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Giganotosaurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Gigantosaurus.
Giganotosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 97 Ma
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Giganothosaurus.jpg
Reconstructed skeleton, Natural History Museum, Helsinki
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: Carcharodontosauridae
Genus: Giganotosaurus
Coria & Salgado, 1995
Species: G. carolinii
Binomial name
Giganotosaurus carolinii
Coria & Salgado, 1995

Giganotosaurus (/?d?a?g??no?t?'s??r?s/ JIG-?-NOT-o-SAW-rus[1]) 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 97 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 G. carolinii in 1995; the genus
name translates as "giant southern lizard" and the specific name honours the
discoverer, Rubn D. 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 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 downwards 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
may have been relatively fast moving, with a calculated maximal running speed of 14
metres per second (50 km/h; 31 mph). 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.

Contents

1 Description
1.1 Skull
2 History of discovery
3 Classification
4 Palaeobiology
4.1 Feeding
5 Palaeoecology
6 References
7 External links

Description
Size (orange) compared to that of other large theropods and a human

Giganotosaurus is thought to have been one of the largest theropod dinosaurs, but
the incompleteness of its remains have made it difficult to estimate its size
reliably. It is therefore impossible to determine with certainty whether it was
larger than Tyrannosaurus, for example, which has been considered the largest
theropod historically. Different size estimates have been reached by several
researchers, based on various methods, and depending on how the missing parts of
the skeleton have been reconstructed. Length estimates for the holotype specimen
have varied between 12 and 13 m (39 and 43 ft), with a skull between 1.53 and 1.80
m (5.0 and 5.9 ft) long, a femur (thigh bone) between 1.365 and 1.43 m (4.48 and
4.69 ft) long, and a weight between 4.2 and 13.8 t (4.6 and 15.2 short tons).[2][3]
[4][5] Fusion of sutures (joints) in the braincase indicates the holotype specimen
was a mature individual.[2] A second specimen, consisting of a dentary bone (part
of the lower jaw) from a supposedly larger individual, has been used to extrapolate
a length of 13.2 m (43 ft), a skull 1.95 m (6.4 ft) long, and a weight of 8.2 t
(9.0 short tons). Some writers have considered the largest size estimates for both
specimens exaggerated.[4][6][7][8] Giganotosaurus has been compared to an oversized
version of the well-known genus Allosaurus.[9]
Restoration

The neck of Giganotosaurus was strong, and the axis bone (the neck vertebra that
articulates with the skull) was robust. The rear neck (cervical) vertebrae had
short, flattened centra (the "bodies" of the vertebrae), with almost hemispherical
articulations (contacts) at the front, and pleurocoels (hollow depressions) divided
by laminae (plates). The back (dorsal) vertebrae had high neural arches and deep
pleurocoels. The tail (caudal) vertebrae had neural spines that were elongated from
front to back and had robust centra. The transverse processes of the caudal
vertebrae were long from front to back, and the chevrons on the front were blade-
like. The pectoral girdle was proportionally shorter than that of Tyrannosaurus,
with the ratio between the scapula (shoulder blade) and the femur being less than
0.5. The blade of the scapula had parallel borders, and a strong tubercle for
insertion of the triceps muscle. The coracoid was small and hook-shaped.[3]

The ilium of the pelvis had a convex upper border, a low postacetabular blade
(behind the acetabulum), and a narrow brevis-shelf (a projection where tail muscles
attached). The pubic foot was pronounced and shorter at the front than behind. The
ischium was straight and expanded hindwards, ending in a lobe-shape. The femur was
sigmoid-shaped, and had a very robust, upwards pointing head, with a deep sulcus
(groove). The lesser trochanter of the femoral head was wing-like, and placed below
the greater trochanter, which was short. The fourth trochanter was large and
projected backwards. The tibia of the lower leg was expanded at the upper end, its
articular facet (where it articulated with the femur) was wide, and its shaft was
compressed from front to back.[3]
Skull
Partial holotype skull (white parts are reconstructed) with left dentary in the
background, Ernesto Bachmann Palaeontological Museum

Though incompletely known, the skull of Giganotosaurus appears to have been low.
The maxilla of the upper jaw had a 92 cm (36 in) long tooth row, was deep from top
to bottom, and its upper and lower edges were almost parallel. The maxilla had a
pronounced process (projection) under the nostril, and a small, ellipse-shaped
fenestra (opening), as in Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. The nasal bone was very
rugose (rough and wrinkled), and these rugosities continued backwards, covering the
entire upper surface of this bone. The lacrimal bone in front of the eye had a
prominent, rugose crest (or horn) that pointed up at a backwards angle. The crest
was ridge-like, and had deep grooves. The postorbital bone behind the eye had a
down and backwards directed jugal process that projected into the orbit (eye
opening), as seen in Tyrannosaurus, Abelisaurus, and Carnotaurus. The supraorbital
bone above the eye that contacted between the lacrimal and postorbital bones was
eave-like, and similar to that of Abelisaurus. The quadrate bone at the back of the
skull was 44 cm (17 in) long, and had two pneumatic (air-filled) foramina (holes)
on the inner side.[3][10]
Partial teeth, EBPM

The skull roof (formed by the frontal and parietal bones) was broad and formed a
"shelf", which overhung the short supratemporal fenestrae at the top rear of the
skull. The jaw articulated far behind the occipital condyle (where the neck is
attached to the skull) compared to other theropods. The condyle was broad and low,
and had pneumatic cavities. Giganotosaurus did not have a sagittal crest on the top
of the skull, and the jaw muscles did not extend onto the skull roof, unlike in
most other theropods (due to the shelf over the supratemporal fenestrae). These
muscles would instead have been attached to the lower side surfaces of the shelf.
The neck muscles that elevated the head would have attached to the prominent
supraoccipital bones on the top of the skull, which functioned like the nuchal
crest of tyrannosaurs.[2] A latex endocast of the brain cavity of Giganotosaurus
showed that the brain was similar to that of the related genus Carcharodontosaurus,
but larger. The endocast was 29 mm (1 in) long, 64 mm (3 in) wide, and had a volume
of 275 ml (9.7 imp fl oz).[11]

The dentary of the lower jaw expanded in height towards the front (by the
mandibular symphysis), where it was also flattened, and it had a downwards
projection at the tip (which has been referred to as a "chin"). The lower side of
the dentary was concave, the outer side was convex in upper view, and a groove ran
along it, which supported foramina that nourished the teeth. The inner side of the
dentary had a row of interdental plates, where each tooth had a foramen. The
Meckelian groove ran along the lower border. The curvature of the dentary shows
that the mouth of Giganotosaurus would have been wide. It is possible that each
dentary had twelve alveoli (tooth sockets). Most of the alveoli were about 3.5 cm
(1.3 in) long from front to back. The teeth of the dentary were of similar shape
and size, except for the first one, which was smaller. The teeth were compressed
sideways, were oval in cross-section, and had serrations at the front and back
borders, which is typical of theropods.[4][12] The teeth were sigmoid-shaped when
seen in front and back view.[13] One tooth had nine to twelve serrations per
millimetre (0.039 in).[14] The side teeth of Giganotosaurus had curved ridges of
enamel, and the largest teeth in the premaxilla (front of the upper jaw) had
pronounced wrinkles (with their highest relief near the serrations).[15]
History of discovery
Holotype skeleton with reconstructed skull, arm, and feet, on the floor in EBPM

In 1993, the amateur fossil hunter Rubn D. Carolini discovered the tibia of a
theropod dinosaur while driving a dune buggy in the badlands near Villa El Chocn,
in the Neuqun province of Patagonia, Argentina. Specialists from the National
University of Comahue were sent to excavate the specimen after being notified of
the find.[16][17] The discovery was announced by the Argentinean palaeontologists
Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado at a Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting
in 1994, where American science writer Don Lessem offered to fund the excavation,
after having been impressed by a photo of the leg-bone.[16][18] The partial skull
was scattered over an area of about 10 square metres (110 sq ft), and the
postcranial skeleton was disarticulated. The specimen preserved almost 70% of the
skeleton, and included most of the vertebral column, the pectoral and pelvic
girdles, the femora, and the left tibia and fibula. In 1995, this specimen (MUCPv-
Ch1) was preliminarily described in Nature by Coria and Salgado, who made it the
holotype of the new genus and species Giganotosaurus carolinii (parts of the
skeleton were still encased in plaster at this time). The generic name is derived
from the Ancient Greek words gigas/???a? (meaning "giant"), notos/??t?? (meaning
"austral/southern", in reference to its provenance) and -sauros/-sa???? (meaning
"lizard"). The specific name honours Carolini, the discoverer.[2][3][19] The
holotype skeleton is now housed in the Ernesto Bachmann Palaeontological Museum in
Villa El Chocn, which was inaugurated in 1995 at the request of Carolini. The
specimen is the main exhibition at the museum, and is placed on the sandy floor of
a room devoted to the animal, along with tools used by palaeontologists during the
excavation. A mounted reconstruction of the skeleton is exhibited in an adjacent
room.[17][20]
Reconstructed skeleton, EBPM

One of the features of theropod dinosaurs that has attracted most scientific
interest is the fact that the group includes the largest terrestrial predators of
the Mesozoic Era. This interest began with the discovery of one of the first known
dinosaurs, Megalosaurus, named in 1824 for its large size. More than half a century
later in 1905, Tyrannosaurus was named, and it remained the largest known theropod
dinosaur for 90 years, though other large theropods were also known. The discussion
of which theropod was the largest was revived in the 1990s by new discoveries in
Africa and South America.[3] In their original description, Coria and Salgado
considered Giganotosaurus at least the largest theropod dinosaur from the southern
hemisphere, and perhaps the largest in the world. They conceded that comparison
with Tyrannosaurus was difficult due to the 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 "Sue", the largest known
Tyrannosaurus specimen, and that the bones of Giganotosaurus appeared to be more
robust, indicating a heavier animal. They estimated the skull to have been about
1.53 m (5 ft) long, and the whole animal to have been 12.5 m (41 ft) long, with a
weight of about 6 to 8 tonnes (13,230 to 17,640 lb).[3]

In 1996, the American palaeontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues described a new
skull of the related genus Carcharodontosaurus from Morocco, a theropod described
in 1927 but previously known only from fragmentary remains (the original fossils
were destroyed in World War II). They estimated the skull to have been 1.60 m (5
ft) long, similar to Giganotosaurus, but perhaps exceeding that of the
Tyrannosaurus "Sue", with a 1.53 m (5 ft) long skull. They also pointed out that
carcharodontosaurs appear to have had the proportionally largest skulls, but that
Tyrannosaurus appears to have had longer hind limbs.[21] In a 1995 interview for a
Science News article entitled "New Beast Usurps T. Rex as King Carnivore", Sereno
noted that these newly discovered theropods from South America and Africa competed
with Tyrannosaurus as the largest predators, and would help in the understanding of
Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas, which had otherwise been very "North America-
centric".[9] In the same issue of Science in which Carcharodontosaurus was
described, the Canadian palaeontologist Philip J. Currie cautioned that it was yet
to be determined which of the two animals were larger, and that the size of an
animal is less interesting to palaeontologists than, for example, adaptations,
relationships, and distribution. He also found it remarkable that the two animals
were found within a year of each other, and were closely related, in spite of being
found on different continents.[22]
Reconstructed skeleton, Naturmuseum Senckenberg

In a 1997 Science News interview, Coria estimated Giganotosaurus to have been 13.7
(45 ft) to 14.3 (47 ft) m long and weighing 8 to 10 t (8.8 to 11.0 short tons)
based on new material, larger than Carcharodontosaurus. Sereno countered that it
would be difficult to determine a size range for a species based on few, incomplete
specimens, and both palaeontologists agreed that other aspects of these dinosaurs
were more important than settling the "size contest".[23] In 1998, Jorge O. Calvo
and Coria referred a partial left dentary containing some teeth (MUCPv-95) to
Giganotosaurus. It had been collected by Calvo near Los Candeleros in 1988 (found
in 1987), who described it briefly in 1989, while noting it may have belonged to a
new theropod taxon. Calvo and Coria found the dentary to be identical to that of
the holotype, though 8% larger at 62 cm (24 in). Though the rear part of it is
incomplete, they proposed that the skull of the holotype specimen would have been
1.80 m (6 ft) long, and estimated the skull of the larger specimen to have been
1.95 m (6 ft) long, the longest skull of any theropod.[4][14][24]

In 1999, Calvo referred an incomplete tooth, (MUCPv-52), to Giganotosaurus; this

specimen was discovered near Lake Ezequiel Ramos Mexia in 1987 by A. Delgado, and
is therefore the first known fossil of the genus. Calvo further suggested that some
theropod trackways and isolated tracks (which he made the basis of the ichnotaxon
Abelichnus astigarrae in 1991) belonged to Giganotosaurus, based on their large
size. The largest tracks are 50 cm (20 in) long with a pace of 130 cm (51 in), and
the smallest is 36 cm (14 in) long with a pace of 100 cm (39 in). The tracks are
tridactyl (three-toed) and have large and coarse digits, with prominent claw
impressions. Impressions of the digits occupy most of the track-length, and one
track has a thin heel. Though the tracks were found in a higher stratigraphic level
than the main fossils of Giganotosaurus, they were from the same strata as the
single tooth and some sauropod dinosaurs that are also known from the same strata
as Giganotosaurus.[14]
Restoration with size comparison

In 2001, the physician-scientist Frank Seebacher proposed a new polynomial method

of calculating body-mass estimates for dinosaurs (using body-length, depth, and
width), and found Giganotosaurus to have weighed 6.6 t (7.3 short tons) (based on
the original 12.5 m (41 ft) length estimate).[25] In their 2002 description of the
braincase of Giganotosaurus, Coria and Currie gave a length estimate of 1.60 m (5
ft) for the holotype skull, and calculated a weight of 4.2 t (4.6 short tons) by
extrapolating from the 520 mm (20 in) circumference of the femur-shaft. This
resulted in an encephalization quotient (a measure of relative brain size) of 1.9.
[2] In 2004, Gerardo V. Mazzetta and colleagues pointed out that though the femur
of the Giganotosaurus holotype was larger than that of "Sue", the tibia was 8 cm (3
in) shorter at 1.12 m (4 ft). They found the holotype specimen to have been equal
to Tyrannosaurus in size at 8 t (8.8 short tons) (marginally smaller than "Sue"),
but that the larger dentary might have represented an animal of 10 t (11 short
tons), if geometrically similar to the holotype specimen. By using multivariate
regression equations, these authors also suggested an alternative weight of 6.5 t
(7.2 short tons) for the holotype and 8.2 t (9.0 short tons) for the larger
specimen, and that the latter was therefore the largest known terrestrial
carnivore.[26]
Reconstructed skull in Japan, based on large size estimates

In 2005, Christiano Dal Sasso and colleagues described new skull material (a snout)
of Spinosaurus (the original fossils of which were also destroyed during World War
II), and concluded this dinosaur would have been 16 to 18 m (52 to 59 ft) long with
a weight 7 to 9 t (7.7 to 9.9 short tons), exceeding the maximum size of all other
theropods.[27] In 2006, Coria and Currie described the large theropod Mapusaurus
from Patagonia; it was closely related to Giganotosaurus and of approximately the
same size.[10] In a 2007, Franois Therrien and Donald M. Henderson found that
Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus would both have approached 13.5 m (44 ft) in
length and 13.8 t (15.2 short tons) in weight (surpassing Tyrannosaurus), and
estimated the Giganotosaurus holotype skull to have been 1.56 m (5 ft) long. They
cautioned that these measurements depended on whether the incomplete skulls of
these animals had been reconstructed correctly, and that more complete specimens
were needed for more accurate estimates. They also found that Dal Sasso and
colleagues' reconstruction of Spinosaurus was too large, and instead estimated it
to have been 14.3 m (47 ft) long, weighing 20.9 t (23.0 short tons), and possibly
as low as 12.6 m (41 ft) in length and 12 t (13 short tons) in weight. They
concluded that these dinosaurs had reached the upper biomechanical size limit
attainable by a strictly bipedal animal.[5]

In 2012, Matthew T. Carrano and colleagues noted that though Giganotosaurus had
received much attention due to its enormous size, and in spite of the holotype
being relatively complete, it had not yet been described in detail, apart from the
braincase. They pointed out that many contacts between skull bones were not
preserved, which lead to the total length of the skull being ambiguous. They found
instead that the skulls of Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus were exactly the
same size as that of Tyrannosaurus. They also measured the femur of the
Giganotosaurus holotype to be 1.365 m (4 ft) long, in contrast to the original
measurement, and proposed that the body mass would have been smaller overall.[8] In
2013, the American palaeontologist Scott Hartman published a Graphic Double
Integration mass estimate (based on drawn skeletal reconstructions), wherein he
found Tyrannosaurus ("Sue") to have been larger than Giganotosaurus overall. He
estimated the Giganotosaurus holotype to have weighed 6.8 t (7.5 short tons), and
the larger specimen 8.2 t (9.0 short tons). Tyrannosaurus was estimated to have
weighed 8.4 t (9.3 short tons), and Hartman noted that it had a wider torso, though
the two seemed similar in side view. He also pointed out that the Giganotosaurus
dentary that was supposedly 8% larger than that of the holotype specimen would
rather have been 6.5% larger, or could simply have belonged to a similarly sized
animal with a more robust dentary. He conceded that with only one good
Giganotosaurus specimen known, it is possible that larger individuals will be
found, as it took most of a century to find "Sue" after Tyrannosaurus was
discovered.[7] In 2014, Nizar Ibrahim and colleagues estimated the length of
Spinosaurus to have been over 15 m (49 ft), by extrapolating from a new specimen
scaled up to match the snout described by Dal Sasso and colleagues.[28] This would
make Spinosaurus the largest ever carnivorous dinosaur.[29]
Classification
Reconstructed skeleton, Australian Museum, Sydney.

Coria and Salgado originally found Giganotosaurus to group more closely with the
theropod clade tetanurae than to more basal (or "primitive") theropods such as
ceratosaurs, due to shared features (synapomorphies) in the legs, skull, and
pelvis. Other features showed that it was outside the more derived (or "advanced")
clade Coelurosauria.[3] In 1996, Sereno and colleagues found Giganotosaurus,
Carcharodontosaurus, and Acrocanthosaurus to be closely related within the
superfamily Allosauroidea, and grouped them in the family Carcharodontosauridae.
Features shared between these genera include the lacrimal and postorbital bones
forming a broad "shelf" over the orbit, and the squared front end of the lower jaw.
[21]

As more carcharodontosaurids were discovered, their interrelationships became

clearer. The group was defined as all allosauroids closer to Carcharodontosaurus
than Allosaurus or Sinraptor by Thomas R. Holtz and colleagues in 2004.[30] In
2006, Coria and Currie united Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus in the
carcharodontosaurid subfamily Giganotosaurinae based on shared features of the
femur, such as a weak fourth trocanther, and a shallow, broad groove on the lower
end.[10] In 2008, Sereno and Stephen L. Brusatte united Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus,
and Tyrannotitan in the tribe Giganotosaurini.[31] Giganotosaurus is one of the
most complete and informative members of Carcharodontosauridae.[30]

The following cladogram shows the placement of Giganotosaurus within

Carcharodontosauridae according to Sebastin Apestegua et al., 2016:[32]
Full size model, Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.

Allosaurus

Carcharodontosauria

Neovenatoridae

Carcharodontosauridae

Concavenator

Acrocanthosaurus

Eocarcharia
Shaochilong

Carcharodontosaurinae

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis

Giganotosaurini

Tyrannotitan

Mapusaurus

Giganotosaurus

Coria and Salgado suggested that the convergent evolution of gigantism in theropods
could have been linked to common conditions in their environments or ecosystems.[3]
Sereno and colleagues found that the presence of carcharodontosaurids in Africa
(Carcharodontosaurus), North America (Acrocanthosaurus), and South America
(Giganotosaurus), showed the group had a transcontinental distribution by the Early
Cretaceous period. Dispersal routes between the northern and southern continents
appear to have been severed by ocean barriers in the Late Cretaceous, which led to
more distinct, provincial faunas, by preventing exchange.[21] Previously, it was
thought that the Cretaceous world was biogeographically separated, with the
northern continents being dominated by tyrannosaurids, South America by
abelisaurids, and Africa by carcharodontosaurids.[22][33] The subfamily
Carcharodontosaurinae, in which Giganotosaurus belongs, appears to have been
restricted to the southern continent of Gondwana (formed by South America and
Africa), where they were probably the apex (top) predators.[30] The South American
tribe Giganotosaurini may have been separated from their African relatives through
vicariance, when Gondwana broke up during the AptianAlbian ages of the Early
Cretaceous.[13]
Palaeobiology
Restoration of a walking individual
In 1999, Reese E. Barrick and William J. Showers found that the bones of
Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus had very similar oxygen isotope patterns, with
similar heat distribution in the body. These thermoregulatory patterns indicate
that these dinosaurs had a metabolism intermediate between that of mammals and
reptiles, and were therefore homeothermic (with a stable core body-temperature, a
type of "warm-bloodedness"). The metabolism of an 8 t (8.8 short tons)
Giganotosaurus would be comparable to that of a 1 t (1.1 short tons) mammalian
carnivore, and would have supported rapid growth.[34]

In 2001, R. Ernesto Blanco and Mazzetta evaluated the cursorial (running)

capability of Giganotosaurus. They rejected the hypothesis by James Orville Farlow
that the risk of injuries involved in such large animals falling while on a run,
would limit the speed of large theropods. Instead they posed that the imbalance
caused by increasing velocity would be the limiting factor. Calculating the time it
would take for a leg to gain balance after the retraction of the opposite leg, they
found the upper kinematic limit of the running speed to be 14 metres per second (50
km/h; 31 mph). They also found comparison between the running capability of
Giganotosaurus and birds like the ostrich based on the strength of their leg-bones
to be of limited value, since theropods, unlike birds, had heavy tails to
counterbalance their weight.[35]
Feeding
Casts of Giganotosaurus and the contemporary sauropod Limaysaurus, Hungarian
Natural History Museum

In 2002, Coria and Currie found that various features of the rear part of the skull
(such as the frontwards slope of the occiput and low and wide occipital condyle)
indicate that Giganotosaurus would have had a good capability of moving the skull
sideways in relation to the front neck vertebrae. These features may also have been
related to the increased mass and length of the jaw muscles; the jaw articulation
of Giganotosaurus and other carcharodontosaurids was moved hindwards to increase
the length of the jaw musculature, enabling faster closure of the jaws, whereas
tyrannosaurs increased the mass of the lower jaw musculature, to increase the power
of their bite.[2]

In 2005 Therrien and colleagues estimated the relative bite force of theropods
(estimates in absolute values like newtons were impossible) and found that
Giganotosaurus and related taxa had adaptations for capturing and bringing down
prey by delivering powerful bites, whereas tyrannosaurs had adaptations for
resisting torsional stress and crushing bones. The bite force of Giganotosaurus was
weaker than that of Tyrannosaurus, and the force decreased hindwards along the
tooth row. The lower jaws were adapted for slicing bites, and it probably captured
and manipulated prey with the front part of the jaws. These authors suggested that
Giganotosaurus and other allosaurs may have been generalised predators that fed on
a wide spectrum of prey smaller than themselves, such as juvenile sauropods. The
ventral process (or "chin") of the lower jaw may have been an adaptation for
resisting tensile stress when the powerful bite was delivered with the front of the
jaws against the prey.[36]

The first known fossils of the closely related Mapusaurus were found in a bonebed
consisting of several individuals at different growth stages. In their 2006
description of the genus, Coria and Currie suggested that though this could be due
to a long term or coincidental accumulation of carcasses, the presence of different
growth stages of the same taxon indicated the aggregation was not coincidental.[10]
In a 2006 National Geographic article, Coria stated that the bonebed was probably
the result of a catastrophic event, and that the presence of mainly medium-sized
individuals, with very few young or old, is normal for animals that form packs.
Therefore, Coria said, large theropods may have hunted in groups, which would be
advantageous when hunting gigantic sauropods.[37]
Palaeoecology
Giganotosaurus was discovered in the Candeleros Formation, which was deposited
during the Early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 99.6
to 97 million years ago. This formation is the lowest unit in the Neuqun Group,
wherein it is part of the Ro Limay Subgroup. The formation is composed of coarse
and medium-grained sandstones deposited in a fluvial environment (associated with
rivers and streams), and in aeolian conditions (effected by wind). Paleosols
(buried soil), siltstones, and claystones are present, some of which represent
swamp conditions.[38]

Giganotosaurus was probably the apex predator in its ecosystem. It shared its
environment with herbivorous dinosaurs such as the titanosaurian sauropod
Andesaurus, and the rebbachisaurid sauropods Limaysaurus and Nopcsaspondylus. Other
theropods include the abelisaurid Ekrixinatosaurus, the dromaeosaurid Buitreraptor,
and the alvarezsaurid Alnashetri. Other reptiles include the crocodyliform
Araripesuchus, sphenodontians, snakes, and the turtle Prochelidella. Other
vertebrates include cladotherian mammals, a pipoid frog, and ceratodontiform
fishes. Footprints indicate the presence of large ornithopods and pterosaurs as
well.[38][30]
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External links
Wikispecies has information related to: Giganotosaurus

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Media related to Giganotosaurus at Wikimedia Commons

Canadian Museum of Nature: "Who was the ultimate dino? Giganotosaurus or T.
rex?" video presented by Jordan Mallon

[hide]

v t e

Allosauroidea

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Clade: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia

Suborder: Theropoda

Basal allosauroids

Erectopus

Allosaurus fragilis
Metriacanthosauridae

Xuanhanosaurus Yangchuanosaurus

Metriacanthosaurinae

Metriacanthosaurus Shidaisaurus Siamotyrannus Sinraptor

Allosauria
Allosauridae

Allosaurus Saurophaganax Epanterias Antrodemus

Neovenatoridae
 Chilantaisaurus Bahariasaurus Deltadromeus Gualicho Aoniraptor Neovenator

Megaraptora

Siats Fukuiraptor Australovenator Megaraptor Murusraptor Aerosteon Orkoraptor

Carcharodontosauria

Basal carcharodontosaurs

Datanglong

Carcharodontosauridae

Acrocanthosaurus Altispinax Concavenator Eocarcharia Kelmayisaurus Sauroniops

Shaochilong Taurovenator Veterupristisaurus

Carcharodontosaurinae

Carcharodontosaurus

Giganotosaurini

Giganotosaurus Mapusaurus Tyrannotitan

Taxon identifiers

EoL: 4433606 GBIF: 4822969 Fossilworks: 54540

Authority control

LCCN: sh96007848

Categories:

CarcharodontosauridsLate Cretaceous dinosaurs of South AmericaFossil taxa

described in 1995Taxa named by Rodolfo CoriaCandeleros FormationPaleontology in
Argentina

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