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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Alioramus
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Alioramus
TIME: Late Cretaceous
LOCALITY: Asia (Mongolia)
SIZE: 20 ft/6 m long
A group of Asiatic tyrannosaurs, represented
by Alioramus, differed from "typical"
tyrannosaurs in the shape of their skulls.
Whereas most members of the family had deep
skulls with short snouts, Alioramus and its
relatives had shallow skulls with long
snouts. There were also some bony knobs or
spikes on the face between the eyes and tip
of the snout. These may have been display
features to distinguish the sexes, perhaps
with the males having larger structures than
the females.Alioramus and its tyrannosaur
relatives lived in Asia and western North
America during the Late Cretaceous period. At
that time, the modern continents of Asia and
North America were joined into one landmass;
the Bering Strait that separates them today
was then dry land. But the North American
part was divided in two by a shallow sea that
ran north-south, and halved the land into
"Asiamerica" to the west, and "Euramerica" to
the east. Animals, including the great
tyrannosaurs, could have migrated freely
between Asia and western North America, but
relatively few seem to have managed to cross
the great divide over to the eastern half of
the landmass. However, the remains of one
tyrannosaur, similar to Albertosaurus, have
been found in eastern USA.
Subject by: Russell Webb