Asperdorsus
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Asperdorsus is a fictional genus of sauropod dinosaur that was created for Peter Jackson's 2005 film King Kong, but did not make it into the film. However, they were documented as a real part of Jackson's Kong lore in the 2005 supplementary book The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island.
Design
Asperdorsus were the second largest animal on Skull Island, dwarfed only by their Brontosaurus cousins. In addition to the heavy armor Asperdorsus was covered in, they bore long crests of spike-like protrusions from their backs and the undersides of their necks. Compared to the Brontosaurus, the Asperdorsus had long limbs and high bellies which were helpful adaptations for moving through the thick jungle vegetation. Because of their relatively narrow build, they needed a long tail to balance their long neck.
Name
The name Asperdorsus comes from "asper", the Latin word for rough, and the Latin words "dorsum" and "dorsalis", which refer to the back.
Ecology
Despite their size, the lanky build of the Asperdorsus allowed them to maneuver adeptly through their thickly wooded habitat, where they grazed the relatively untouched mid-level foliage. The eternal darkness of the jungle floor necessitated the Asperdorsus' developing a strong sense of smell, which led them to their favorite food sources. Asperdorsus were particularly fond of the fruits that grew at their grazing level, which ripened at different times of the year. Because of this, their slow and meandering migration could easily be mapped in accordance to which fruits were in season. In addition to their spikes, their heavily armored bodies prevented attacks from most predators. Only Venatosaurus and Carvers were smart enough to attempt to take down an Asperdorsus while being wary of their powerful tails, a blow from which could break bones.
While they lived in solitude for most of the year, when it came time to breed, Asperdorsus located one another with low frequency vocalizations produced in their stomachs. Males tried to impress females by using their tails to level small patches of forest by clearing brush and pushing over small trees. Females would choose whichever male was the largest and most destructive performers to father their young.
Abilities
Tail
Asperdorsus' long tails could be swung with such force that blows from them could break bones.
Gallery
References
This is a list of references for Asperdorsus. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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