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Slender tyrannosaurid Albertosaurus walking in side view with an open mouth
Life reconstruction of Albertosaurus sarcophagus.图片来源：Connor Ashbridge, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 4.0来源（在新标签页中打开）

Albertosaurus sarcophagus

读音： al-BER-toh-SORE-us sar-KOF-ah-gus

Coelurosauria · Tyrannosauridae

A lighter-built relative of T. rex from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. A single bonebed at Dry Island held more than two dozen individuals of all ages, which made it one of the best-studied tyrannosaurs.

  • Bipedal
  • Apex predator
  • Possible pack behavior
对比
时代
白垩纪· 马斯特里赫特阶
食性
肉食性
体长
8–9 m
体重
1,700–3,000 kg
地点
Alberta, Canada

快速问答

Albertosaurus sarcophagus有多大？
Albertosaurus sarcophagus体长约8–9 m。髋部高约2.3–2.8 m。体重约1.7–3 t。 (Wikipedia: Albertosaurus 2026; Currie 2003)
Albertosaurus sarcophagus生活在什么时候？
Albertosaurus sarcophagus生活在晚白垩世，约7210万至6600万年前。 (Paleobiology Database: Albertosaurus occurrences 2026; Cohen et al. 2023)
在哪里发现过Albertosaurus sarcophagus的化石？
Albertosaurus sarcophagus的化石发现于Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Alberta)和Canada。 (Osborn 1905; Currie 2003)
Albertosaurus sarcophagus吃什么？
Albertosaurus sarcophagus是肉食性。 (Osborn 1905; Currie 2003)
Albertosaurus sarcophagus由谁命名，何时命名？
Albertosaurus sarcophagus由Henry Fairfield Osborn于1905年描述。 (Osborn 1905; Paleobiology Database: Albertosaurus occurrences 2026)

本页内容

时代
白垩纪72.1–66 Ma
食性
肉食性
体长
8–9 m
体重
1.7–3 t
产地
Canada
分类
Coelurosauria · Tyrannosauridae
命名
1905, Henry Fairfield Osborn

概览

此内容目前仅提供英文版。

Albertosaurus sarcophagus lived in what is now Alberta about 70 million years ago, on the coastal plains and swamps of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Joseph Burr Tyrrell's Geological Survey of Canada party collected its first skull in 1884 on the Red Deer River, and Henry Fairfield Osborn named it in 1905.

It was a tyrannosaurid of about 8 to 9 m, lighter built than Tyrannosaurus, with longer lower legs and feet. Currie (2003) found that albertosaurines had slightly shorter, lower skulls and longer shins, metatarsals and toes than tyrannosaurines of the same size.

At Dry Island, found by Barnum Brown in 1910 and reopened by Philip Currie in 1997, a single bonebed held the remains of more than 20 individuals. Their growth rings allowed Erickson et al. (2006) to build a "life table": young Albertosaurus survived well, and mortality rose in mid-life.

名称含义

"Alberta lizard"; sarcophagus, Greek for "flesh-eater" (Osborn 1905).

生物学与证据

科学家对这种动物生活方式的看法，以及每种观点的证据有多充分。

生长

  • Young Albertosaurus survived well, and mortality rose in mid-life.

    证据等级：中等证据

    Ages from growth rings of many individuals give a survival curve like those of long-lived birds and mammals, which also explains why juvenile fossils are rare.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 1
    支持证据

    • 组织学 · Tyrannosaur age-structure analysis

      Growth-ring ages of four tyrannosaur assemblages, including Albertosaurus, show high juvenile survival and higher mortality at mid-life and near maximum lifespan.

社会生活

  • Albertosaurus lived or hunted in groups.

    证据等级：假说

    Many individuals of all ages died at one site, which suggests they were together. The bones could also have been gathered by other causes over time.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 1
    支持证据

    • 标本 · Dry Island Albertosaurus bonebed

      A bonebed with the remains of about two dozen Albertosaurus of different ages.

其他

  • Albertosaurus was more lightly built than Tyrannosaurus.

    证据等级：有力证据

    At the same size, albertosaurines had shorter, lower skulls and longer shins, metatarsals and toes than tyrannosaurines.

    支持 / 反对证据 · 1
    支持证据

    • 比较解剖学 · Tyrannosaurid allometry

      Bivariate analysis of 85 dimensions across five tyrannosaurid genera: albertosaurines are more lightly built than tyrannosaurines of the same size.

体型

体长
8–9 m

（29.5 英尺）

身高
2.5 m文献范围 2.3–2.8 m

（8.2 英尺）

依据 large adults (femur c. 1.0 m)

体重
1,700–3,000 kg
Albertosaurus sarcophagus 体长约 9 米（29.5 英尺），约为身高 1.8 米的成年人的 5 倍。

时间线

生活在约 72.1 至 66 百万年前（Ma），属于中生代（252–66 Ma）。

时代： 马斯特里赫特阶 (72.1–66 Ma), 晚白垩世 (100.5–66 Ma)

Early Maastrichtian bin of the type collection in PBDB; the Horseshoe Canyon fossils are usually quoted at about 70-68 Ma (secondary).

产地

地图数据：Natural Earth（公有领域）。显示的是现代位置，而非当时大陆的位置。

这些是发现化石的地点，而不是该动物生活的全部范围。

生态系统

Two Albertosaurus sarcophagus hunting Saurolophus osborni, with Struthiomimus in the foreground, in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation.图片来源：ABelov2014, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 3.0来源（在新标签页中打开）

生活于： Horseshoe Canyon

73.1–68 百万年前 · 泛滥平原, 沿海平原, 沼泽 / 湿地

Coastal floodplains, estuarine channels and coal swamps of Alberta near the Western Interior Seaway, with periodic marine incursions.

分类

  1. 演化支Dinosauria
  2. 演化支Saurischia
  3. 演化支Theropoda
  4. 演化支Coelurosauria
  5. 总科Tyrannosauroidea
  6. 科Tyrannosauridae
  7. 亚科Albertosaurinae
  8. 属Albertosaurus
  9. 种Albertosaurus sarcophagus

分类地位： 有效

化石记录

Albertosaurus skeletal mount (cast) at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta.图片来源：Etemenanki3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing), Royal Tyrrell Museum of PalaeontologyCC BY-SA 4.0（未修改）来源（在新标签页中打开）
标本
编号类型收藏机构发现年份
CMN 5600正模标本Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN)1884

已发现的部分

正模标本: CMN 5600

  • 保存
  • 部分保存
  • 复原
  • 未知 / 未记录
按部位查看（表格）
正模标本: CMN 5600 的骨骼部位
部位状态
Skull部分保存
Mandible未知 / 未记录
Teeth未知 / 未记录
Cervical vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Dorsal vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Sacrum未知 / 未记录
Caudal vertebrae未知 / 未记录
Ribs未知 / 未记录
Gastralia未知 / 未记录
Scapula / shoulder girdle未知 / 未记录
Humerus未知 / 未记录
Forearm (radius / ulna)未知 / 未记录
Hand (manus)未知 / 未记录
Pelvis未知 / 未记录
Femur未知 / 未记录
Tibia / fibula未知 / 未记录
Foot (pes)未知 / 未记录
Skull of Albertosaurus sarcophagus (cast of TMP 2019.000.0023) at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.图片来源：Chris Woodrich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (unmodified except resizing), Royal Tyrrell Museum of PalaeontologyCC BY-SA 4.0（未修改）来源（在新标签页中打开）

全部标本

发现

命名年份
1905
命名者
Henry Fairfield Osborn
模式标本
CMN 5600

发现时间线

  1. 1884 · 首次发现材料

    Tyrrell's party collects the first Albertosaurus skull

    A partial skull is collected on the Red Deer River, Alberta.

    人物：Joseph Burr Tyrrell

  2. 1905 · 正式命名

    Osborn names Albertosaurus sarcophagus

    Named in the same paper that named Tyrannosaurus rex.

    人物：Henry Fairfield Osborn

  3. 1910 · 标本出土

    Barnum Brown finds the Dry Island bonebed

    Brown collects Albertosaurus bones from a bonebed that Philip Currie reopened in 1997.

    人物：Barnum Brown, Philip J. Currie

  4. 2006 · 重要研究

    Tyrannosaur life tables published

    Erickson and colleagues describe tyrannosaur survival patterns from growth rings.

    人物：Gregory M. Erickson, Philip J. Currie

参考文献

  1. (2026). Paleobiology Database: Albertosaurus occurrences. The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org), data service 1.2, accessed 2026-09-23. https://paleobiodb.org/data1.2/occs/list.txt?base_name=Albertosaurus&show=coords,paleoloc,strat,loc,ref&pgm=gplates（在新标签页中打开）
  2. (2026). Wikipedia: Albertosaurus. Wikipedia (English), accessed 2026-09-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albertosaurus（在新标签页中打开）
  3. Cohen, K. M., Harper, D. A. T., Gibbard, P. L. & Car, N. (2023). International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2023/09). International Commission on Stratigraphy. https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf（在新标签页中打开）
  4. Currie, P. J. (2003). Allometric growth in tyrannosaurids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and Asia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40: 651-665. doi:10.1139/e02-083（在新标签页中打开）
  5. Erickson, G. M., Currie, P. J., Inouye, B. D. & Winn, A. A. (2006). Tyrannosaur life tables: an example of nonavian dinosaur population biology. Science 313: 213-217. doi:10.1126/science.1125721（在新标签页中打开）
  6. Osborn, H. F. (1905). Tyrannosaurus and other Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 259-265. https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/1464（在新标签页中打开）
  7. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.