Giganotosaurus

Discovered by : Ruben Carolini

Discovered in year : 1993

Giganotosaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 97 million years ago during the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It is one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, slightly larger than Tyrannosaurus, but smaller than Spinosaurus. Its fossils have been found in Argentina. The name Giganotosaurus means 'Giant Southern Lizard'. Giganotosaurus Carolinii named after it's Discoverer was slightly larger than Tyrannosaurus rex, but had a brain only about half as big as those of tyrannosaurids. The teeth of Tyrannosaurus were longer and wider, and more variable in size. The teeth of Giganotosaurus were shorter, less variable and narrower than those of Tyrannosaurus, and were more adapted for slicing flesh

History

Ruben Carolini, an amateur fossil  hunter, discovered the fossils Giganotosaurus in 1993. He found the fossils in deposits of Patagonia (southern Argentina) what is now considered the Candeleros Formation. Rodolfo Coria, a palaeontologist from the Carmen Funes Museum in Neuquen, Argentina, excavated the Giganotosaurus from the Patagonia region of Argentina. In honour of the discoverer, Ruben Carolini, the huge dinosaur has been named Giganotosaurus carolinii. It was named by Coria and Salgado in 1995. It was also published by Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado in the journal Nature in 1995.

Development in the discovery of Giganotosaurus

The holotype specimen's (MUCPv-Ch1) skeleton was about 70% complete and included the skull, pelvis, leg bones and most of the backbone. Various estimates find that it measured somewhere between 12.2 and 13 m (40 and 43 ft) in length, and between 6.5 and 13.3 tons in weight. A second, more fragmentary, specimen (MUCPv-95) has also been recovered. It is only known from a portion of the left dentary which is 8% larger than the equivalent bone from the holotype. This largest Giganotosaurus specimen is estimated to represent an individual with a skull length of 195 cm (6.4 ft), compared to the holotype's estimated at 1.80 m (5.9 ft) skull, making it likely that Giganotosaurus had the largest skull of any known theropod. Giganotosaurus surpassed Tyrannosaurus in mass by at least half a ton (the upper size estimate for T. rex is 9.1 t).

Role of the discovery of Giganotosaurus in the improvement of Human Life

• It established the fact that there was even a bigger carnivore dinosaur than the Tyrannosaurus rex existed, which was until the discovery was the record holder for the largest carnivore dinosaur.

• The discovery also helped scientists in studying the eating habits and the anatomy of the dinosaur and it's prey.

• Other aspects like it's running speed, method of killing, the environment it lived in and other information came forth in the scientific community.