BIG Sara, the 150 million-year-old fossil, is due to come to Westquay today. 

The allosaurus that was discovered in North America was bought at auction and is now being rented to the shopping centre for the next two years. 

But what is an allosaurus?

The Echo has put together some facts about the new dinosaur that is coming to Southampton.


READ MORE: Dinosaur skeleton goes on show at Westquay in Southampton


According to the Natural History Museum, the allosaurus existed 156-144 million years ago and could be found in Portugal and the USA. 

The creatures were carnivorous with "dagger-like serrated teeth" measuring around 5-10cm in length. 

At 12 metres long, the allosaurus moved on two legs and would eat Stegosaurus, Diplodocus and others. 

The National Geographic says on its website: "Experts aren’t sure if Allosaurus always hunted live prey—including giant plant-eaters like Apatosaurus—or if it sometimes scavenged dead or dying animals. Either way, Allosaurus was built to eat meat."

It claims that research on skulls found that allosaurus could open its jaw wide enough to slash upper jaw at prey, like a sharp knife.

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