Need help! What makes Allosaurus superlative?

[HD-man]

I ask b/c I'm working on a presentation, the theme of which will be, "Dinosaurs are the most awesome land animals!" Below is what I have so far, including for all of the other dinos (Yes, I have to use all of them; No, I can't choose other dinos). Many thanks in advance:

-Allosaurus skeleton: ? UPDATE: Not just fearsome predators as previously thought, but also caring parents. Shows that we're discovering new things about dinos all the time.

-T.rex skull: The strongest bite of any land animal.

-Troodon nest: Is a very bird-like dino. Shows that many features we associate w/modern birds (I.e. The most speciose land vertebrates) came from non-bird dinos.

-Archaeopteryx skeleton: Is the earliest known bird. Shows the transition from non-bird dinos to modern birds (I.e. The most speciose land vertebrates).

-Stegosaurus skeleton: The weirdest-looking land animal.

-Triceratops skull: The largest skull of any land animal.

-Thescelosaurus impression: Not just boring prey as previously thought, but actually fuzzy burrowers. Shows that we're discovering new things about dinos all the time.

[australovenator]

hmm, I don't know if this will be any help, but perhaps you could address how the Allosaurus body plan was a remarkably long lived and successful build for predatory dinosaur? I might be way off, but that was the first thought I had.

[stargatedalek]

You could talk about how important the distinction of genus and species is, about how there are multiple species of Allosaurus all of which were completely distinct animals. And you could talk about A. maximus (I refuse to use the other name ) and the inherent subjectivity in how extinct animals are named.

Apologies if you were paraphrasing, but Archaeopteryx was not a bird, as Avialae are not typically considered to be birds. The group considered birds is either the Ornithurae, of which the oldest member is Ichthyornis, or Aves, of which the oldest member is debated. If you want to stretch to include Avialae, Anchiornis predates Archaeopteryx genetically and would be the earliest known bird. If Archaeopteryx is a bird than Unenlagia and Austroraptor are birds.

Archaeopteryx is still incredibly significant from a historical perspective however, as it's the animal that reignited the idea that birds were related to dinosaurs (and the story of how it used to be considered a bird and no longer is could really help run home that idea). It also has a number of well preserved specimens. That's where I recommend focusing, you could talk about how Archaeopteryx preserved in different places and through different ways leave very different fossils. Some with and without feathers, and some with only the stiff feathers, while other include softer feathers like the down and alula. You could also talk about how well preserved feathers can even teach us what colour dinosaurs were, something thought completely impossible until recently.

If that overlaps too much with the Troodon idea, you could lean that into talking about how some dinosaurs even show enough specific traits to make assumptions about their behaviour. Given Troodon is largely accepted as being nocturnal based on the skulls of close relatives. Or you could talk about the process of inferring what a dinosaur might have looked like based on its relatives.

[HD-man]

hmm, I don't know if this will be any help, but perhaps you could address how the Allosaurus body plan was a remarkably long lived and successful build for predatory dinosaur? I might be way off, but that was the first thought I had.

You could talk about how important the distinction of genus and species is, about how there are multiple species of Allosaurus all of which were completely distinct animals. And you could talk about A. maximus (I refuse to use the other name ) and the inherent subjectivity in how extinct animals are named.

I like your ideas, but they don't really fit the "superlative"/"most awesome" theme. Thanks anyway.

Apologies if you were paraphrasing, but Archaeopteryx was not a bird, as Avialae are not typically considered to be birds. The group considered birds is either the Ornithurae, of which the oldest member is Ichthyornis, or Aves, of which the oldest member is debated. If you want to stretch to include Avialae, Anchiornis predates Archaeopteryx genetically and would be the earliest known bird.

I use "Avialae" as "birds, broadly defined" ( https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G104/lectures/104eumani.html ). Also, while Anchiornis might be an avialan, it's still considered by many to be a "probable troodontid" ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982219307134?via%3Dihub ).

[amargasaurus cazaui]

State dinosaur of Utah? I think
Most plentiful and well understood and known dinosaur of the Jurassic with elements from over 100 separate individuals recovered from Cleveland Lloyd quarry

One of the largest predatory dinosaurs we have fairly complete remains for ...

Al the allosaurus with all of its different medical issues discovered when it was studied.

Allosaurus had teeth like massive blades, serrated down both sides...like a steak knife.

Allosaurus had a unique skull design made from struts, plates and so forth that allowed entire sections of the skull great ability to move and relocate, meaning an allosaurus could expand its jws to swallow prey similar to a modern snake
Allosaurus had three massive claws per hand rather than two like rex.

Allosaurus had a huge temporal footprint of more than 120 mllion years give or take.

Allosaurus was likely a pack hunter and at the very least a dinosaur capable of utilizing opportunistic hunts that utilized more than one animal, if not an outright pack hunter.

Allosaurids are known from nearly ever corner of the world, from Mongoloa to spain to Australia if I remember correctly

[Halichoeres]

The most bog-standard large theropod?

[HD-man]

Allosaurus was likely a pack hunter and at the very least a dinosaur capable of utilizing opportunistic hunts that utilized more than one animal, if not an outright pack hunter.

That's similar to what I'm probably gonna do for Allosaurus, but I wanna make sure it's the best idea available to me.

[HD-man]

UPDATE: As you can see in my 1st post, I've since decided on a theme-related talking point for Allosaurus. Many thanks anyway to those who posted their ideas.

[HD-man]

UPDATE: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=8637.new#new

[Dinoguy2]

I actually agree with one of the posts above that Allosaurus is kind of a "Bog standard theropod" with nothing particularly special about it. But then I got to thinking... well, then why is it so well known/popular? And it occurred to me that the thing that actually "makes Allosaurus superlative" is that it's known from a large number of good specimens. Many famous dinosaurs have things that make them unique but they're based on one or two incomplete skeletons and their behavior and anatomy require a lot of guesswork. Not so for Allosaurus - it's kind of a template we can use as a baseline for interpreting other theropods, because it is so "standard" and also so completely known. I think it might be worth emphasizing that the amount of information we can learn about a species is something really special in its own right.

[Gwangi]

I actually agree with one of the posts above that Allosaurus is kind of a "Bog standard theropod" with nothing particularly special about it. But then I got to thinking... well, then why is it so well known/popular? And it occurred to me that the thing that actually "makes Allosaurus superlative" is that it's known from a large number of good specimens. Many famous dinosaurs have things that make them unique but they're based on one or two incomplete skeletons and their behavior and anatomy require a lot of guesswork. Not so for Allosaurus - it's kind of a template we can use as a baseline for interpreting other theropods, because it is so "standard" and also so completely known. I think it might be worth emphasizing that the amount of information we can learn about a species is something really special in its own right.

The time and place of discovery is also significant. Allosaurus was described by Marsh in 1877 which makes it one of those "classic" dinosaurs with historical significance. We didn't have a large catalog of "standard theropods" at that time which made Allosaurus seem that much more special. Allosaurus cemented its place in pop culture and the public imagination as a result, even if it seems less impressive by today's standards. It's the same with the large sauropods of that time and place. Brontosaurus and Diplodocus aren't the biggest sauropods we know about but they'll always be more popular than Argentinosaurus.