A southern giant
Giganotosaurus was one of the largest known meat-eating dinosaurs, discovered in Patagonia.
A REAL DINOSAUR. A SUSPICIOUSLY FAMILIAR PERSONALITY.
GIGANOTOSAURUS.
Somehow escalated the situation.
You think big. Then slightly bigger. Your solution to a small problem usually involves a group, a budget, and a name for the operation.
SIGNATURE MOVETurning a reasonable idea into an ambitious undertaking.
SPECIMEN 23 / LATE CRETACEOUS
GIGANOTOSAURUS CAROLINII · CARNIVORE
GIGANOTOSAURUS CAROLINII · CARNIVORENobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the actual dinosaur THE ACTUAL SCIENCE STARTS HERE
Meet the real Giganotosaurus.
The jokes are ours.
The animal was very real.
- WHEN
- About 99–97 million years ago
- ON THE MENU
- Carnivore
- LENGTH
- About 12–13 m
- BODY MASS
- Roughly 6–8 tonnes
Not a tyrannosaur
It belonged to the carcharodontosaurids, a different theropod lineage from Tyrannosaurus.
Blade-like teeth
Its laterally compressed, serrated teeth differ from the thicker teeth of adult T. rex.
Named for its discoverer
The species name honors Rubén Carolini, who found the type specimen in 1993.
An incomplete giant
The principal skeleton is incomplete, so size estimates require reconstruction and comparison.
Earlier than T. rex
It lived more than 25 million years before the last North American tyrannosaurs.
A little room for discovery.
Claims that it was definitively larger than every T. rex depend on which specimens and estimation methods are compared.
Read more: Giganotosaurus on Wikipedia · Research and references. Facts are summarized in our own words. Size and date ranges are approximate; estimates vary by specimen and study. Gallery images may include other species within the genus.
A closer look.
Fossils, museum displays, and published reconstructions. Artwork shows an interpretation; it is not a photograph of a living dinosaur.
Is this your prehistoric alter ego?
Eight questions and an optional face scan will settle this. Very unofficially.