CretaceousCarnivoreGiant
Giganotosaurus
JIG-ah-NOTE-oh-SORE-us
"Giant southern lizard"
Overview
Giganotosaurus was a massive carcharodontosaurid theropod that may have exceeded Tyrannosaurus rex in size. As the apex predator of Late Cretaceous South America, it hunted enormous sauropods like Argentinosaurus.
Vital Statistics
Length
13 m
Height
4 m
Weight
7 t
Est. Speed
25 km/h
Discovered
1995
Named by
Rodolfo Coria & Leonardo Salgado
Countries Discovered
Argentina
Fossil Locations
Leaflet © OpenStreetMap
📍 Neuquén Province, Argentina
Interesting Facts
Giganotosaurus may have been slightly longer and heavier than T. rex.
It had a long, narrow skull with blade-like serrated teeth designed for slicing flesh.
It likely hunted in packs to bring down titanosaurs weighing up to 70 tons.
Giganotosaurus lived about 30 million years before T. rex, so the two never met.
Closest Relatives
MapusaurusCarcharodontosaurusTyrannotitanAcrocanthosaurus