An allosaurus fossil specimen at the Rockies Museum
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An Australian man claims a dinosaur fossil discovered a decade ago in Colorado is physical proof that a flood swept the Earth thousands of years ago – as described in the biblical book of Genesis.

Ken Ham, who founded the Creation Museum in Kentucky and who is building a £50 million ($80m) replica of Noah's ark, has opened an exhibition at the museum to display the fossilised remains of a nine-metre long allosaur called Ebenezer on Saturday.

According to the best currently available scientific research, including geology and carbon dating, allosaurs lived during the late Jurassic period. They were the most common huge predators in North America 140 million years ago, reaching an impressive 12 metres long and weighing up to four tonnes.

The enormous jaw was filled with long, serrated, back-curving teeth. Near perfect examples of this classic shaped theropod dinosaur were discovered in Wyoming and allosaur fossil remains are extremely rare outside America.

Ebenezer, the allosaurus fossil on display at the Creation Museum in Kentucky
Ebenezer, the allosaur fossil on display at the Creation Museum in Kentucky Creation Museum

The Creation Museum, on the other hand, claims that the dinosaur died in a worldwide flood around 4,300 years ago.

The allosaur fossil is featured in a new exhibit called Facing the Allosaurus. Answers in Genesis, the Christian ministry that owns the Creation Museum, says much of the fossilised remains were found in Colorado more than 10 years ago. The fossil is owned by the Elizabeth Streb Peroutka Foundation.

It's not clear what expert assessment has been done on the fossil.

Ham said the display will help defend the book of Genesis and expose the scientific problems with evolution, reported Ninemsn. "Evolutionists use dinosaurs to reach children more than anything to promote their worldview" Ham said. "Our museum uses dinosaurs to help tell their true history according to the Bible."

Michael Peroutka, a member of the Elizabeth Streb Peroutka Foundation who was also the Constitution Party's presidential candidate in 2004, said the fossil is testimony to the creative power of God in designing dinosaurs. He added that it was evidence to the truth of a worldwide catastrophic flooding of the Earth in Noah's time.

Palaeontologists say the last dinosaurs roamed the earth more than 60 million years ago, and local academics and palaeontologists have dismissed the fossil's link to Noah or a flood.