Giganotosaurus
| Giganotosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Replica of Giganotosaurus at the Australian Museum in Sydney | |
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| Genus: | Giganotosaurus |
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Giganotosaurus (meaning 'giant southern lizard', derived from the Ancient Greek gigas/γίγας meaning 'giant', notos/νότος meaning 'south wind' and -saurus/-σαύρος meaning 'lizard')[1] is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived 98 to 96 million years ago during the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period.[2] It is one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, slightly larger than Tyrannosaurus, but smaller than Spinosaurus. Its fossils have been found in Argentina.
Discovery and species
Giganotosaurus carolinii was named for Ruben Carolini, an amateur fossil hunter who, in 1993, discovered the fossils in deposits of Patagonia (southern Argentina) in what is now considered the Candeleros Formation.[2] It was published by Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado in the journal Nature in 1995.[3]
The holotype specimen's (MUCPv-Ch1) skeleton was about 70% complete and included the skull, pelvis, leg bones and most of the backbone. It is estimated around 12.2-12.5 m (40-41 ft) in length.[4][5] A second, more fragmentary, specimen (MUCPv-95) has also been recovered. It is only known from a portion of the left dentary which is 8% larger than the equivalent bone from the holotype. This largest Giganotosaurus specimen is estimated to represent an individual 13.2 m (43.3 ft) long, that weighed 6.2 tons.[6] Giganotosaurus might have had the longest known skull for a theropod dinosaur, with the holotype's skull estimated at 1.80 m (6 ft) and the second specimen's estimated at 1.95 m (6.3 ft).[7] Giganotosaurus surpasses Tyrannosaurus rex in length by less than half a meter (the upper length estimate for T. rex is 13 m).[8]
Paleobiology
G. carolinii was slightly larger than T. rex, but had a brain only about half as big as those of tyrannosaurids.[9] The teeth of Tyrannosaurus were longer and wider, but more variable in size. The teeth of Giganotosaurus were shorter, less variable and narrower than those of Tyrannosaurus, and were more adapted for slicing flesh.[10] A well-developed olfactory region means that it probably had a good sense of smell. Its skull, although large, had a slender build.
Titanosaur fossils have been recovered near the remains of Giganotosaurus, leading to speculation that these carnivores may have preyed on the giant herbivores. Fossils of related carcharodontosaurids grouped closely together may indicate pack hunting, a behavior that could possibly extend to Giganotosaurus itself.
Blanco and Mazzetta (2001) estimated that Giganotosaurus might have been capable of running at speeds up to 14 metres per second (31 mph).[11]
Classification
Giganotosaurus, along with relatives like Tyrannotitan, Mapusaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, are members of the carnosaur family Carcharodontosauridae. Both Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus have been placed in their own subfamily Giganotosaurinae by Coria and Currie in 2006 as more carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs are found and described, allowing interrelationships to be calculated.[4]
In popular culture
The original fossils of Giganotosaurus remain at the Carmen Funes Museum in Neuquen, Argentina, but replicas are common in other places, including the Australian Museum in Sydney. Despite having been discovered relatively recently, Giganotosaurus is already gaining a name for itself in popular culture. Giganotosaurus was featured in Dino Crisis 2, but was extremely exaggerated in size; the game's giganotosaur was said to be over 7 metres tall and 20 meters long, when the actual creature was about 5.5 metres tall and 14 meters long. It was capable of throwing an adult Tyrannosaurus. Giganotosaurus appears in the Chased by Dinosaurs special Land of Giants. They are seen to hunt both independently and in packs, working together to bring down an Argentinosaurus. Giganotosaurus is also featured in the IMAX movie Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia where Dr. Rodolfo Coria shows the sites of major discoveries in Argentina. It also has a robotic animal kit, from the popular Zoids series, released after the species known as Gojulas Giga. Giganotosaurs appear in the Dinotopia story The World Beneath as unexpected protagonists in the Rainy Basin. Giganotosaurus also appeared in the third season of Primeval, where it was portrayed as being capable of running huge distances at high speeds despite its massive size and weight. It attacks a jumbo jet and kills wildlife expert Nigel Marvin.
References
- ^ Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-910207-4.
- ^ a b Coria, R.A. and Currie, P.J. (2002). "Braincase of Giganotosaurus carolinii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22(4): 802-811.
- ^ Coria RA & Salgado L (1995). A new giant carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Patagonia. Nature 377: 225-226
- ^ a b Coria RA & Currie PJ. 2006: A new carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. Geodiversitas: Vol. 28, #1, pp. 71-118
- ^ Seebacher, F. 2001. A new method to calculate allometric length-mass relationships of dinosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(1): 51–60.
- ^ Mortimer, M. (2004), "Carnosauria", The Theropod Database, viewed August 14, 2008.
- ^ Calvo, J.O., and Coria, R.A. (1998) "New specimen of Giganotosaurus carolinii (Coria & Salgado, 1995), supports it as the as the largest theropod ever found." Gaia, 15: 117–122.
- ^ Brochu, C.R. 2003. Osteology of Tyrannosaurus rex: insights from a nearly complete skeleton and high-resolution computed tomographic analysis of the skull. Memoirs of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7: 1-138.
- ^ Hecht, Jeff (1998). "Contenders for the crown". Earth. 7 (1): 16–17.
- ^ Giganotosaurus By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence
- ^ Blanco, R. Ernesto; Mazzetta, Gerardo V. (2001). "A new approach to evaluate the cursorial ability of the giant theropod Giganotosaurus carolinii". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 46 (2): 193–202.
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External links
- Giganotosaurus at DinoData.
- "What were the longest/heaviest predatory dinosaurs?" Mike Taylor. The Dinosaur FAQ. August 27, 2002.
