The four deadliest theropods (EN)

A short summary of the four most dangerous large theropod dinosaurs between 200 and 66 million years ago*.

*This list is based on personal opinion, scientific facts and academic literature.

1. Tyrannosaurus rex (Osborn, 1905). The most famous dinosaur of all time. With a length of 12-13 meters and a maximum weight of 8-9 tons, the ‘tyrant lizard king’ appeared at the end of the Cretaceous (68-66 million years ago) in North-America. T. rex had one of the most powerful bites of all creatures that ever existed. Tyrannosaurus could bite with a force of almost 6 tons, easily enough to crush a car. Its teeth are round, serrated and big. Designed to crush bones. Tyrannosaurus had binocular vision. Its main opponents were herbivorous dinosaurs like Triceratops horridus. Many of the herbivorous dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous could defend themselves very well. Tyrannosaurus is truly the 'king' of all meat eating dinosaurs because of its size, weight, excellent vision and bite force. Tyrannosaurus belongs to the Coelurusauria, dinosaurs that have more in common with modern birds than with the meat eating Carnosauria branch of dinosaurs. One of the most interesting aspects of Tyrannosaurus are its tiny arms and the two claws on each ‘hand’.

2. Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (Depéret & Savornin, 1925). This African Carcharodontosaurid dinosaurus could reach maximum lengths of 13-14 meters. Carcharodontosaurus, the ‘shark toothed lizard’ roamed Africa, between 100 and 93 million years ago during the Cretaceous. This dinosaur could weight 6-8 tons. Together with Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus was the most terrifying dinosaur at that time in Africa. Its skull measures around 1.60 meters and is packed with serrated teeth that look a lot like steak knives. Carcharodontosaurus didn’t have the bite force of T. rex, but it could probably bite with force of 1.5-2 tons. Its bite force is still quite impressive, but Carcharodontosaurus didn’t need a monstrous bite force. Its teeth and its jaws are quite similar to scissors. Its gaping jaws could deliver massive blood loss and tissue damage. According to most scientists, Carcharodontosaurus attacked its prey and perhaps waited until its prey was too weak to survive a second attack. Blood loss and shock could cause death. Compared with T. rex, Carcharodontosaurus didn’t have a very good vision. Its brain is also smaller compared with the brain of Tyrannosaurus. Carcharodontosaurus did have three claws on each ‘hand’.

3. Giganotosaurus carolinii (Coria & Salgado, 1995). Together with Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus belongs to the Carnosauria branch of dinosaurs. These dinosaurs have less in common with birds then with Allosaurus. Giganotosaurus lived 97 million years ago in South-America (Argentina). It could reach a length of 13-14 meters and a weight of 6-8 tons. In length and weight, it is quite comparable to Carcharodontosaurus. Perhaps Giganotosaurus was a bit heavier or longer. Just like its 'Carnosauria' relative, the teeth of Giganotosaurus were long and serrated like steak knives. Its main attack strategy was biting and causing massive blood loss and shock. Perhaps Giganotosaurus hunted in packs, we don’t know that for sure at this moment. Compared with Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus did have a bigger brain. Its brain was also longer then its earlier African relative. Compared with T. rex, Giganotosaurus could run a lot faster. Its speed is determined at around 50 kilometers per hour.

4. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus (Stromer, 1915). Spinosaurus is the biggest meat eating dinosaur ever found. It lived in Africa, around 112-97 million years ago (Cretaceous) and could weight 10 tons. Its length was between 15 and 18 meters (maximum). Spinosaurus hunted on large fish, up to eight meters long, in and around the coast of Africa (rivers). Spinosaurus is the star of ‘Jurassic Park III’, in which a battle is depicted between Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurus. Other then the mentioned dinosaurs, Spinosaurus did have deadly claws on both ‘hands’. These claws could reach a length of 30 centimeters and could slash through flesh. Its long skull with narrow jaws were suited to act like a crocodile: waiting at the edge of a river to catch a large fish. Today its clear that Spinosaurus could swim and possibly walked on both legs (including claws) and arms. Other scientists deny this and think Spinosaurus only walked on its legs. Its possible that Spinosaurus fought with Carcharodontosaurus since they lived around the same time in Africa. Its impossible to say which dinosaur was stronger, but overall, Carcharodontosaurus did have a very deadly bite. Its quite possible that Spinosaurus could kill Carcharodontosaurus if it used its jaws and claws. Spinosaurus could also grow bigger.