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MEETING BIG SARA

Southampton’s West Quay shopping centre has scored a mammoth first and a large scale authentic dinosaur fossil has been put on display.

Dating from the Upper Jurassic period, Big Sara is an allosaurus measuring 10 metres in length and 3.5 metres in height. With 70% of its skeleton intact, Big Sara is one of the most complete allosaurus skeletons ever discovered.

The fossil was discovered in 2015 on a steep hillside in the Morrison Formation in Wyoming. Big Sara would have roamed the earth around 150 million years ago. As a formidable carnivore, she would have been top of the food chain and ripped her prey apart with her killer claws.

Some palaeontologists believe the allosaurus was a social animal and hunted in packs while others believe individuals may have been aggressive towards each other and have a reputation for fighting.

Sara has been loaned to West Quay shopping centre, initially for a two-year period, by the Bournemouth based Richmond Group which bought the dinosaur at auction.