Alectrosaurus olseni

†Alectrosaurus olseni was a medium-sized tyrannosaurid from the Late Cretaceous (~80 Ma) of Mongolia. About 5-6m long and ~1,000kg, it was a bipedal carnivore named by Gilmore in 1933. Found in the Bayan Shireh Formation, the type specimen includes hind limb bones initially misidentified as oviraptorosaurian forelimbs — a famous taxonomic error resolved by later study.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Alectrosaurus olseni was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Alectrosaurus olseni lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.