PHOTO: Prehistoric enemies have arrived in Prague. Stegosaurus with Allosaurus
One of the largest private collections of prehistoric lizards, Dinosauria Museum Prague, is growing. Tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, diplodocus and other prehistoric giants were joined in the museum by an irreconcilable pair of dinosaurs – the feared predator allosaurus hunted armored stegosaurs more than 150 million years ago. The last moments before one of these fights are captured in a new exhibition of the original ten-meter-long skeleton of the allosaurus Ali and a realistic model of the stegosaurus Sven.
Sven – the stegosaurus stenops is a close relative of one of the heroes of the legendary Journey into Prehistory by Karel Zeman.
| Video: Dinosauria Museum Prague
“There are very few scientifically confirmed dinosaur fights to the death. But the fights between allosaurs and stegosaurs are among the best documented. The stegosaurs were able to defend themselves brilliantly and use up to ninety centimeter spikes at the end of their tails to give out the unique value of the new Dinosauria paleontologist Štěpán Pícha, who adds: “We have prepared a scene from the last moments before one of these fights for our visitors in the Dinosauria. How will Ali vs. Sven fight? Will the ten-meter allosaurus succeed and defeat the three-ton stegosaurus? This will also be shown by our dinoscope in augmented reality.”
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Allosaurus Ali is over ten meters long, weighing up to two tons, a predator that lived 154 to 150 million years ago and reached speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour when hunting. Ali’s skeleton exhibited in Dinosauria was found in Wyoming, USA, and restored and assembled in France for the Prague museum. “The skeleton of our Allosaurus Ali is more than 70 percent original. His skull and teeth are especially fantastically preserved. They have special lines on their surface, the purpose of which scientists cannot yet clarify,” says Pícha.
The second newcomer to the museum is Sven – stegosaurus stenops. The eight-meter and three-ton armored car is a close relative of one of the heroes of Karel Zeman’s legendary Journey into Prehistory. “Stegosaurus was incredibly slow, moving about five times slower than Allosaurus. If he wanted to survive, he had to succeed in the fight. And evolution helped him a lot in that. It had four ninety-centimeter spikes on its long tail, bone plates with sharp edges on its back and bone armor on its vulnerable neck,” Pícha describes, adding: “We know about allosaur vertebrae pierced by stegosaur tail spikes and other similar injuries. Stegosaur defenses worked great.’
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In addition to Sven from the United States, two pteranodon flying lizards with a wingspan of over five meters will also arrive. In Dinosauria, he complements Quetzi and helps him oversee the children’s world and fantasy mountain and enter the museum.