Carcharodontosaurid dinosaur genus from the late Cretaceous period
Not to be confused with Gigantosaurus.
Giganotosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), 99.6–95 Ma
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Reconstructed skeleton, possibly with a proportionally too long skull, Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
Theropoda
Family:
†Carcharodontosauridae
Tribe:
†Giganotosaurini
Genus:
†Giganotosaurus Coria & Salgado, 1995[1]
Species:
†G. carolinii
Binomial name
†Giganotosaurus carolinii
Coria & Salgado, 1995
Giganotosaurus (/ˌɡɪɡəˌnoʊtəˈsɔːrəs/GIG-ə-NOH-tə-SOR-əs[2]) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 99.6 to 95 million years ago. The holotype specimen was discovered in the Candeleros Formation of Patagonia in 1993 and is almost 70% complete. The animal was named Giganotosaurus carolinii in 1995; the genus name translates to "giant southern lizard", and the specific name honors the discoverer, Ruben Carolini. A dentary bone, a tooth, and some tracks, discovered before the holotype, were later assigned to this animal. The genus attracted much interest and became part of a scientific debate about the maximum sizes of theropod dinosaurs.
Giganotosaurus was one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, but the exact size has been hard to determine due to the incompleteness of the remains found so far. Estimates for the most complete specimen range from a length of 12 to 13 m (39 to 43 ft), a skull 1.53 to 1.80 m (5.0 to 5.9 ft) in length, and a weight of 4.2 to 13.8 t (4.6 to 15.2 short tons). The dentary bone that belonged to a supposedly larger individual has been used to extrapolate a length of 13.2 m (43 ft). Some researchers have found the animal to be larger than Tyrannosaurus, which has historically been considered the largest theropod, while others have found them to be roughly equal in size and the largest size estimates for Giganotosaurus exaggerated. The skull was low, with rugose (rough and wrinkled) nasal bones and a ridge-like crest on the lacrimal bone in front of the eye. The front of the lower jaw was flattened and had a downward-projecting process (or "chin") at the tip. The teeth were compressed sideways and had serrations. The neck was strong and the pectoral girdle proportionally small.
Part of the family Carcharodontosauridae, Giganotosaurus is one of the most completely known members of the group, which includes other very large theropods, such as the closely related Mapusaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Giganotosaurus is thought to have been homeothermic (a type of "warm-bloodedness"), with a metabolism between that of a mammal and a reptile, which would have enabled fast growth. It would have been capable of closing its jaws quickly, capturing and bringing down prey by delivering powerful bites. The "chin" may have helped in resisting stress when a bite was delivered against prey. Giganotosaurus is thought to have been the apex predator of its ecosystem, and it may have fed on juvenile sauropod dinosaurs.
^Cite error: The named reference Coria1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Haines, T.; Chambers, P. (2007). The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Italy: Firefly Books Ltd. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-55407-181-4.
disarticulated state of the cranial bones of Giganotosaurus, but noted that at 1.43 m (4.7 ft), the femur of Giganotosaurus was 5 cm (2 in) longer than that of...
traits, in regions of the skeleton that Giganotosaurus does not preserve. Mapusaurus only differs from Giganotosaurus in lacking a second opening on the middle...
and a Moros and a Giganotosaurus in a symbiotic relationship. The prehistoric segment ends in a showdown between the Giganotosaurus and a partly feathered...
scene, the Giganotosaurus is killed when the Tyrannosaurus rex throws the Giganotosaurus onto the claws of a Therizinosaurus. The Giganotosaurus went through...
related to other giant predators like Carcharodontosaurus and especially Giganotosaurus as well as Mapusaurus. Tyrannotitan chubutensis was described by Fernando...
to live at Biosyn's sanctuary in the Dolomites. There, she battles a Giganotosaurus for superiority, eventually killing the latter. A deleted scene takes...
stratigraphic level than the main fossils of Giganotosaurus, they were from the same strata as the Giganotosaurus tooth MUCPv-52 and some sauropod dinosaurs...
the validity maintained in most literature. The South American genus Giganotosaurus was synonymized with Carcharodontosaurus by Figueiredo (1998) and Paul...
Wu escape in a Biosyn helicopter amidst a fight between Rexy and a Giganotosaurus. Ellie and Alan rekindle their romantic relationship before testifying...
Carcharodontosaurids include some of the largest land predators ever known: Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Tyrannotitan all rivaled Tyrannosaurus...
front edge, as in Giganotosaurus, and shallow, while the rest of the jaw behind it became very deep. Acrocanthosaurus and Giganotosaurus shared a thick horizontal...
(7.7 to 23.0 short tons). Other large carnivorous theropods included Giganotosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Therizinosaurus and Deinocheirus...
where other famous vertebrate animals have been discovered, such as Giganotosaurus, Rebbachisaurus and Andesaurus. The discovery occurred due to excavations...
Tyrannosaurus. Her savior is a gargantuan Giganotosaurus that kills it in a vicious one-sided brawl. The Giganotosaurus follows Regina inside the missile silo...
have been described, including Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Giganotosaurus. These large theropod dinosaurs are estimated to rival or even exceeded...
comparable to Spinosaurus include theropods such as Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. The most recent study suggests that previous...
Horton. She edited the science fiction and fantasy online magazine Giganotosaurus from 2010 to 2013, and is assistant editor of the PodCastle podcast...
cunning and, unlike Ty and D-Structs, has slightly longer arms like a Giganotosaurus. Goldtrux (voiced by Michael Dangerfield) is golden covered dark green...
different continent and tens of millions of years earlier in time (Giganotosaurus). Ornithischian dinosaurs also showed evidence of homeothermy, while...
Tyrannosaurus, a Velociraptor, a cuttlefish, a tree frog, a Carnotaurus, a Giganotosaurus, a Majungasaurus, and a Rugops. It debuted in Jurassic World. Indoraptor...
similar relationships for Meraxes, but not in a clade with Tyrannotitan, Giganotosaurus, and Mapusaurus, as suggested by Canale et al. (2022). The fossil remains...
have been described, including Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Giganotosaurus. The original Spinosaurus specimens (as well as newer fossils described...
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