Giganotosaurus vs Tyrannosaurus – Difference and Comparison
The Giganotosaurus was one of the largest land animals that ever lived. At around 30 feet long and weighing up to 15 tons, it was quite large compared to its contemporaries. Its name translates into “giant lizard,” and scientists believe it might actually have been related to the modern day Komodo dragon.
The T-Rex, meanwhile, was one of the biggest meat eaters that ever walked the earth. With its size reaching up to 29 feet long and weighing over 11 tons, the T-Rex could easily kill a human being with a single bite. But despite its intimidating appearance, it wasn’t nearly as deadly as people think. In fact, many paleontologists believe it was far less aggressive than some other prehistoric beasts such as the velociraptors.
If you want to know who would win in a fight between these two monsters, we’ve got the stats for you.
Physical Characteristics
The Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex are both large theropod dinosaurs, meaning that they walk on two feet like modern day humans. They are part of the group called sauropods, which includes some very big animals such as Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, and Apatosaurus. These giants have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and they lived during the Jurassic period.
Gigantism in the dinosaur world had nothing to do with size. Some species grew much larger than others, but most were about 10 meters long. A few even reached lengths of 30 meters. In fact, there were many giant dinosaurs, including some that weighed over 80 tons. Most of them lived in what we call the Mesozoic era, which lasted from 251 million to 66 million years ago.
There were several reasons why these animals got so big. One reason was that they ate lots of food. Another reason was that they needed to eat a lot of food because they were slow moving. There were no cars or trucks to carry food to them. Instead, they relied on being able to run fast enough to catch prey. This meant that they had to eat a lot of meat.
One thing about theropods that you might not know is that they didn’t always look like the pictures you see today. For example, the head of one type looked something like a rhino. Others looked like a lizard. Still others looked like a crocodile.
Size
The dinosaur known as the Gigantosaurus rex was discovered in Argentina in 2000 and lived during the Late Jurassic period. This dinosaur was named after the city where it was found, San Juan del Monte. Its name translates into “giant lizard.”
Gigantosaurus rex was one of the largest land animals ever to walk the Earth. At least 40 feet long and weighing up to 10 tons, it stood taller than a school bus and could reach speeds of 30 miles per hour. It had a large head with small eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It walked on four legs and used its forelimbs to support itself while walking. It also had a tail about three times longer than its body length.
Head
The Giganotosaurus had an enormous head compared to its body size. This dinosaur was discovered in Argentina and lived about 66 million years ago. Its name means “gigantic lizard.”
Its skull was longer than the average human being’s, according to paleontologist Luis Chiappe, who led the team that found it. The back of the skull was steeply inclined, meaning that the neck muscles attached there. The neck muscles are important because they help support the head while the animal moves around.
The T. rex had a huge skull, too. But unlike the Giganotosaurus, the T. rex’s skull was much thicker. In fact, its skull was twice as thick as the average person’s. The reason for this difference is unknown.
Limbs
The dinosaur family tree is full of oddities. There are some dinosaurs that look like they belong together — such as the long-necked sauropods and the short-tailed ornithischians — but there are others that don’t seem to fit. For example, the duckbills, which looked like ducks, walked around on four limbs, while the bipeds walked around on two. And the dromaeosaurs, which looked like flying dragons, had wings that weren’t attached to their bodies.
But now we know why. A team of researchers led by paleontologist John Hutchinson of the University of Cambridge found evidence that suggests that many of these strange creatures actually belonged to one another. They published their findings today in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Teeth
The largest dinosaur ever discovered lived about 65 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. Named Giganotosaurus carolinii, it weighed around 10 tons and measured 40 feet long. Its name translates to “gigantic lizard,” and it was one of the most massive land animals known to science.
Giganotosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants like grasses and ferns. Its size allowed it to eat large quantities of food without having to move much. But it was still vulnerable because it had no armor plating or spikes. Instead, it relied on its powerful jaws to protect itself.
Its mouth contained 36 rows of razor-sharp teeth, each tooth measuring up to three inches long. Its teeth were serrated, meaning there were tiny grooves along the edge. This helped reduce wear and tear on the jaw muscles, allowing the animal to chew continuously for hours.
Mobility
The dinosaur called Giganotosaurus weighed around 10 tons and stood about 7 feet tall. Its name means “giant lizard.” Fossils suggest that this creature lived during the late Jurassic period, some 150 million years ago.
This huge dinosaur was one of the largest land animals ever discovered. A study published earlier this month suggests that Giganotosaurus was able to walk on both its hind legs and tail. This allowed the animal to navigate much better than many other dinosaurs.
Gigantosaurus Rex
Rexes are known for having big heads, long tails and strong teeth. These features help them hunt down smaller creatures like birds and lizards.
A fossilized skeleton found in Argentina suggests that the Giganotosaurus’ head was roughly six times larger than that of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Its body was covered in bony plates. Scientists believe that these plates may have been used to protect against predators.
