With its strong sturdy legs and hump-back, Acrocanthosaurus might actually be an endurance runner who could survive for longer periods of time without food/water due to the humps which give them more strength and also contains fat storage. Judging by how thick it is around the neck too, the wrestle or thrashing proposition is also likely. A very cool animal
Trex actually had many more adaptations for endurance running. Very deep chest with large heart and lungs, and the "arctometatarsalian condition" of the feet which make traveling much more efficient. There is a very good chance that trex was a persistence hunter. Chasing prey animals until they collapsed from exhaustion.
Inedeed. The Acrocanthosaurus, seemed to represent, the Neanderthal equivalent, for the big theropod Dinosaurs. With the much later T-Rex, being already an hybrid between the Acrocanthosaurus and some other, still undiscovered big and bulky dinosaur. However, most videos about the T-Rex like, dinosaurs; forget to mention, on purpose; that those type of dinosaurs, could've only had a life-style, quite similar to either a Hyena, or a Komodo Dragon. Since, they just couldn't afford to fall from their over-heighted & weighted body adult structure, from stumbling onto anything, during their own top speed, chase of any possible prey. Therefore, those dudes, weren't that interesting to understand; regarding how the Jurassic long gone world, used to work.
The most underrated mega therapod of all time imo. It doesn’t get enough attention considering it’s basically a blend between everybody’s favourite therapods anyway.
if it existed before actual carcharodontosaurus and giganotosaurus, closer in time to when saurophaganax disappeared- and some features like its spine and skull resembled that latter theropod more, i don't think its even an error to say its an allosaur/allosaurid. Allosaur species evolved branching off into either the carcharodontosauridae or megaraptora
@@tomcross3000 two things, megaraptora is very much thought to be apart of coelosauria and not carnosauria (allosauroids, megalosauroids, ceratosauroids etc) and acrocanthosaurus was way close in time to giganotosaurus and carcharodontosaurus (10 million years) than saurophaganax (38 million years)
@@Stefan996 No last i looked "very much thought" isn't conclusive especially when the species are still dubious to this day. Fact remains it looks similar enough to Sauro to have a possible evolutionary link.
With the big allosaurids I think I favour a wolf/kommodo dragon approach to subduing large prey, targeting mobility first. I think if a fully grown acrocanthosaurus bit down hard on a sauropod thigh or the base of its tail and planted its feet then used the weight of its body and muscles to pull backwards it would rend through a lot of soft tissue with those teeth. That it would slice through muscle and cause a lot of blood loss on even a large sauropod. It would cause the animal to limp and weaken, and would allow further attacks. BUT, it would likely want the sauropod away from its herd, and kept distracted to avoid being turned into a therepod shaped pancake. So that would involve social hunting, which seems to have been likely as well in a few of of its foreign relatives like Tyrannotitan, allosaurus and Mapusaurus.
There is also the Mills Creek track way. Which is contemporary with Acrocanthosaurus, and features acrocanthosaurus sized footprints. It would have been a freshwater inflow into am saline lake in a dry savannah area.
I think unless the Sauropods had a defence system that does not fossilise well (e.g. poison), an Acro could kill a sauropod, very very slowly, by constantly biting at it from behind, but passive enough to retreat. It would take forever, but it would work. The Sauropods probably did have some trick up their sleaves though. Though maybe they were still vulnerable to constant harassment.
It's animals like Acrocanthosaurus that deserve as much appreciation as T.rex, for the same reasons. I want to see this animal becoming famous, and to be featured in a major dinosaur documentary as a main character.
@@kailanerman5090 it's an unfair comparison. One was built to take on armored and weaponized prey, the other is built for unarmoured but gigantic prey. They were adapted for different things, and even then Tyrannosaurus overlapped Alamosaurus in its southern range, and there is zero reason to believe southern T. rex didn’t hunt young sauropods. Even a non-slicing bone-crushing bite could take down a young Alamosaurus, as it would completely decimate any muscle tissue and bone it came into contact with. Would it have been as efficient? No. But there is no basis for stating that Acrocanthosaurus hunted bigger prey, because Tyrannosaurus objectively lived alongside larger sauropods, and there is absolutely no way to disprove that predator-prey relationship. Obviously Acrocanthosaurus was a mostly-dedicated sauropod hunter, more-so than Tyrannosaurus, but T. rex almost certainly did hunt young titanosaurs in its southern range. And neither animal was hunting full-grown adults, at least not without an extremely low success rate.
@mhdfrb9971 YES!!! I agree, also it's kinda weird how people forget that predators will often go for the easiest way to get a meal. Scavenge, young, old, sick, injured individuals
@mhdfrb9971 your comment assumes there is only one way to do a thing. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. For example, cheetahs and jaguars hunt similar prey but use very different methods to do so. There is no reason to think that all sauropod hunters had to be built like a giganotosaurus.
@KurNorock great point!! Honestly, I never thought of it that way... I'm used to people saying "of he hunted suropods, he'd be like Giga." Why? Tarbosaurus hunted sauropods. Why not Trex
The scariest dinosaur had to be the Chickensaurus Flex. Giant featherless chicken with body builder-like muscles... Crowed like a Rooster all through the night... ...all through the day too! In fact, it never did shut up. Rumor has it the Anunaki sent that meteor to Earth exclusively to shut them up (the crowing could be heard all the way out to Alpha Centarui). It was on the "Pestosaurus" tree of dinosaurs. "Pestage"
Acrocanthosaurus would indeed take sauropods, though a more commonly taken animal would be Tenontosaurus. Tenontosaurus was the perfect size for a large hunter and not as well protected as a sauropod. A young sauropod would be a great choice for Acrocanthosaurus. Young sauropods would be less risky and fairly easy to take down. Acrocanthosaurus would need to be an ambush hunter in order to get close enough to strike a Tenontosaurus or a young sauropod.
I think poor Tenontosaurus was on the menu for most predators of this formation lol It's likely Acro went for them if given a choice since it's the easier option, but taking down a sauropod as a pack might have been within their capability if they didn't happen across something smaller
@@dino-gen LOL totally agree! Maybe a pack of Acrocanthosaurus hunting a sauropod would occur. It would put the odds in thier favor and offer less risk. Much like how the most effective way for a T.rex to hunt a sub adult to mature Triceratops would be to have back up. A juvenile Triceratops would be a much easier target for a T.rex. By the way thank you for your replies here and on your Triceratops video!
Love the channel, great work on a topic near and dear to my heart. I imagine the nearest parallel to the hunting strategy of Acrocanthosaurus would be a pride of Lions. Lions will work together to take down large prey like giraffes, buffalo or elephants. Perhaps not the adults, but the young, or weak, or injured or old. Who knows? Interesting thought experiment anyways. Hopefully we can find more evidence.
Thank you so much, really glad you're enjoying it! Yes it seems likely. Predators almost never go for the hardest option now so it's likely they didn't back then either
Either the Sauropods had a defence mechanism that does not fossilise well (e.g. poison) or they were more annoying to kill than a threat. As you could constantly nip at them. It would be a painfully slow tactic though. I think the Sauropods were doing something unusual for their defences, but they might still have been vulnerable to persistence hunting.
The thing with tracks is that even if two sets of tracks cross over through the breadth of two animals that doesn't necessarily rule out hunting together. One might've taken a lead position with a second moving left or right from behind.
Yeah that is also a possibility, but there is a notable correlation between the patterns seen and pack hunting. Again, that doesn't mean it's for definite, but I think it's highly likely IF they were hunting the sauropods
@@dino-gen The other supporting point is that with prey ten-fold larger than the predator that's a lot to try eating before it spoils or is taken by other predators. Enough to go around within a cooperative pair or small pack.
@dino-gen Thank you for covering my favorite Carnivorous Dinosaur, earned a sub from me!!! Something I'd like to mention, for it's size, and other Carcharodontosaurids it's similar to, it's arms were ENORMOUS, Far more robust than others of it's family, and even the Giganotosaurs. I think it could have taken on Sauropods, and more easily than first thought. Because of new studies done to allow potential insights to the intelligence of Dinosaurs, Acrocanthosaurus could not only have the Physical toolkit to attack giant prey, he might have the smarts to do so, as well. Studies done show some Herbivores like Brachiosaurus were much more instinctual, as Carnivores had slightly more advanced brains. With Sauroposeidon being a close Brachi relative, it's safe to assume they are fairly close in intelligence capacity. With the idea of packs, I Think Acrocanthosaurus could outsmart and outgun their giant prey. There's a TON we are still to learn, and I'm super excited to do so!! P.S Not sure of the Landscape during Acro's time, but given the possible wide ranging area over the continent, praying to God they find an Acro in Canada, lol!!!
When one thinks of the African Lion. Some prides have specialized in hunting Giraffe. Even the Pride Male's get involved. I mentioned this as a Bull Giraffe is a very tall and heavy animal. Yet it reminded me of your video and how these particular Sauropod possibly hunted one of the largest Dinosaurs. Enjoyed your video.💪🏻🙏🏻✨
If it lived near swamps, was it perhaps killing its prey by ambush then drowning? That would go well with potentially being very physically robust and yet not specializing for an overwhelming bite.
acro just brings to mind a big ginger cat. but those 4 long top front teeth are quite distinctive. i favour the theory that it would bite and suck out nutrient rich blood and fluid from sauropods like vampire bats, because that's what those teeth look poised to do more than anything.
I think it was a scavanger. The really narrow skull allows to bite deep between the ribs and the strong, clawed fore limbs could be used for opening the skin. The spinal storage indicates to me that animal have eaten rarely but big amount. Probably lasts for weeks maybe even months. A scavanger no need to run fast, but definitely need endurance, so instead strong leg muscules it developed stable legs and more balanced central of mass
I have done some research on the sauropod Astrodon and it says that it is a member of the brachosaurus family not Titanosaurs but great video I liked it🦖🦕
I'm not a scientist and not an expert on the matter, but i do have a great sense of logic thou. I don't think any acro would be foolish enough to hunt any adult, healthy sauropod. But like every predator nowadays, they would probably aim at a young, an old, a sick or an injured beast. And they had one big advantage: their teeth were made to cause heavy blood loss. So its a simple educated guess that their tactiics was probably to take a bite or two, and then calmly follow their bleeding prey until they bled dry.
They don't bleed their prey and wait. Only Komodo dragons were *purported* to hunt in that manner, and even that turned out to be false. It turns out that the supposed cases of Komodo dragons biting prey and waiting for it to die were actually misinterpretations of *failed* hunts where the prey flat-out escaped but with wounds, which became infected (feral water buffalo often ending up this way as they fall outside a Komodo dragon’s usual prey size range so escape more often than animals like swine or deer, and because their wallowing behaviour is detrimental on Komodo Island, which they’re not native to and which only has contaminated natural water sources). This is also where the septic bite myth came from. In reality Komodo dragons try to take down their prey on the spot (or at least as quickly as they can manage) like every other large predator. They also often don’t bother waiting for their prey to die before they start eating.
Likely not on its own, but if the pack hypothesis is true then I don't think it is outside the realms of possibility for it to take on a fully grown adult
@@dino-genTrue. They probably could if some individuals would be willing to almost sacrifice themselves. But even today's pack predators are avoiding as much as they can a situation where they risk injuries. And since those preys are also in pack, it makes it very unlikely that there wouldn't be any sick/old/youngs to feed on instead of taking on a healthy full grown. But yeah, there must be some of those rare occasions where they have to. And my bet is they would probably use the same tactics that we can see in today's wildlife. They would probably osilate an individual, harass him (staying no to close) and tiring it down by making fake attacks. And then going for some bites and letting the prey bleed and weaken.
@@mhdfrb9971 False, and false. Komodo aren't the only ones. Sharks are a very good example. They ALWAYS do that. Bite and let bleed. So that's a first false. Lots of land predators do the same (when the prey is too large otherwise why risk getting your prey stolen by another one). Every k9 species (wild dogs, wolves, hyenas...) are doing the same. I don't know where you took your informations but they are false. I've seen numerous documentaries on komodo (since you brought the subject) where they filmed a live hunt. And the komodo did exactly that. He bit, let the wound infect and avoid pursuing the prey so that it doesn't produce adrenaline and give it the stregnth to wander too far. When you let your prey "walk" away without it feeling pursuied, it will often try to rest by staying there. And for predators, they want to save their own energy. So they will wait, and wait. And then when they see the prey too weak to even stay up steadily, then they will give the final charge. As ANY bow hunter. They use the same tactic if they don't kill instantly. And lastly, your example is flawed. I was talking about some predators that were "bleeding" their prey. Komodo's bite don't cause serious bleeding. Of course they bleed; its a woumd. But not enough to kill anything bigger than a german shepard for instance. So you are right in saying that komodos don't let their prey "bleed". But no one ever said that anyway. Komodos, like most venomous predators, will bite/inject, and then wait for the prey to die, or become paralysed. Instead in their case, its not venom. Its a mixture of chemicals (somewhat like poisons), and bacterias. And they use their keen sense of smell to retrace their prey once the infections are well under way (it stinks dead meat).
@@dino-genYes sir, by the way is there any data on their bone density for their weight support? I see in a lot of media they are portrayed with small feet, while sauropods have the big pillowy cushions. I'm asking because I would expect them to have larger feet, or foot pads. Would you please share anything you know about that?
Sure thing! A study came out (I can't remember when off the top of my head) that looked into foot pads on theropods, surmising that if elephants need them, something heavier most DEFINITELY would. The overall findings were indeed that large theropods such as this had extensive cushioning on their feet, what are often very scientifically called 'toe beans', even on smaller theropods. I can't think of any extensive histological study on Acro's legs specifically, but they were certainly robust and thick relative to smaller theropods, along with the skeleton above the legs having pneumatised bones (i.e. air sacs). Hope this helps!
I highly doubt that a Rex wouldn’t take on a saurpod if this “sauropod killer” will. Trex literally broke bones when it bit its target. Its massive neck would have allowed it to hold on very well. So even if you somehow managed to get away from the bone crushing bite, it’s really hard to walk far when you’re gushing blood with a broken leg.
It's spines had to be for storing fat. Camels have the exact same thing as they do. I feel like they would have been able to do "quick bursts" of speed on sauropods to get it to bleed, then they followed the prey till it either died from exhaustion of being chased (in a walk after their prey), or it bled out. If you have a better idea on how they killed their prey, I'd fr love to hear
I (gov't Geologist) work very near the NC Natural Science Museum, where I believe the initial mounted-specimen still-photo in this video was taken. I see that other displays (not sure where/what museums) have the same pattern of fusion/degeneration of the neural spines above the hips. I assume the damaged spine section came from one actual specimen, and was copied as "filler" for other mounted displays, where that portion of the skeleton was not recovered. I always wondered whether the fusion/degeneration occurred during the animal's life (arthritis or bone disease), from scavenging, or during burial/fossilization. The actual NC bones have come under threat from "pyrite sickness" (where pyrite, in contact with oxygen, begins to oxidize and break down the bone mineralization). Our Acro also has (the usual) healed bone fractures, and the skull has a Crocodilian Tooth embedded in its nose [The actual skull is mounted in a closed case, where it can be viewed up close].
That's really cool! Neat to have a geologist watching my videos 🙂 Yeah I did notice that and wonder, always a killer when we find that we might never know. I actually have never heard of pyrite mineralising a dinosaur fossil though! Not glad it's degrading the specimen but that's a really fun fact, always glad to learn something new. I do have quite a few pyrite invertebrate fossils I've found and then had to seal to protect them from further degradation, but I've never done any sort of fossil prep beyond that so I wonder what they would use/how they would go about protect something of that size. Thanks for helping me learn something new anyway 😃
@@dino-gen I think we are fortunate that dinosaur bones (found under the right conditions of sediment diagenesis) are mineralized from the surrounding subsurface environment to replace the original bone (calcium phosphate ?) while mimicking/preserving the bone's internal structural detail (basically petrification). There are exceptions I have heard of, where long-interred bone still has a fragile structure - akin to "hard cheese" - requiring extra-careful recovery/preservation. I'm not a geochemist, but my understanding is that pyritization of fossils occurs under reducing chemical conditions. Once the fossils are exhumed and then exposed to oxygen and moisture, the problem begins, as (Pyrite) Iron Sulfide becomes Iron Sulfate, expanding and disrupting the specimen.
From what I can remember from my geo chemistry classes, pyritisation usually occurs in anoxic marine sediments, but I suppose if the animal was washed into a lower oxygen environment with high enough iron it could occur. You are very much right about how lucky we are though! Imagine how much we’d be missing out on!
I think it had a fatty hump to feed upon during long periods of not making a kill since if it did hunt sauropods the success rate was probably like that of the predators of today where one in every several attempts is successful. That its legs show that it was a slow moving animal means sauropods or the heavily armored dinosaurs were its preferred prey.
I hope that the people from Jurassic World don't have Rexy the T. rex battle an Acrocanthosaurus becuase of this video! lol They're always looking for a bigger, badder theropod for the old girl to fight.
I'm a little bit unsure as to whether to really count that, only because indeterminate tyrannosaurs remains have been found associated with Alamosaurus and, considering how incredibly well studied T.rex is, you'd think they'd know a T.rex when they see one lol
I wanna clear something up for some people, contrary to popular belief, tyrannosaurus was actually the largest carnivorous dinosaur, tyrannosaurus was an extremely bulky animal, the bulkiest theropod, and due to this extreme bulk, it is the heaviest theropod. In science, size is measured by weight. Scotty the Tyrannosaurus rex weighed over 10 tons(10,546 kg to be exact). This puts it far above the second place contender, giganotosaurus, who has two specimens. One at 8.41 tons and another at 10.1 tons.(metric tons).
@@Imatroll_Icallcap Acrocanthosaurus atokensis weighed 6.687 metric tons max. The ed copium Rex specimen weighs 11.5 tons. You’re getting your info from Google, which is the same source that says spinosaurus was 22 tons, while in reality, the largest spinosaurid, spinosaurus cf. aegypticus, weighed 8.36 tons max.
I still for the love of god can't tell why did Acrocanthosaurus had those tall spines, but one clue can be found in a distant relative, called Isisaurus. They were titanosaurs that had average lenght neck compared to they body, as well as light heads just like any sauropod, yet, despite that, they had really tall spines and robust necks, giving them a really striking appearance. Prehistoric Planet propose that they traveled along the Deccan trapps when they were active in order to put their eggs, maintaining their heads tall in order to avoid breathing heavy and toxic gases. In short, they have a really good reason to maintain their heads tall. And probably, Acrocanthosaurus had a good reason to maintain their heads tall as well. To scavenge among the toxic gas? To travel an raise their chicks above the toxic gas? To carry heavy but small item prey? Another good question about Acrocanthosaurus's spines to add is "Why did they had those tall spines, while their Gondwanan relatives didn't?"
Of course the prints of predator and prey were made simultaneously, as that is the most probable thing to happen. Otherwise you have to assume a first set of footprints were made, covered with sand and preserved, then later by chance the exact thing happened shortly thereafter, which seems very improbable.
Saurophaganax was likely the 1st predator that could be described as a sauropod killer, but even then we're talking half-grown sauropods. Even Tyrannosaurus lived with the humungous Alamosaurus, so that one was completely out, the difference in size between them being far bigger than today's Lions and Elephants. By the way, how odd you say the full name Acrocanthosaurus each time you mention him, but Tyrannosaurus always gets that stupid Trex moniker. Why this silly nonsense always? Our collective intelligence so short now, we struggle with a name of more than 8 letters if it's not directly linked to economic gain?
HEY, just because I like dinosaurs, enjoy Batman and Spider-Man comics, still love a happy meal and run up the stairs on all fours, does NOT make me-…y’know what, don’t worry about it…
Was acro bigger than Siats and Saurophaganax? I get conflicting descriptions on google, and don't really feel like deep searching for the true size of those 3 animals.
Yes Acro is 5.7-6+ tons Siats is less then 5 tons Probably around 4 tons While Saurophaganax biggest reliable specimen which is Fenris is 5 tons Although the Biggest estimate is Leviathan which is 8 tons but Leviathan is not reliable So in Size Acro>Sauro>Siats
Bigger than Siats but smaller than Saurophaganax though siats specimen is thought to be a sub adult . Top 5 largest American theropods 1. Tyrannosaurus ~ 10.4 tonnes 2. Saurophaganax~ 8 tonnes 3. Acrocanthosaurus~ 6.6 tonnes 4. Edmarka Rex ~ 5.2 tonnes 5. Siats meekerorum~ 4.7 tonnes
most likely bigger than both but there isn’t really enough evidence to confidently give a precise estimate of either of the latter species, especially saurophaganax.
Well, that idea was put forward for Allosaurus a couple years ago, but it's since been found to be doubtful. To be honest, Carcharodontosaurid skulls are not nearly as frail as they look laterally
With its strong sturdy legs and hump-back, Acrocanthosaurus might actually be an endurance runner who could survive for longer periods of time without food/water due to the humps which give them more strength and also contains fat storage. Judging by how thick it is around the neck too, the wrestle or thrashing proposition is also likely. A very cool animal
Trex actually had many more adaptations for endurance running. Very deep chest with large heart and lungs, and the "arctometatarsalian condition" of the feet which make traveling much more efficient.
There is a very good chance that trex was a persistence hunter. Chasing prey animals until they collapsed from exhaustion.
@@KurNorock I wasn't talking about Trex
@@KurNorock
The lung thing actually applies to theropods in general, if not archosaurs in general.
@@KurNorock Tyrannosaur fans trying to not talk about how tyrannosaurus was the "best" dinosaur (impossible)
@@KurNorockweirdo
Love the Acrocanthosaurus. I reckon it was an amazing looking creature back in it's day.
Me to
I think so too!
Inedeed.
The Acrocanthosaurus, seemed to represent, the Neanderthal equivalent, for the big theropod Dinosaurs. With the much later T-Rex, being already an hybrid between the Acrocanthosaurus and some other, still undiscovered big and bulky dinosaur.
However, most videos about the T-Rex like, dinosaurs; forget to mention, on purpose; that those type of dinosaurs, could've only had a life-style, quite similar to either a Hyena, or a Komodo Dragon. Since, they just couldn't afford to fall from their over-heighted & weighted body adult structure, from stumbling onto anything, during their own top speed, chase of any possible prey.
Therefore, those dudes, weren't that interesting to understand; regarding how the Jurassic long gone world, used to work.
The most underrated mega therapod of all time imo. It doesn’t get enough attention considering it’s basically a blend between everybody’s favourite therapods anyway.
Its not a blend, it clearly an evolved allosaurus
@@SWOTHDRAits almost like carnosaurs look similar to other carnosaurs
@@SWOTHDRA Really? What's with the hump or sail on the back then?
@@SWOTHDRA that’s what makes it even more awesome but tragically lesser known. But yeah I know it’s an evolved allosaur man lool
Correction (minutes 0:55), Acrocanthosaurus belongs to the family Carcharodontosauridae, but it is also within the superfamily Allosauroidea.
Yeah, after having rewatched it, it does sound like I said 'allosaurid' but I did actually mean allosauroid lol
if it existed before actual carcharodontosaurus and giganotosaurus, closer in time to when saurophaganax disappeared- and some features like its spine and skull resembled that latter theropod more, i don't think its even an error to say its an allosaur/allosaurid. Allosaur species evolved branching off into either the carcharodontosauridae or megaraptora
@@tomcross3000 two things, megaraptora is very much thought to be apart of coelosauria and not carnosauria (allosauroids, megalosauroids, ceratosauroids etc) and acrocanthosaurus was way close in time to giganotosaurus and carcharodontosaurus (10 million years) than saurophaganax (38 million years)
@@Stefan996 No last i looked "very much thought" isn't conclusive especially when the species are still dubious to this day.
Fact remains it looks similar enough to Sauro to have a possible evolutionary link.
One of the few and elite that had the cajones to take on sauropods. Acro Is massively underrated
I was extremely excited when I got the notification for this. This will be a good video.
Hope you enjoyed it!
With the big allosaurids I think I favour a wolf/kommodo dragon approach to subduing large prey, targeting mobility first. I think if a fully grown acrocanthosaurus bit down hard on a sauropod thigh or the base of its tail and planted its feet then used the weight of its body and muscles to pull backwards it would rend through a lot of soft tissue with those teeth. That it would slice through muscle and cause a lot of blood loss on even a large sauropod. It would cause the animal to limp and weaken, and would allow further attacks.
BUT, it would likely want the sauropod away from its herd, and kept distracted to avoid being turned into a therepod shaped pancake. So that would involve social hunting, which seems to have been likely as well in a few of of its foreign relatives like Tyrannotitan, allosaurus and Mapusaurus.
There is also the Mills Creek track way. Which is contemporary with Acrocanthosaurus, and features acrocanthosaurus sized footprints. It would have been a freshwater inflow into am saline lake in a dry savannah area.
Awesome 🤓
Carcharodontosauridae are awsome.
100%, my fav dinos lol
Acro can only solo an adolescent Sauropod if it's a Titanosaur but cannot kill a full grown Sauropod.
It requires a pack to take that down
I think unless the Sauropods had a defence system that does not fossilise well (e.g. poison), an Acro could kill a sauropod, very very slowly, by constantly biting at it from behind, but passive enough to retreat.
It would take forever, but it would work.
The Sauropods probably did have some trick up their sleaves though. Though maybe they were still vulnerable to constant harassment.
It's animals like Acrocanthosaurus that deserve as much appreciation as T.rex, for the same reasons. I want to see this animal becoming famous, and to be featured in a major dinosaur documentary as a main character.
Just stumbled across your page on my recommended highly Ty love listening to videos like this right before I sleep
Thanks for watching! Glad you're enjoying the content 🙂
My favorite dinosaur absolutely love this one
"Doing what T.Rex couldn't".. yes it's called having different niche
Yeah bit of a click bate title. Despite there being the possibility of Trex hunting Alamosaurus (no evidence yet)
@@kailanerman5090 it's an unfair comparison. One was built to take on armored and weaponized prey, the other is built for unarmoured but gigantic prey.
They were adapted for different things, and even then Tyrannosaurus overlapped Alamosaurus in its southern range, and there is zero reason to believe southern T. rex didn’t hunt young sauropods. Even a non-slicing bone-crushing bite could take down a young Alamosaurus, as it would completely decimate any muscle tissue and bone it came into contact with. Would it have been as efficient? No.
But there is no basis for stating that Acrocanthosaurus hunted bigger prey, because Tyrannosaurus objectively lived alongside larger sauropods, and there is absolutely no way to disprove that predator-prey relationship. Obviously Acrocanthosaurus was a mostly-dedicated sauropod hunter, more-so than Tyrannosaurus, but T. rex almost certainly did hunt young titanosaurs in its southern range. And neither animal was hunting full-grown adults, at least not without an extremely low success rate.
@mhdfrb9971 YES!!! I agree, also it's kinda weird how people forget that predators will often go for the easiest way to get a meal.
Scavenge, young, old, sick, injured individuals
@mhdfrb9971 your comment assumes there is only one way to do a thing. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
For example, cheetahs and jaguars hunt similar prey but use very different methods to do so. There is no reason to think that all sauropod hunters had to be built like a giganotosaurus.
@KurNorock great point!! Honestly, I never thought of it that way...
I'm used to people saying "of he hunted suropods, he'd be like Giga." Why? Tarbosaurus hunted sauropods. Why not Trex
The scariest dinosaur had to be the Chickensaurus Flex.
Giant featherless chicken with body builder-like muscles...
Crowed like a Rooster all through the night...
...all through the day too!
In fact, it never did shut up.
Rumor has it the Anunaki sent that meteor to Earth exclusively to shut them up (the crowing could be heard all the way out to Alpha Centarui).
It was on the "Pestosaurus" tree of dinosaurs.
"Pestage"
Love that description :)
😂
Acrocanthosaurus is the 5th biggest theropods from America. 11.5m long & 5.7 tonnes in mass
Who’s second giga?
@@denisn8336
Top 5 largest American theropods
1. Tyrannosaurus ~ 10.4 tonnes
2. Mcraeencies~ 8.8 tonnes
3. Saurophaganax~ 8.5 tonnes
4. Alamotyrannus~ 6 tonnes
5. Acrocanthosaurus~ 5.7 tonnes
@@monsterzero521Saurophaganax is eight tons? The largest Saurophaganax size estimate is 4.3 tons.
Acrocanthosaurus was 14 meters long
@@Imatroll_Icallcap wth
As an acro connoisseur this video is good. This Chad of an animal ruled during it's time with an iron claw.
Acrocanthosaurus would indeed take sauropods, though a more commonly taken animal would be Tenontosaurus. Tenontosaurus was the perfect size for a large hunter and not as well protected as a sauropod. A young sauropod would be a great choice for Acrocanthosaurus. Young sauropods would be less risky and fairly easy to take down. Acrocanthosaurus would need to be an ambush hunter in order to get close enough to strike a Tenontosaurus or a young sauropod.
I think poor Tenontosaurus was on the menu for most predators of this formation lol It's likely Acro went for them if given a choice since it's the easier option, but taking down a sauropod as a pack might have been within their capability if they didn't happen across something smaller
@@dino-gen LOL totally agree! Maybe a pack of Acrocanthosaurus hunting a sauropod would occur. It would put the odds in thier favor and offer less risk. Much like how the most effective way for a T.rex to hunt a sub adult to mature Triceratops would be to have back up. A juvenile Triceratops would be a much easier target for a T.rex. By the way thank you for your replies here and on your Triceratops video!
My favorite dinosaur, acrocanthosaurus
Highly underrated theropod! You have one of the PNSO models?
They are in literally every Dino game and it’s well known. Hardly underrated
I don't see how.
I don't but I will definitely have to invest in some 🤓
Stellar video on one of nature's most titanic theropods! 👏🦖
Love the channel, great work on a topic near and dear to my heart. I imagine the nearest parallel to the hunting strategy of Acrocanthosaurus would be a pride of Lions. Lions will work together to take down large prey like giraffes, buffalo or elephants. Perhaps not the adults, but the young, or weak, or injured or old. Who knows? Interesting thought experiment anyways. Hopefully we can find more evidence.
Thank you so much, really glad you're enjoying it! Yes it seems likely. Predators almost never go for the hardest option now so it's likely they didn't back then either
Either the Sauropods had a defence mechanism that does not fossilise well (e.g. poison) or they were more annoying to kill than a threat. As you could constantly nip at them.
It would be a painfully slow tactic though.
I think the Sauropods were doing something unusual for their defences, but they might still have been vulnerable to persistence hunting.
The thing with tracks is that even if two sets of tracks cross over through the breadth of two animals that doesn't necessarily rule out hunting together. One might've taken a lead position with a second moving left or right from behind.
Yeah that is also a possibility, but there is a notable correlation between the patterns seen and pack hunting. Again, that doesn't mean it's for definite, but I think it's highly likely IF they were hunting the sauropods
@@dino-gen The other supporting point is that with prey ten-fold larger than the predator that's a lot to try eating before it spoils or is taken by other predators. Enough to go around within a cooperative pair or small pack.
In order to make Sauropods not Overpowered the Devs created these boys to balance the population
We have Cenry Havil talking about dinosaurs
😂
@dino-gen Thank you for covering my favorite Carnivorous Dinosaur, earned a sub from me!!!
Something I'd like to mention, for it's size, and other Carcharodontosaurids it's similar to, it's arms were ENORMOUS, Far more robust than others of it's family, and even the Giganotosaurs.
I think it could have taken on Sauropods, and more easily than first thought. Because of new studies done to allow potential insights to the intelligence of Dinosaurs, Acrocanthosaurus could not only have the Physical toolkit to attack giant prey, he might have the smarts to do so, as well. Studies done show some Herbivores like Brachiosaurus were much more instinctual, as Carnivores had slightly more advanced brains. With Sauroposeidon being a close Brachi relative, it's safe to assume they are fairly close in intelligence capacity.
With the idea of packs, I Think Acrocanthosaurus could outsmart and outgun their giant prey. There's a TON we are still to learn, and I'm super excited to do so!!
P.S Not sure of the Landscape during Acro's time, but given the possible wide ranging area over the continent, praying to God they find an Acro in Canada, lol!!!
When one thinks of the African Lion. Some prides have specialized in hunting Giraffe. Even the Pride Male's get involved. I mentioned this as a Bull Giraffe is a very tall and heavy animal. Yet it reminded me of your video and how these particular Sauropod possibly hunted one of the largest Dinosaurs. Enjoyed your video.💪🏻🙏🏻✨
Acrocanthosaurus is my favorite dinosaur
Anyone else find it satisfying to say its name? That alone makes it one of my favs
My third favorite Theropod.
Acrocanthosaurus my favorite dinosaur 🦖
If it lived near swamps, was it perhaps killing its prey by ambush then drowning? That would go well with potentially being very physically robust and yet not specializing for an overwhelming bite.
acro just brings to mind a big ginger cat. but those 4 long top front teeth are quite distinctive. i favour the theory that it would bite and suck out nutrient rich blood and fluid from sauropods like vampire bats, because that's what those teeth look poised to do more than anything.
I think it was a scavanger.
The really narrow skull allows to bite deep between the ribs and the strong, clawed fore limbs could be used for opening the skin. The spinal storage indicates to me that animal have eaten rarely but big amount. Probably lasts for weeks maybe even months. A scavanger no need to run fast, but definitely need endurance, so instead strong leg muscules it developed stable legs and more balanced central of mass
I'm definitely thinking an opportunist big time with a huge fat storage like that 🤔
I have done some research on the sauropod Astrodon and it says that it is a member of the brachosaurus family not Titanosaurs but great video I liked it🦖🦕
I'm not a scientist and not an expert on the matter, but i do have a great sense of logic thou. I don't think any acro would be foolish enough to hunt any adult, healthy sauropod. But like every predator nowadays, they would probably aim at a young, an old, a sick or an injured beast. And they had one big advantage: their teeth were made to cause heavy blood loss. So its a simple educated guess that their tactiics was probably to take a bite or two, and then calmly follow their bleeding prey until they bled dry.
They don't bleed their prey and wait. Only Komodo dragons were *purported* to hunt in that manner, and even that turned out to be false.
It turns out that the supposed cases of Komodo dragons biting prey and waiting for it to die were actually misinterpretations of *failed* hunts where the prey flat-out escaped but with wounds, which became infected (feral water buffalo often ending up this way as they fall outside a Komodo dragon’s usual prey size range so escape more often than animals like swine or deer, and because their wallowing behaviour is detrimental on Komodo Island, which they’re not native to and which only has contaminated natural water sources). This is also where the septic bite myth came from.
In reality Komodo dragons try to take down their prey on the spot (or at least as quickly as they can manage) like every other large predator. They also often don’t bother waiting for their prey to die before they start eating.
Likely not on its own, but if the pack hypothesis is true then I don't think it is outside the realms of possibility for it to take on a fully grown adult
@@dino-genTrue. They probably could if some individuals would be willing to almost sacrifice themselves. But even today's pack predators are avoiding as much as they can a situation where they risk injuries. And since those preys are also in pack, it makes it very unlikely that there wouldn't be any sick/old/youngs to feed on instead of taking on a healthy full grown. But yeah, there must be some of those rare occasions where they have to. And my bet is they would probably use the same tactics that we can see in today's wildlife. They would probably osilate an individual, harass him (staying no to close) and tiring it down by making fake attacks. And then going for some bites and letting the prey bleed and weaken.
@@mhdfrb9971 False, and false. Komodo aren't the only ones. Sharks are a very good example. They ALWAYS do that. Bite and let bleed. So that's a first false. Lots of land predators do the same (when the prey is too large otherwise why risk getting your prey stolen by another one). Every k9 species (wild dogs, wolves, hyenas...) are doing the same. I don't know where you took your informations but they are false. I've seen numerous documentaries on komodo (since you brought the subject) where they filmed a live hunt. And the komodo did exactly that. He bit, let the wound infect and avoid pursuing the prey so that it doesn't produce adrenaline and give it the stregnth to wander too far. When you let your prey "walk" away without it feeling pursuied, it will often try to rest by staying there. And for predators, they want to save their own energy. So they will wait, and wait. And then when they see the prey too weak to even stay up steadily, then they will give the final charge. As ANY bow hunter. They use the same tactic if they don't kill instantly. And lastly, your example is flawed. I was talking about some predators that were "bleeding" their prey. Komodo's bite don't cause serious bleeding. Of course they bleed; its a woumd. But not enough to kill anything bigger than a german shepard for instance. So you are right in saying that komodos don't let their prey "bleed". But no one ever said that anyway. Komodos, like most venomous predators, will bite/inject, and then wait for the prey to die, or become paralysed. Instead in their case, its not venom. Its a mixture of chemicals (somewhat like poisons), and bacterias. And they use their keen sense of smell to retrace their prey once the infections are well under way (it stinks dead meat).
Cool channel I’m working on creating prehistoric type content. Nice job. Mike
Bears ain't got crazy legs but they can get up to speed. Maybe they were like bears? Or maybe like tigers?
This much is true. That isn't to say that Acrocanthosaurus couldn't reach respectable speeds, just that it was likely slow FOR a theropod
@@dino-genYes sir, by the way is there any data on their bone density for their weight support? I see in a lot of media they are portrayed with small feet, while sauropods have the big pillowy cushions. I'm asking because I would expect them to have larger feet, or foot pads. Would you please share anything you know about that?
Sure thing! A study came out (I can't remember when off the top of my head) that looked into foot pads on theropods, surmising that if elephants need them, something heavier most DEFINITELY would. The overall findings were indeed that large theropods such as this had extensive cushioning on their feet, what are often very scientifically called 'toe beans', even on smaller theropods. I can't think of any extensive histological study on Acro's legs specifically, but they were certainly robust and thick relative to smaller theropods, along with the skeleton above the legs having pneumatised bones (i.e. air sacs). Hope this helps!
I got another modern name for this :
Good at wrestling, teamwork and taking on bigger enemies = North American Hoplite
I highly doubt that a Rex wouldn’t take on a saurpod if this “sauropod killer” will. Trex literally broke bones when it bit its target. Its massive neck would have allowed it to hold on very well. So even if you somehow managed to get away from the bone crushing bite, it’s really hard to walk far when you’re gushing blood with a broken leg.
It's spines had to be for storing fat. Camels have the exact same thing as they do. I feel like they would have been able to do "quick bursts" of speed on sauropods to get it to bleed, then they followed the prey till it either died from exhaustion of being chased (in a walk after their prey), or it bled out. If you have a better idea on how they killed their prey, I'd fr love to hear
My favorite theropod.
So, Allosaurus on steroids
Great shifty eyes.
The ark version hits us with a "AUGOOOAUUYUUUAHGGHHH"
Here I thought the Thumbnail meant that Acrocanthosaurus could clap its hands 🤣🤣 😜😜
😂
I (gov't Geologist) work very near the NC Natural Science Museum, where I believe the initial mounted-specimen still-photo in this video was taken.
I see that other displays (not sure where/what museums) have the same pattern of fusion/degeneration of the neural spines above the hips.
I assume the damaged spine section came from one actual specimen, and was copied as "filler" for other mounted displays, where that portion of the skeleton was not recovered. I always wondered whether the fusion/degeneration occurred during the animal's life (arthritis or bone disease), from scavenging, or during burial/fossilization. The actual NC bones have come under threat from "pyrite sickness" (where pyrite, in contact with oxygen, begins to oxidize and break down the bone mineralization). Our Acro also has (the usual) healed bone fractures, and the skull has a Crocodilian Tooth embedded in its nose [The actual skull is mounted in a closed case, where it can be viewed up close].
That's really cool! Neat to have a geologist watching my videos 🙂 Yeah I did notice that and wonder, always a killer when we find that we might never know. I actually have never heard of pyrite mineralising a dinosaur fossil though! Not glad it's degrading the specimen but that's a really fun fact, always glad to learn something new.
I do have quite a few pyrite invertebrate fossils I've found and then had to seal to protect them from further degradation, but I've never done any sort of fossil prep beyond that so I wonder what they would use/how they would go about protect something of that size.
Thanks for helping me learn something new anyway 😃
@@dino-gen I think we are fortunate that dinosaur bones (found under the right conditions of sediment diagenesis) are mineralized from the surrounding subsurface environment to replace the original bone (calcium phosphate ?) while mimicking/preserving the bone's internal structural detail (basically petrification). There are exceptions I have heard of, where long-interred bone still has a fragile structure - akin to "hard cheese" - requiring extra-careful recovery/preservation. I'm not a geochemist, but my understanding is that pyritization of fossils occurs under reducing chemical conditions. Once the fossils are exhumed and then exposed to oxygen and moisture, the problem begins, as (Pyrite) Iron Sulfide becomes Iron Sulfate, expanding and disrupting the specimen.
From what I can remember from my geo chemistry classes, pyritisation usually occurs in anoxic marine sediments, but I suppose if the animal was washed into a lower oxygen environment with high enough iron it could occur. You are very much right about how lucky we are though! Imagine how much we’d be missing out on!
cool video
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
your welcome@@dino-gen
I think it had a fatty hump to feed upon during long periods of not making a kill since if it did hunt sauropods the success rate was probably like that of the predators of today where one in every several attempts is successful. That its legs show that it was a slow moving animal means sauropods or the heavily armored dinosaurs were its preferred prey.
Was this a half ass spinosaurus? 😂😂
It was an ancient big game hunter
Since I was 6 i liked acro and carcha more than t rex lol i think it was visual appearance by having bigger hands and longer skull 😂
I hope that the people from Jurassic World don't have Rexy the T. rex battle an Acrocanthosaurus becuase of this video! lol They're always looking for a bigger, badder theropod for the old girl to fight.
T-Rex hunting Alamosaurus to extinction: Am I joke to you?
I'm a little bit unsure as to whether to really count that, only because indeterminate tyrannosaurs remains have been found associated with Alamosaurus and, considering how incredibly well studied T.rex is, you'd think they'd know a T.rex when they see one lol
Just as today it would probably prefer young, old and sick animals and stay clear of the healthy adults.
Please talk about mapusaurus
I'll add it to the list 🙂
Could it stand its ground against a T-rex?
0:53 isn’t acrocanthosarus a carcharodontosaurid? if i’m wrong pls correct me
Carcharodontosauridae is part of the Superfamily Allosauridae
Yes it is, but it’s parts of the larger group known as allosauroids (realise it sounds more like I’m saying allosaurids 😅)
@@dino-genoh i see where i got confused now lol. thx for clarifying
No worries, it's completely my fault for not enunciating my words better haha
Did the T Rex even live alongside Saurapods??? No it delt with tanks
Like Triceratops
I wanna clear something up for some people, contrary to popular belief, tyrannosaurus was actually the largest carnivorous dinosaur, tyrannosaurus was an extremely bulky animal, the bulkiest theropod, and due to this extreme bulk, it is the heaviest theropod. In science, size is measured by weight. Scotty the Tyrannosaurus rex weighed over 10 tons(10,546 kg to be exact). This puts it far above the second place contender, giganotosaurus, who has two specimens. One at 8.41 tons and another at 10.1 tons.(metric tons).
Exact point I pushed in my Giganotosaurus video ✊ glad people out there know it's all about that bass
Average T Rex fankid. It's Acrocanthosaurus based video and I can say Acro is heavier than T Rex. Now cope
@@Imatroll_Icallcap Yes, you can say that, you're allowed to be wrong lol
@@Imatroll_Icallcap Acrocanthosaurus atokensis weighed 6.687 metric tons max. The ed copium Rex specimen weighs 11.5 tons. You’re getting your info from Google, which is the same source that says spinosaurus was 22 tons, while in reality, the largest spinosaurid, spinosaurus cf. aegypticus, weighed 8.36 tons max.
@@Nethercroc14 Your talking with your daddy
I still for the love of god can't tell why did Acrocanthosaurus had those tall spines, but one clue can be found in a distant relative, called Isisaurus. They were titanosaurs that had average lenght neck compared to they body, as well as light heads just like any sauropod, yet, despite that, they had really tall spines and robust necks, giving them a really striking appearance. Prehistoric Planet propose that they traveled along the Deccan trapps when they were active in order to put their eggs, maintaining their heads tall in order to avoid breathing heavy and toxic gases. In short, they have a really good reason to maintain their heads tall. And probably, Acrocanthosaurus had a good reason to maintain their heads tall as well. To scavenge among the toxic gas? To travel an raise their chicks above the toxic gas? To carry heavy but small item prey?
Another good question about Acrocanthosaurus's spines to add is "Why did they had those tall spines, while their Gondwanan relatives didn't?"
What is gigantosaurus?
That is a South American carcharodontosaurid and one of the biggest theropods that we know of! Feel free to check out my video on it 🙂
@@dino-gen Do you mean giganotosaurus?
@@dino-genGigantosaurus and Giganotosaurus are 2 different taxa. Pretty sure Gigantosaurus is a sauropodomorph
Whoops may have misread that 😬
Whoops may have misread that 😬
the monster american
acrocanthosaurus
Trex hunter alamosaurus tho
Ankylosaurus solos
The true king of north America
Acrocanthosaurus was 14 meters long
@@Imatroll_Icallcap ok I'm saying that is because trex's ancestors migrated to North America from china
You look like thoughty2
I've been compared to worse 😂
@@dino-gen ay that isnt a bad thing 😂
Haha I know, he's certainly not an ugly man, though I now know from personal experience that moustaches are very divisive lol
Of course the prints of predator and prey were made simultaneously, as that is the most probable thing to happen. Otherwise you have to assume a first set of footprints were made, covered with sand and preserved, then later by chance the exact thing happened shortly thereafter, which seems very improbable.
Saurophaganax was likely the 1st predator that could be described as a sauropod killer, but even then we're talking half-grown sauropods. Even Tyrannosaurus lived with the humungous Alamosaurus, so that one was completely out, the difference in size between them being far bigger than today's Lions and Elephants. By the way, how odd you say the full name Acrocanthosaurus each time you mention him, but Tyrannosaurus always gets that stupid Trex moniker. Why this silly nonsense always? Our collective intelligence so short now, we struggle with a name of more than 8 letters if it's not directly linked to economic gain?
Acrocanthosaurus was 14 meters long
OMG look at this man child.
HEY, just because I like dinosaurs, enjoy Batman and Spider-Man comics, still love a happy meal and run up the stairs on all fours, does NOT make me-…y’know what, don’t worry about it…
Was acro bigger than Siats and Saurophaganax? I get conflicting descriptions on google, and don't really feel like deep searching for the true size of those 3 animals.
Yes
Acro is 5.7-6+ tons
Siats is less then 5 tons
Probably around 4 tons
While Saurophaganax biggest reliable specimen which is Fenris is 5 tons
Although the Biggest estimate is Leviathan which is 8 tons but Leviathan is not reliable
So in Size
Acro>Sauro>Siats
Bigger than Siats but smaller than Saurophaganax though siats specimen is thought to be a sub adult .
Top 5 largest American theropods
1. Tyrannosaurus ~ 10.4 tonnes
2. Saurophaganax~ 8 tonnes
3. Acrocanthosaurus~ 6.6 tonnes
4. Edmarka Rex ~ 5.2 tonnes
5. Siats meekerorum~ 4.7 tonnes
@@monsterzero521 Saurophaganax is 5 tons
The 8 tons estimate (Leviathan) is not reliable and shouldn't be used
So use Fenris Instead who is 5 tons
most likely bigger than both but there isn’t really enough evidence to confidently give a precise estimate of either of the latter species, especially saurophaganax.
All that torque and such a frail head, unless its pressure is purley virticle, what if it was a living hatchet
Well, that idea was put forward for Allosaurus a couple years ago, but it's since been found to be doubtful. To be honest, Carcharodontosaurid skulls are not nearly as frail as they look laterally
Acrocanthosaurus was 14 meters long
Acrocanthosaurus was 14 meters long
I seem to recall you mentioning....