The Giganotosaurus : Five Interesting Facts About This Dinosaur

The Giganotosaurus (pronounced jig-a-NOT-oh-SAWR-us) name means "giant southern lizard". This dinosaur was a meat eater and preyed upon plant eating dinosaurs. It's fossils have been found around present-day southern Argentina. The dinosaur lived in the middle Cretaceous period which was about 110 to 95 million years ago. It was a theropod which means it walked around on two legs.

Origin of the Giganotosaurus name

This dinosaur was not discovered until 1994 and was subsequently named in 1995 by Reuben Carolini.

The Diet of a Giganotosaurus

This dinosaur was a meat-eater with large sharp teeth and many talons. It was not a very fast dinosaur but was capable of running down large plant eaters of it's time. Some have speculated it could also have been a scavenger, feasting off the remains of large plant eaters when they died of old age or other natural causes. But, there is no doubt that the Giganotosaurus was designed to feed off the very large plant eating herbivores of his time period.

The Size and Body Type of a Giganotosaurus

This was a very large meat eating dinosaur (predator) and could grow to anywhere between 44 and 46 feet in length and 13 feet tall at it's hips, and this dinosaur was actually longer than the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex. It weigh approximately 8 tons. It is the longest meat-eating dinosaur that has ever been discovered, but was more built much lighter and had a much smaller brain than T. Rex. It had long legs, been three-fingered hands with sharp claws and clawed feet. It was a killing machine. It's skull could measure 6 feet in length and it's teeth were long and like sharp serrated knives.

Life Cycle and Nesting Habits

Some archeologists/paleontologists estimate it's life span to be about 40 years. Most likely the theropods made their nests like present-day birds and they would hover around and protect them in much the same way. This dinosaur probably lived in a forest area so materials were probably readily available. Some paleontologists even believe that young theropods of this type that could have feathers when they were born and then eventually wear off prior to adulthood.

The Giganotosaurus Enemies & it's Extinction

This predator died out about the end of the Mesozoic Era which has been called the "Age of Reptiles". It's predators would be few and far between, there has never been any named, and it probably died mostly from old age, natural causes or other Giganotosaurus.

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