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Top 10 Largest Theropods - Update

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Gigadino

MemberCompsognathusNov-08-2014 7:14 PM

I'm back, and since there have been a lot of new things during last months, I think it's time to update my top 10 largest Theropods list. You may find some big surprises:

#1. Tyrannosaurus rex

Everybody's favourite meat eater. Called "the absolute wardlord of the Earth" by New York Times in 1905, it's the most famous dinosaur in this list. This guy is pretty big: the largest specimen in called FMHN PR2081, or "Sue", and it's the largest good Theropod specimen: it was around to 3.5 meters tall, with a lenght of 12.3 m. This guy wasn't the longest meat-eaters but, due to its massive built, it was likely among the heaviest. Estimates for "Sue" range from as little as 5.6 t to over 9.5 t. Hartman recently proposed a lower estimate, wich puts this animal at over 8 t. It can beat any other Theropods in my list in terms of weight and since this ranking is about the largest (=heaviest), it earned the first place.

#2, #3, #4: Mapusaurus rosae, Giganotosaurus carolinii, Carcharodontosaurus saharicus

The three largest Carcharodontosaurids are very similar in size, so they share a common place.

 

Mapusaurus is often thought to be just 10-11 m long. Actually, that's just a myth. Coria & Curria, Mapusaurus's describers, mentioned some specimens comparable in size with Giganotosaurus carolinii's holotype. There is also a specimen wich is 110 % the size of Giganotosaurus carolinii's holotype. That's just a piubic shaft, so we cannot give a precise estimate for this animal. If it was really 110 % the size of G.carolinii's holotype, it was 13.6 m long, but as this is a fragmentary specimen, we don't know if it really was that large. A wiser 12-13 m range is better for large Mapusaurus specimens. A weight range similar to that of Giganotosaurus is also feasible.

 

One of the well know guys is Giganotosaurus carolinii. This south american Carcharodontosaurid was discovered back in 1993, and it was one of the largest Theropods. The first specimen is a uncomplete skeleton (around to 50-70 % complete), wich is longer than "Sue" (at 12.2-12.4 m), but lighter (at 6-7 t). A second specimen has been discovered. It's a piece of dental, and it's estimated to be 6.5 % larger than the first specimen. If it was really that big, it was 13.2 m long, but again this specimen is very fragmentary, and precise estimates aren't safe. A 12-13 m range for this specimen is pretty good. Weight estimates ranges from 5 to 14 t, but something like 7-8 t is supported by most of the paleontologist.

Carcharodontosaurus saharicus is the most fragmentary of the three. It's been discovered back in 1927, but only recently we realized how big it really was. Its size strongly depends on its proportions: if it was small-headed, like Acrocanthosaurus, well, the largest speimen, SMG-din 1, would have been a huge behemot, at almost 14 meters long. However, a such build is pretty unlikely, as Acrocanthosaurus is a less derivated Carcharodontosaurid. The much closer Giganotosaurus is a big-headed Theropod, so a big-headed build is likely for Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, too. If it was big headed, it would end up between 12 and 13 meters. Again, 12-13 m is the best range for a such fragmentary beast. A weight similar to that of other giant Carcharodontosaurids is likely.

#5: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Once regarded as the biggest Theropod, something changed during last months. In fact, Ibrahim et. al proposed a new recostruction based on new materials. This time, the animal was much closer to the ground than before, and it had a much less deep chest, thus the animal would be lighter. There is no official estimate for the new recostruction, but Andrea Cau mentioned a 6-7 t figure, wich would fit perfectly for a such gracile animal. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus still holds the record as longest Theropod though, at 12-15 meters long.

#6: Tyrannotitan chubuitensis

This guy may not be that well know among the public, but it would definitely deserve to: it's got an epic name, rivalling Tyrannosaurus rex itself. Joking aside, Cau called it "the Cinderella of Giant Theropods", because it's often forgotten, when it's the largest Theropod know from good specimens along with T.rex. Its lenght was estimated at 12.2 m, and that's the only estimate I found. There's even a 13 meters one by GSP, but seems to be based on a 13 m Giganotosaurs holotype, wich is doubtfull. The largest specimen is around as big as Giganotosaurus holotype - so, between 6 and 7 t - making it one of the largest Theropod.

#7: Deinocheirus mirificus

This guy is a new entry. Once an unsolved puzzle, today the most depicted dinosaur on Deviant Art. Only recently we realized how much strange (and big) it was; we've new materials, wich includes two new very good preserved skeletons. This animal was in the 6-6.5 t range, according to new estimates based on new specimens, so it was almost as big as Spinosaurus. Its lenght is measured at 11 m long, thus it was pretty long as well. It may hold the record as the tallest Theropod, at over 4 meters tall.

#8: Acrocanthosaurus atokensis

This guy is easily recognizable due to its muscolar ridge on its back. Even though it isn't always mentioned, it's earned its place here, as it's one of the largest Theropod, as well as apex predator of its ecosystem. The largest specimen is called "Fran", and it's indeed pretty big; it's measured to reach 11,5 meters long over the curves. Weight estimates rage between 5 and 6 t, even though Mazzetta proposed a higher weight of 7 t. Cau said that this Theropod was much more gracile than Tyrannosaurus rex, so a 5-6 t range can be good.

#9: Therizinosaurus cheloniformis

This guy isn't mentioned everywhere, but it should. It's the most massively built Theropod, even more than Tyrannosaurus rex, thus it was among the heaviest. This guy is the only herbivore in my ranking, but it was a Theropod, so I included it. I've found a lot of estimates for this animal, but a 10 meters estiamte for lenght appears to be good. This animal could have weighted around to 5 t. It may have been the tallest Theropod, only rivalled by Deinocheirus.

#10: Suchomimus tenerensis

You weren't expecting to find it here, were you? Actually, even though it's often forgotten, it definitely deserves to be there. Suchomimus's type specimen is a sub adult, yet it's very big: it was originally estimated at 11 meters, but GSP later gave a 9.5 m estimate. However, hartman recently made a skeletal of this specimen, wich is 12 meters long. And it even wasn't an adult. Weight estimates rage from 4 to over 5 tonnes, thus a 4-5 t range can be good.

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Lord of the Spinosaurs
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Spinosaurus was probably the biggest, not T. Rex. The new skeleton shows that its bones were not hollow and had almost no air spaces. A Spinosaurus rib would weigh about twice as much as that of a normal theropod like T. Rex. So the new skeleton suggests an animal BIGGER than T. Rex, not smaller.

 

There is no such thing as a pure predator. A meat-eater is eit

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Gigadino
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Sorry, but Spinosaurus appears to be more gracile than T.rex in almost everything:

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//theropoda.blogspot.it/2013/11/la-massa-di-spinosaurus-stimata-dalla.html&hl=en&langpair=it|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8

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Lord of the Spinosaurs
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That "article" was made before the new skeleton was announced, meaning they did not know that the bones of Spinosaurus were not hollow unlike the bones of T. Rexand other theropods who have very hollow bones. Also look at this, thanks to Gojira for putting out the link:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/spinosaurus/beast-graphic

 

 

There is no such thing as a pure predator. A meat-eater is eit

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Gigadino
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Andrea Cau stated that Spinosaurus' chest wasn't very deep, thus the animak would be lighter than previously thought:

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//theropoda.blogspot.it/2014/09/spinosaurus-revolution-final-episode.html&hl=en&langpair=it|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8

 

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Lord of the Spinosaurs
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On the positive note I am glad you put Suchomimus and Deinocheirus on the list, those guys were pretty large but they are often ignored by people making a largest theropods list. Aside from Spinosaurus and T. Rex, I think this list is pretty accurate.

 

There is no such thing as a pure predator. A meat-eater is eit

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Gigadino
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I'm completely agree.

 

And thank you ;)

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Lord of the Spinosaurs
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Your welcome;) Anyways I still personally think Spinosaurus was bigger because of its denser bones, although you do have some points. Though both both Spinosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were amazing and unique predators, and that is more scientifically important than how big they were compared to each other.

 

There is no such thing as a pure predator. A meat-eater is eit

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Something Real
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GIGADINO - This was a very neat series of data you've presented! I greatly enjoyed the information you applied to each choice! Excellent work! Thank you ever so much for sharing this with us! :)

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Gigadino
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Thank you very much :)

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UCMP 118742
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Graet list and I almost fully agree. I think that Tarbosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus and Oxalaia should also be in it.

Keep in mind that many people have died for their beliefs; it's actually quite common. The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe in. -Brom-

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Gigadino
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Both Zhuchengtyrannus and Tarbosaurus are around the same size as Suchomimus, but they're shorter, so I decieded to put Suchomimus ahead. I guess Tarbosaurus and Zhechengtyrannus are both #12 in this list.

 

I don't frankly understand why Oxalaia is considered so big. Sure, it was a big animal, but smaller than the clamed 12-14 m and 5-7 t. Oxalaia has likely got a 135 cm long skull, wich is even shorter than Suchomimus' 143 cm long skull (consider that this particular Suchomimus wasn't even an adult). As ths Suchomimus specimen is in the 11-12 m range (according to Scott Hartman), I think that everything between 11 and 12 m is reasonable for Oxalaia. It would be #11 in this list.

 

And thank you very much, of course ;)

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Sci-Fi King25
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Nice list! I completely agree.

“Banana oil.”- George Takei, Gigantis: The Fire Monster

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Gigadino
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Thank you very much ;) Compiling this list took a lot of research.

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DinoSteve93
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Awesome, well done. I agree with this in big lines :)

 

Proud founder of the site Theropods Wiki! www.theropods.wikia.com

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Gigadino
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Thank you very much DinoSteve93 :)

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Carnosaur
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tyrannosaurus #1? where'd you pull the 9.5 ton figure from? carch, giga, mapu ahead of spino? evidence, please. the biggest mapusaurus was an individual ~15% larger then the giga holotype at 13.5 meters. it's more robustly built then Carchy...i estimate it to be 8 - 8.5 tons. “sue sized” in otherwords.

Nature doesn't deceive us; it is we who deceive ourselves.

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Gigadino
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9, 5. t estimate comes from Hutchinson et. al (2011), largest Mapu was 110 % the size of MUPCv-ch1, wich would put it at 13.6 m, but it's just a pubic shaft, so we cannot be sure. Take Sue and T.rex's holotype: the latter pubic shaft is larger by 5 %, but Sue is larger. There is nothing that can suggest us that Mapu is bulkier, if anything the bulkier one is Carch.  Bear in mind that Mapu's fibula is 83-87 % the width of Giganotosaurus' holotype, so it was likely skinnier than Gig, wich is bulkier Carch (Giga's torso is very deep, and its neural spines were high, so it likely supported an especially bulky body.

 

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Tyrant king
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I love this list except for the fact that rex is first. It should be spino who is actually 15 meters and 11 tons which is bigger then the rex estimate plus 9.5 is not an average weight for rex. Please tell me why you think that.

@ carnosaur, pubic shaft? What is that?

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Gigadino
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Spinosaurus appears to have a not deep chest, according to new remains, so the animal would haven't been as heavy as previously thought.

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Tyrant king
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But, it is semi aquatic which means the water will support more weight. And it may not have a deep chest,  but a wide chest and as I said about it being semi aquatic, it would have much denser bones which only add to the weight.

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