are Genus Torvosaurus.  The species are tannerii and gurneyii.   So, like we say T. rex or Tyrannosaurus rex... we also say Torvosaurus tanneri .... and .... Torvosaurus gurneyi.

Rhamphorhynchus, pictured in the drawing, was a Jurassic Pterosaur.  It had a long tail as many Pterosaurs had during the Jurassic Era.  (Cretaceous Pterosaurs lost the long tails.)  It also had needle-like teeth for catching fish and other marine life.   Cephalopod remains and fish skeletal remains have been found in Rhamphorhynchus rib cages...where the stomach would have been.  So we KNOW what it ate.  Just so you know, Pterosaurs were NOT flying dinosaurs.  They were flying reptiles.  They are commonly called Pterodactyls.