Name:
Alectrosaurus (Greek for "unmarried lizard"); pronounced ah-LEC-tro-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (80-75 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 17 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Herbivorous dinosaurs
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Thick head with sharp teeth; stunted arms
About Alectrosaurus:
When they was first discovered (on 1923 expedition to China by paleontologists from New York's Museum of Natural History), the bones of Alectrosaurus were mixed up with those of another type of dinosaur, a segnosaur, provoking much confusion. After the mixup was finally sorted out, the researchers announced that they had discovered a previously unknown type of tyrannosaur--at that time, the first ever dug up in Asia.
To date, paleontologists have had little luck figuring out Alectrosaurus' exact position on the tyrannosaur family tree, a situation that can only be improved by further fossil discoveries.
