scitsofreaky Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 The Biggest Carnivore: Dinosaur History Rewritten By Robin Lloyd Special to LiveScience posted: 01 March 2006 08:49 am ET The Age of Dinosaurs ended millions of years ago but paleontologists are still attempting to get a handle on the immense diversity and diverse immensity of these creatures. Take the report last month that Spinosaurus is now officially the biggest carnivorous dinosaur known to science. This two-legged beast actually strode onto the fossil scene in 1915 when a specimen was described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer. He figured this theropod (defined as a two-legged carnivore) was bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex, but the original Spinosaurus bones were destroyed by Allied bombs in 1944. So the T. rex reigned as the king size, carnivorous land beast for decades. Then along came Giganotosaurus 11 years ago. Now Cristiano Dal Sasso of the Civil Natural History Museum in Milan says Giganotosaurus has been dethroned based on estimates from a new Spinosaurus skull. So just how do all these carnivores match up? Tyrannosaurus rex Length: 40-50 feet Weight: 6 tons Fear factor: teeth up to 13 inches long Lived: 65 million years ago Where: North America Giganotosaurus Length: 47 feet Weight: 8 tons Fear factor: 8-inch-long serrated teeth Lived: 95 million years ago Where: Argentina Spinosaurus Length: 55 feet Weight: 8 tons Fear factor: long, crocodile-like jaws Lived: 100 million years ago Where: Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria Illustrations by Joe Tucciarone. See More of his Dinosaur Art. For the ultimate in dinosaur length though, a vegetarian diet prevailed. Herbivorous sauropods dwarfed carnivorous theropod dinosaurs, and most scientists think Argentinasaurus was the longest of all dinosaurs. Argentinasaurus Length: 120 feet Weight: 100 tons Fear factor: get out of my way Lived: 65 million years ago Where: South America (not to scale) Paleontologists have only fossils to compare dinosaur sizes, and those fossils are often damaged or incomplete. The same bone from numerous specimens is often lacking, so scientists often must estimate the total size of an animal from a partial skeleton, as with the new Spinosaurus skull fragments. Greg Erickson of Florida State University says mass, not length, is the best standard for comparing dinosaur size because it gets around the problem of differently shaped animals. Mass is best estimated, he said, by measuring the circumference of the thighbone, which bears much of the animal's weight. The new Spinosaurus size estimate is "compelling," Erickson told LiveScience. "Spinosaurus was probably considerably longer, and hence perhaps heavier, than T. rex and other large theropods." http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060...carnivores.html I thought Jurassic Park 3 had already settled this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnosis of Disbelief Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Interesting stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Gods Fail Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Holy crap - that Spinosaurus was a shitload of dinosaur! He must've whupped him some T Rex ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Norton II Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Holy crap - that Spinosaurus was a shitload of dinosaur! He must've whupped him some T Rex ass. I doubt it- that sail looks kinda fragile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 More of Satan's handiwork! Hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scitsofreaky Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 Holy crap - that Spinosaurus was a shitload of dinosaur! He must've whupped him some T Rex ass. I doubt it- that sail looks kinda fragile. True. But it does have huge jaws. I wonder what its place is in the evolutionary tree because of that sail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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