What is the largest dinosaur?

Weighing about 136 tons and over 30 meters long, the largest mammal on Earth is the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). But what is the largest land animal? Today it is the elephant that holds this title, but if we take a look at the past, we will find creatures of greater size. Many of the dinosaurs were larger and bigger than modern elephants, hippos and rhinos. Some of the largest dinosaurs were the sauropods, a group of saurischian, exclusively herbivorous dinosaurs that lived between the Upper Triassic and Upper Cretaceous, with long necks, small heads and very long tails. Specimens belonging to the group of sauropods known as Titanosauria were truly giant, weighing close to 100 tons.

Larger carnivorous dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus rex combined in itself the size of an elephant, the violence of a tiger and the teeth of a shark.

The 'Tyrannosaurus lizard king' is a species of theropod dinosaur that lived in the Upper Cretaceous, about 67-65 million years ago, belonging to the Tyrannosaurid family.

The most complete specimen, known by the nickname Sue, has a skeleton that measures 12.3 meters long, and is 5.5 meters tall. Estimates of its weight in life vary, from 4.5 tons to more than 7.2, although the most recent estimates put it at 5.4 to 6.8 tons.

Tyrannosaurus was for many decades the most gigantic theropod known to the general public. Since its discovery, however, a number of other huge carnivorous dinosaurs have been found, including Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Giganotosaurus. These large theropod dinosaurs rivaled or even exceeded Tyrannosaurus in size, although more recent studies have shown that Tyrannosaurus, although shorter, was the largest predator. There is still no clear explanation as to why these animals grew so bulky and heavy compared to the terrestrial predators that existed before and after them.

Carcharodontosaurus

The 'shark-toothed lizard' is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur Carcharodontosauridae that lived in the Lower to Upper Cretaceous, about 112 and 93.5 million years ago.

The genus Carcharodontosaurus includes some of the longest and heaviest carnivorous dinosaurs known to science, to which several scientists have proposed various estimates of the length of the C. saharicus-like species, ranging from 12 to 13.3 meters, weighing an estimated 6.2 to 15.1 tons.

This dinosaur was a true superpredator that, despite an imposing size, could rely on great speed and probably fed on sauropods.

Giganotosaurus

Third in the rankings is Giganotosaurus carolinii an animal that for a few years was considered the largest carnivorous dinosaur to have ever existed, before findings related to Spinosaurus and its family took away its primacy.

Estimates conducted on the most complete specimen of the 'southern giant lizard' range from a length of 12 to 13 meters, a skull length of 1.53 to 1.80 meters, and a weight of 4.2 to 13.8 tons.

The only truly awkward size, however, is the one involving the brain: in fact, scholars found a skull box much smaller even than that of Tyrannosaurus Rex, that is, approximately the size of a banana.

Oxalaia

Oxalaia is an extinct genus of spinosaurid dinosaurinae that lived in the Upper Cretaceous, about 98 million years ago in Brazil. The name Oxalaia quilombensis derives on the one hand from the African deity Oxalá, and on the other from the quilimbos, i.e., Brazilian communities of African slaves who once escaped from plantations.

It is estimated that Oxalaia could reach 12-14 meters in length, weighing 5-7 tons, making it the largest theropod in Brazil. Second in size is Pycnonemosaurus, whose length has been estimated at 8.9 meters.

Spinosaurus: The largest carnivorous dinosaur

Spinosaurus, or 'spiny lizard,' is an extinct genus of spinosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived between the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous, about 112-97 million years ago.

The largest known carnivorous dinosaur may not have the characteristics that movies have led us to think of in recent years, Spinosaurus, in fact, was predominantly a river animal that hunted fish or small prey, and attacked medium-sized dinosaurs only under particularly favorable conditions, avoiding direct confrontation with animals of its size.

Estimates of Spinosaurus' size suggest that it measured between 12.6 and 14.3 meters in length and had a body mass between 12 and 20.9 tons.