Allosaurus vs Apatosaurus

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Allosaurus and Apatosaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Allosaurus Apatosaurus
Scientific Name Allosaurus fragilis Apatosaurus ajax
Classification Theropoda Sauropoda
Period Jurassic Late Jurassic Late
Diet Carnivore Herbivore
Length 9.7 m 22.0 m
Height 3.5 m 4.5 m
Weight 2.3 t 22.7 t
Discovery Year 1877 1877
Discovery Location Garden Park, Colorado, USA Morrison Formation, Colorado, USA
Named By Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh

Size Comparison

Allosaurus 9.7 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Apatosaurus 22.0 m

about as long as 4 cars end-to-end

Weight Comparison

Allosaurus 2.3 t

comparable to 2.3 small cars

Apatosaurus 22.7 t

about the weight of 3.8 elephants

Timeline Comparison

Allosaurus
161.5 Mya Jurassic Late (Mesozoic) 145.0 Mya
Apatosaurus
161.5 Mya Jurassic Late (Mesozoic) 145.0 Mya

Allosaurus and Apatosaurus both lived during the Jurassic Late period and may have shared the same habitats.

Diet Comparison

Allosaurus

Carnivore

Allosaurus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.

Apatosaurus

Herbivore

Apatosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

Classification Comparison

Allosaurus

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Theropoda

(Beast feet)

Apatosaurus

Clade: Sauropodomorpha

Group: Sauropoda

(Lizard feet)

Did You Know?

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Apatosaurus was about 2.3x longer than Allosaurus.

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Apatosaurus weighed roughly 10x more than Allosaurus.

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Allosaurus was a carnivore while Apatosaurus was a herbivore.

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Both dinosaurs lived during the Jurassic Late period and may have coexisted.

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Allosaurus belonged to Theropoda while Apatosaurus belonged to Sauropoda.

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