State Fossil, Allosaurus

The allosaurus was designated the State Fossil in 1988 (Utah Code). More allosaurus specimens have been found in two of Utah's quarries than any other dinosaur. Sixty individuals, from juveniles to adults, were found at one site in Utah.

There are different meanings of the word allosaurus, "Different Lizard" and "Strange Reptile", are two examples. Allosaurus was a carnosaur, one of the groups of theropod meat-eaters. This animal was large and probably too bulky to move at speed over any distance, however, the large sauropods and stegosaurs on which it fed were not fast-moving themselves. It measured 16.5 ft. in height and 39 ft. in length and its skull more than 3 ft. long; its jaws were lined with serrated, back-curved teeth and it weighed in at about 4 tons.