Giganotosaurus

Say it: gig-an-OH-toe-SORE-us

Name means: “giant southern lizard”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Giganotosaurus was one of the biggest meat-eating dinosaurs that ever lived. It stomped through ancient South America about 100 million years ago, hunting other dinosaurs. Its name means 'giant southern lizard' because it was found in Argentina.1 2

Lived

113 to 106 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Argentina, in the Patagonia region near Lake Ezequiel1 2

Food

Meat1

Length

12 to 13 m1 2

estimates vary

Weight

7 tonnes to 8 tonnes2

Height

7 m2

at the hips

Artist's life restoration of Giganotosaurus — How Giganotosaurus may have looked, by ABelov2014. CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Giganotosaurus lived about 100 to 95 million years ago, long before the big dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago.1

Scientists have not found a complete skeleton of Giganotosaurus, so some parts of its body are still a mystery.1

Some scientists think Giganotosaurus may have hunted in packs to take down huge sauropods, but others disagree because few meat-eaters today attack prey bigger than themselves.1

Giganotosaurus was an apex predator, meaning it was at the very top of the food chain in its environment.1

Its fossils were first found in 1987 by a fossil hunter named Rubén Carolini, and the species was officially named Giganotosaurus carolinii in 1995.1 2

Myth buster

Myth: Many people think Giganotosaurus was bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex.

Truth: Giganotosaurus was longer (about 12 to 13 meters vs. 12 meters for T. rex) but lighter (about 7 to 8 tonnes vs. 8 to 14 tonnes for T. rex), so it was not necessarily bigger overall.1 2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Giganotosaurus
Named by: Coria and Salgado 19953
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Carcharodontosauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Allosauroidea > Carcharodontosauridae3
Age of the rocks: 113 to 106 million years (Albian)3
Rock formations: Candeleros, Huincul3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The first Giganotosaurus fossils were discovered in 1987 near Lake Ezequiel in Patagonia, Argentina. The species was officially named Giganotosaurus carolinii in 1995 by paleontologists Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado.1 2 3
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Giganotosaurus hunted alone or in packs, and what exactly it ate.1

Where the facts come from

Giganotosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Giganotosaurus (britannica.com)
Giganotosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.