Introduction
Dinosaurs have families of the same species like any other specie known. Research by various paleontologists assumed this. The debate of the largest theropod went on for a number of years. Whenever you hear the word ‘Dinosaur’, a few words like ‘giant’, ‘predator’, ‘carnivore’ or even ‘monster’ may come to...
Introduction
Dinosaurs have families of the same species like any other specie known. Research by various paleontologists assumed this. The debate of the largest theropod went on for a number of years. Whenever you hear the word ‘Dinosaur’, a few words like ‘giant’, ‘predator’, ‘carnivore’ or even ‘monster’ may come to mind. So the decision on the largest theropod may have been a difficult one but it was narrowed down to four Dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous or Cenomanian ages. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Spinosaurus, The Carcharodontosaurus and The Giganotosaurus. There is one way to know which theropod was the largest, by putting fossil pieces together and comparing them to each other. Due to various discoveries, palaeontologists have decided on which theropod was the largest.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a large dinosaur discovered by Barnum Brown a fossil collector and it was described by Henry Fairfield Osborn a paleontologist. It was strong and had a jaw force higher than many predators known. The Tyrannosaurus Rex had two little hands but much could not have been done with them. As the dinosaur grew older the hands became useless. The Tyrannosaurus grew about thirteen metres long. It ate other dinosaurs even ones like itself. Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner. Based on the size of the dinosaur, running would be termed dangerous to the Tyrannosaurus. (Farlow et al, 1995). The tyrannosaurus walked on its toes like many dinosaurs. They were said to have very large teeth and this proves that the Tyrannosaurus was a predator. He could bite into anything in the jungle. The Tyrannosaurus hunted for its food and it ate living and dead meat like most predators. They didn’t have much choice since they were in an environment where they themselves could be eaten by other Tyrannosauruses. Hunting would be a fight so sometimes dead meat would be an easier ‘catch’. The Tyrannosaurus was huge but was it the largest theropod that ever walked the face of the earth?
The Spinosaurus
The Spinosaurus is said to be an aquatic dinosaur and its diet was aquatic animals. It was discovered by Ernst Freiherr Stromer. As opposed to many dinosaurs, this theropod walked on its flats. Not on its toes like the previously discussed Tyrannosaurus. It had some similarities to the Tyrannosaurus though, size and they also walked in the upper Cretaceous or Cenomanian ages. This theropod had a sail like back unlike any of the four theropods that are being discussed. Stromer, a palaeontologist stated that the sail of the Spinosaurus wasn’t very steep. (Smith et al, 2008). Like many other teropods, the Spinosaurus had nostrils with a lot of flesh. The Spinosaurus started to extinct at the end of the Cenomanian ages. The fossil was an incomplete one so paleontologist made lucky guesses of the theropod from the fossil pieces they managed to accumulate. Based on this information, the Spinosaurus is still not the largest theropod since it was stated that the size of the Spinosaurus is similar to the size of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The Carcharodontosaurus
The Carcharodontosaurus is another theropod from the Upper Cretaceous or Cenomanian age. It was the first of the Megalosaurus specie. The Carcharodontosaurus and the Giganotosaurus, (next dinosaur to be discussed), have close relation as they both came from Carcharodontosaurids. The Carcharodontosaurus and the Giganotosaurus shared similar dental margins. (Sereno, 2007). This fossil was not fully known. The skull was used for description and it was also used to compare the Carcharodontosaurus with other theropods. Using the skull, the Carcharodontosaurus was assumed to have the same size as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Spinosaurus. Like many Dinosaurs of the Upper Cretaceous or Cenomanian age, the Carcharodontosaurus became extinct at the end of this period.
Giganotosaurus
The Giganotosaurus is a theropod of the Upper Cretaceous or Cenomanian age. It shares close relation to the Carcharodontosaurus as mention before. It had a very larger brain than the Carcharodontosaurus. It was very big but the jaw force was not as high as the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Even though it was larger, the Tyrannosaurus Rex had more jaw power. The Giganotosaurus was also a carnivorous dinosaur. This fossil was fully known and it was said to be the largest theropod ever found. (Calvo et al, 1998).
Discussion
The Giganotosaurus prove to be the largest theropod ever found. The four theropods had many similarities and many differences. But they were all related and lived in the same Cenomanian age. They soon became extinct as age came to an end. They were all carnivores. They fed on dead meat, hunted smaller dinosaurs and ate their own kind. Even though the Giganotosaurus was the largest, that don’t take away from the fact of the other dinosaurs being very large also. Most dinosaurs walked on their toes but the Spinosaurus walked flat. This was the only one of the four that fed on aquatic animals. The Spinosaurus must have had an easy meal. Judging by his size he must have been the most dominant in the waters. They all had big jaws. One that could rip any man to shreds. People are afraid of lions and tigers in this age but if the dinosaurs weren’t extinct, lions and tigers would’ve been the least of our problems. But after the dinosaurs would’ve eaten everything, maybe the world would have been empty. I think it’s safe to say that dinosaurs are friendlier as a fossil than alive. The specie is an interesting one it makes you wonder of how many dinosaurs may have existed but didn’t get to become a fossil. That information may never make its way into the world.
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