Dinosaur genus

Acrocanthosaurus

Stovall and Langston 1950

Acrocanthosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 121.4–93.9 million years old, in the United States.

Also calledja アクロカントサウルスzh 高棘龍

medium

medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?2 high8 medium5 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 12 October 2026

121.4–93.9 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Stovall and Langston 1950
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: J. W. Stovall, W. Langston, Jr. (1950). Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, a new genus and species of Lower Cretaceous Theropoda from Oklahoma. American Midland Naturalist 43(4): 686–728. Read it
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Stovall and Langston 1950), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Type species: Acrocanthosaurus atokensis
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Lived: Aptian to Cenomanian, 121.4–93.9 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation121.4–93.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 9 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (9 records).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Antlers
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Arundel Clay
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Cloverly Formation
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Holly Creek
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Turney Ranch
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Twin Mountains
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Carcharodontosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Carcharodontosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Order: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 5 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf." or "?").
Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); common names (Wikidata).

Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Acrocanthosaurus meet ?

No. Acrocanthosaurus had gone at least 10.3 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Lived alongside

Genera found in the same rock formations, from rocks of the same age.

Tenontosaurus Deinonychus Sauropelta Microvenator Sauroposeidon Aquilops Brontopodus Coelurus Convolosaurus Zephyrosaurus

Same family

Other genera in Carcharodontosauridae with a full profile.

Carcharodontosaurus Concavenator Eocarcharia Giganotosaurus Taurovenator Tyrannotitan Veterupristisaurus

Where its fossils were found

9 fossil sites, with present-day and ancient positions

Open the map at this time

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Acrocanthosaurus. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/acrocanthosaurus. Data as of 12 October 2026.

What's changed

No changes since the change log started (11 Oct 2026).

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

4 openly licensed pictures of Acrocanthosaurus on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

Acroc.jpg
Ryan Somma, CC BY-SA 2.0
Acrocanthosaurus atokensis.png
Petr Menshikov (https://twitter.com/Petr75113553; https://vk.com/prehistoricproduction), CC BY-SA 4.0
Acrocanthosaurusskeleton.jpg
Ryan Somma, CC BY-SA 2.0
Theropod courtship.jpg
Xing Lida, CC BY 4.0

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.