The Cretaceous Intellectuals by Manas Singh Bhati

The Cretaceous Intellectuals

Introduction

There were many carnivorous dinosaurs that were lurking in the cretaceous forests 100 million years ago. All of them were intelligent and interesting, especially the big carnivores. Very little is known about these giant creatures, especially their intellect! This article would be talking about the largest and the most interesting meat-eating Dinos of all!

Mapusaurus

Mapusaurus (earth lizard) was a newly discovered Dino. It had a carnivore bigger than it in its habitat!

Description

The characteristics of a Mapusaurus include:

Length	41 feet long
Mass	3-4 metric tons

 

That is as much as eight sixth-graders in length and two Toyota Fortuners in mass! Surprisingly, paleontologists* say that Mapusaurus was lighter compared to the other big carnivorous dinosaurs!

*Paleontologist -> A person who studies fossils of prehistoric animals.

Timeline of Mapusaurus

Competition

Despite its big size, Mapusaurus was not the top predator of Argentina the Cretaceous period. It was something way bigger, the Giganotosaurus! Mapusaurus had a tough time even if they live in packs. If a pack of five Mapusaurus killed its prey, starts feasting and a lone Giganotosaurus saw them; it would crush two and send the other three Mapusaurus running away!

Tyrannosaurus Rex

The famous dinosaur is also one of the cretaceous intellectuals because it is big, not dumb and unique. That is why it is the “tyrant lizard king”! (Meaning of the name)

Description

The characteristics of the T-Rex include:

Length	43 feet
Mass	7-15 metric tons

 

It lived from 75-65 mya. It is the only dinosaur in this list that was able to witness the asteroid fall on Earth at 65 mya.

 

Where it lived

The tyrannosaurus rex lived in the present –day United States of America. The cretaceous period was filled with flowering plants that increased the population of herbivores. The T-Rex was also the top predator. The only carnivores that faced it were other T-Rexes!

‘Stan’

‘Stan’ was a female Tyrannosaurus Rex who was discovered by paleontologist Stan Sacrison in the Hell Creek Formation at 1987. The fossil was 68% complete and was a really great find. ‘Stan’ might have died while fighting with another T-Rex food.

‘Sue’

‘Sue was also a female Tyrannosaurus Rex. She was discovered by paleontologist Sue Hendrickson in the Hell Creek Formation at 1990. Her skeleton was 90% complete. She died because of her inflamed throat at the age of 29. That is almost the full life span of a T-Rex! She was the biggest T-Rex discovered (42.5 feet long).

Carcharodontosaurus

The Carcharodontosaurus (sharp-toothed lizard) was bigger than the T-Rex, it lived in Africa and it had another big carnivore in its habitat!

Description

The Carcharodontosaurus was longer and heavier than the T-Rex! Here is the length and mass of it:

Length	44-46 feet
Mass	6.2-15.1 metric tons

 

This dinosaur lived from 100-97 mya.

Discovery

The first fossils of Carcharodontosaurus were discovered at 1914 in North Africa. People thought that it was an African T-Rex so nobody paid attention to it. But, at 1925, paleontologists studied the fossil and found that it was different. So, they named it Carcharodontosaurus.

Competition

Even though Carcharodontosaurus was huge, there was a carnivore that is way bigger than it which lived in North Africa. It is the Spinosaurus!

If a lone Spinosaurus is basking in the sun and sees a Carcharodontosaurus killing an Oranosaurus, it joins the party by attacking the Carcharodontosaurus, then feasting on the Oranosaurus and the Carcharodontosaurus.

Giganotosaurus

The top predator of Argentina is also one of the cretaceous intellectuals and was also discovered very late.

 

Description

Here are a couple of characteristics of the Giganotosaurus.

Length	48 feet
Mass	8-17 metric tons
Skull Length	5-6.5 feet

 

The length of its skull was as long as a human being! This dinosaur lived from 99.6-97 mya.

Discovery

 The Giganotosaurus was discovered very late. The first fossils were found in Argentina at 1993. It was named in 1995. Giganotosaurus means ‘giant southern lizard’.

Prey

Argentina in the cretaceous period was filled with carnivores and herbivores. Giganotosaurus, who was the top predator, had many choices. There were carnivores such as Tyrannotitan, Mapusaurus, Megaraptor, etc. There were herbivores such as Chubitosaurus, Argentinosaurus, etc.

Spinosaurus

A dinosaur with a sail, long skull and a massive body can briefly describe Spinosaurus. As you can see, this dinosaur is different from the other dinosaurs that you saw in this article!

Description

Here is the length and mass of a Spinosaurus:

Length	49-52 feet
Mass	6 metric tons

 

That (the mass) is as much as 3 Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezzas! This dinosaur lived from 112-97 mya.

Discovery

The first bones of Spinosaurus were discovered in North Africa at 1912 and it was named in 1915. But after World War 1 and World War 2, all the bones were destroyed. In the 1950s, paleontologists found an almost complete skeleton of a Spinosaurus.

Sail

The sail of Spinosaurus is a long, bony extension-like rods or spines, which stuck up from the back of it.

 

 

It may have helped to control body temperature. Standing/ sitting sideways to the sun, it would absorb the sun’s heat and allow the dinosaur to warm up quickly.

Fish-eater!

Even though Spinosaurus was huge, it may have eaten fish! There is still a debate on Spinosaurus going on. Some people say that it is a fish-eater because in one of its fossils, there were fish scales. Other people say that it is a meat-eater which ate other fish-eaters. What do you think?

Conclusion

The misunderstood Mapusaurus, the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex, the creepy Carcharodontosaurus, the giant Giganotosaurus and the scary Spinosaurus are the largest carnivores. Because of their unique features and behavior, they are also one of the most interesting dinosaurs.