Giganotosaurus: Cretaceous Terror Of

Argentina
Author: Ashley Strack
Giganotosaurus carolinii (commonly misspelled as “Gigantosaurus”) was a giant theropod dinosaur from
the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 100-97 million years ago. Located in what is
today South America, specifically Patagonia in Argentina, which has been the site of many large dinosaur
discoveries in the past 30 years or so. Although fragmentary, the image created from the fossil remains
reveals a powerful, streamlined predator with knife-like teeth, a body built for speed, and a size worthy of
a name meaning “Giant Southern Lizard”.

Rendering of Giganotosaurus carolinii with human for scale. Image Credit: Durbed (Creative Commons License)

Quick Facts
 Giganotosaurus was one of the first known theropods in the group that would later be named the
Carcharodontosaurs. It was the largest member of this group.
 At an estimated 40-43 feet (12-13m) in length, Giganotosaurus made waves upon its discovery as one of
the first carnivorous dinosaurs known that could have matched or even exceeded the size of Tyrannosaurus
rex.
 “Giganotosaurus carolinii” means “Carolini’s Giant Southern Lizard”, in reference to its large size and
its discoverer, Rubén D. Carolini, an amateur fossil collector.
 After its discovery, many more complete Carcharodontosaurids were discovered, all of which reach
similar large sizes like Giganotosaurus.
 Giganotosaurus itself is known only from the remains of two individuals, a fragmentary skeleton
representing one, and a lone dentary bone from the lower jaw representing the other. Much of what we
know about Giganotosaurus is inferred from related species like Mapusaurus.
 Giganotosaurus is only known from the Candeleros formation of Argentina in South America.
 Going by its jaws, Giganotosaurus likely had a weaker bite than a Tyrannosaur, but its teeth were flatter
and more built for cutting. This, coupled with its reinforced chin, suggest an active predator that carved
huge chunks of soft tissue from its prey.
 Based on the related Mapusaurus, it is entirely possible that Giganotosaurus may have worked with
other members of its species to take down larger prey animals, like the titanosaurs it lived alongside.
 Until the discovery of more complete Spinosaurus remains in the early 2000’s, Giganotosaurus was
considered the largest theropod dinosaur in the southern hemisphere, and possibly the world.
Discovery
Giganotosaurus was initially spotted in 1993 by amateur fossil collector Rubén D. Carolini from a tibia
jutting out of the stone in the Neuquén province of Patagonia in Argentina. From this discovery,
researchers from the National University of Comahue were notified, and with the funding of science writer
Dom Lessem, the full fossil was able to be unearthed.

This original specimen comprised 70% of the skeleton, although the fossil itself was disarticulated and
scattered over a wide area. The skull alone was very fragmented and spread over an area of about 110
square feet. Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado, the lead paleontologists who uncovered the remains,
dubbed the specimen “Giganotosaurus carolinii”, meaning “Carolini’s Giant Southern Lizard”, honoring
Carolini as the discoverer and the genus name denoting the massive size of the animal. At the time of its
discovery, Giganotosaurus was the largest known theropod from the southern hemisphere, and possibly in
the world.
 Candeleros Formation near Cerro El Vagon, Neuquen, Argentina.

In 1995, the discovery of the related dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus in north Africa revealed a similar body
size, and further studies of the family “Carcharodontosauridae” revealed a derived family of 11-13 meter
(35-43 foot) monster theropods, most rivaling (or in Giganotosaurus’s case, possibly exceeding)
Tyrannosaurus rex in size.
Giganotosaurus made waves after its unveiling to the public, with the original holotype specimen on
display in the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum in Villa El Chocón, Argentina, alongside a
replica mount of the restored specimen. The discovery of Giganotosaurus and its relatives helped
paleontologists broaden their understanding of Cretaceous large theropod evolution. Prior to that point,
there were no T.rex-sized theropods known from the southern hemisphere, and the northern hemisphere at
the time would have been contested between earlier, smaller tyrannosaurs and larger theropods, like the
neovenatorids.

Size
Giganotosaurus was, at the time of its discovery, the largest known theropod from the southern
hemisphere, and some estimates placed it as the largest theropod on Earth. Current size estimates based on
the measurements of the restored material place it at roughly 12-13m (40-43 ft) and about 7-8 tons. For
comparison, Tyrannosaurus rex was also about 12-13m (39-42 ft) and on average about 8 tons, but larger
specimens have been found that exceed 9 tons.

In the present, we now know that Spinosaurus is longer than both Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus, but
Giganotosaurus’ true size is still a matter of question. It is no doubt an enormous theropod, and length
estimates are consistently in the 12-13m (40-43 ft) range, however the fragmentary nature of the remains
and in particular the skull make more accurate measurements difficult. For example, the generally accepted
weight for the known adult specimen of Giganotosaurus is about 7.5 tons, with a slightly larger individual
known only from a dentary estimated at about 8 tons. However, historically, weight estimates for
Giganotosaurus using different methods have varied between 5 and 15 tons, possibly far exceeding T.rex if
the larger estimates are taken into account. However, these larger estimates are typically considered
exaggerated.

Replica Giganotosaurus skeleton at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Photo Credit: Jonathan Chen (Creative
Commons License)

It may have developed such a large size as an adaptation for hunting the enormous titanosaurid sauropods
that it lived alongside. Currently, only 2 individual specimens are known of Giganotosaurus, and one of
them is only known from a large portion of a single dentary bone. This makes averaging impossible, and is
a poor sample size for making any generalized statements about the species. Until more Giganotosaurus
remains are found, much about their growth and maximum size will remain a mystery

Paleobiology
As a large theropod, Giganotosaurus was the apex predator of its domain, hunting and eating any other
animals it could catch. Its large head, which was possibly longer than T.rex’s, was filled with sharp teeth
with fine serrations on both edges, and had a robust chin, possibly an adaptation for withstanding strong
impacts.

It had a bite weaker than a similarly sized tyrannosaur, however its teeth were more functional for slicing,
and it had a much wider range of sideways motion in its jaws, which may have aided it in cutting deep
wounds into its prey. Its bite was strongest at the front of the mouth, which would have aided in tearing. Its
legs were longer, and more adapted for running than an adult tyrannosaur’s, suggesting that
Giganotosaurus was more adapted to a pursuit style of predation. These adaptations in conjunction paint a
picture of an apex carnivore that would have fed on anything of sufficient size to sate its hunger. Some
have suggested that Giganotosaurus would have regularly hunted and eaten juvenile or even adult
titanosaurs.

No juvenile or subadult specimens are known from Giganotosaurus, so its growth rates are not known. If
we assume that Giganotosaurus had a similar lifespan to Tyrannosaurus, about 20-30 years at most, then
we can likely assume that it had a period of rapid growth at the juvenile stage of its life into adulthood.
This is, however, only an inference based on a theropod that is only distantly related to Giganotosaurus.

Interestingly for a large theropod, Giganotosaurus’ eyes were positioned more laterally on the skull than
other large theropods, which would have reduced its binocular vision compared to them, though not
eliminating it entirely. The enhanced peripheral vision would have given it a wide area of vision, but less
focus on depth, which was possibly an adaptation for the flat and wide geography of Cretaceous patagonia.

Hunting and Behavior

As stated previously, Giganotosaurus was the apex predator of its environment. It had doubly-serrated
teeth with jaws that were stronger towards the front than the back of the mouth, and a streamlined build
with long legs built for speed. The related dinosaur, Mapusaurus, which lived just after Giganotosaurus
and was roughly the same size, has been found in a large bonebed composed of multiple individuals of
varying life stages. It has been put forth that this deposition of remains is evidence of grouping behavior in
Mapusaurus, which may extend to Giganotosaurus.

Carcharodontosaurs are often found alongside sauropods, such as Limaysaurus in South America and
Paralititan in North Africa. The group of seven Mapusaurus found in the same region as Giganotosaurus
suggest that the animal may have grouped together to take down juvenile sauropods, which would have
been formidable prey items not easily subdued by a single predator. It is unknown whether this was true
pack hunting, in which animals live together in a semi-organized group, or whether this was mobbing, like
modern komodo dragons sometimes engage in, where animals will group together for a hunt, feed on the
prey together, then separate again.

Regardless of their sauropod-slaying capabilities, Giganotosaurus and its relatives would still have been
perilous predators regardless. They could have, and likely would have hunted any animals they could have
captured in their jaws. Studies on the related dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus show that the neck and jaws of
that dinosaur could have lifted just under 1000 pounds. Giganotosaurus, being slightly larger and more
robust, may have been able to lift even more.

Evolution and Taxonomy

Giganotosaurus was unique at the time of its discovery, and initially thought to be a large but primitive
theropod. Now, it is thought that the large Carcharodontosaurs like Giganotosaurus were derived from the
earlier allosauroids, due to similarities in the general build and skull. Within Carcharodontosauridae, the
smaller tribe Giganotosaurini was created to house Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, and Tyrannotitan as
being the most phylogenetically similar to one another.
Large sizes were a fairly common trait in theropod family trees in the Cretaceous period, but until the
discovery of Giganotosaurus, it was only Tyrannosaurus that was known to exceed the 40 foot mark. Since
then, our knowledge has been greatly expanded by the huge variety of late cretaceous theropods, mostly
Carcharodontosaurids. Many Carcharodontosaurs, like Giganotosaurus and its relatives,
Carcharodontosaurus and Mapusaurus, reached T.rex sizes, at least in terms of length. Large size was
likely an adaptation to the increase in size of prey animals like juvenile titanosaurs. Their jaws being more
adapted towards shearing and bleeding would also have helped this, as sauropod bones would have been
too large for a bone-crushing bite like a tyrannosaur’s to be effective.

Giganotosaurus Skull and Teeth

The skull of Giganotosaurus was larger than that of Tyrannosaurus, at 1.6m (5.2 feet) compared to T.rex’s
1.53m (5 ft). In spite of this, it had numerous openings for pneumatic foramen, or air sacs, which would
have reduced the weight of the head overall when the animal was alive.

Reproduction of a gigantosaurus skull. Image Credit: Kabacchi

The bite of Giganotosaurus was weaker than Tyrannosaurus’, but would have been perfectly capable of
slicing into soft tissue. It was weakest at the back of its jaw, and its reinforced “chin” would have aided in
resisting impact force towards the front, suggesting that the Giganotosaurus was no stranger to forward
assaults. The teeth of Giganotosaurus were like other Carcharodontosaurs, flat and strongly serrated on
both edges. The nature of their teeth is where Carcharodontosaurus and the Carcharodontosaur family got
its name, meaning “Shark-toothed reptiles”. These flat, cutting teeth coupled with the triangular shape of
Giganotosaurus’ bite would have made its jaws work like an efficient pair of scissors, shearing through
soft tissue right into important blood vessels and tendons.

Giganotosaurus: As Enigmatic As It Is Impressive

Giganotosaurus was a powerful apex predator, but because of the nature of its remains, little is known
about the animal that can be stated generally. Much of what we do know is based on related genera, such
as Mapusaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Until such time as more Giganotosaurus specimens can be
recovered, many questions surrounding this dinosaur’s life and behavior will remain unanswered.