Which Dinosaurs Were the Largest Carnivores?

I – Theropods

The group of Theropoda (or theropods in French) includes all carnivorous dinosaurs as well as birds. Apart from the latter, theropods are today represented by nearly 350 official species. They appeared in the Upper Triassic (-237 to -201 million years ago) before becoming extinct for non-avians during the extinction putting an end to the Cretaceous, 66 million years ago Exclusively bipedal, their powerful hind limbs ended in tridactyl feet like modern birds.

As for their forelimbs, they were often short and ended in movable fingers. And above all, as the French paleontologist Jean Le Loeuff writes in his book In the shoes of a dinosaur (humenSciences, 2023) published in paperback on November 8, 2024 by Éditions Points: “a large majority (of non-avian theropods) show characteristic knife-blade-shaped teeth equipped with sharp crenellations”. Very practical when we know that a good number of these dinosaurs were among the great predators of their environment.

II – The main representatives

Tyrannosaurus : Does it still need to be presented? The famous Tyrannosaurus rex lived in North America during the Upper Cretaceous, 68 to 66 million years ago. His skull alone measured almost 1.5 meters! With a body 13 meters long and 7 tons, it was the largest specimen of its family of Tyrannosauridae (or tyrannosaurids in French). But did you know that T. rex fed on his fellow human beings?

Jean Le Loueff thus indicates in his work the presence of “traces of teeth of large carnivorous dinosaurs on bones of T. rex. The latter being the only large carnivorous dinosaur in its ecosystem, it was therefore cannibalistic. On the other hand, nothing tells us if he hunted his fellows or simply profited from their remains.

©Universal StudiosT. rex In Jurassic Park: The Lost World (Universal Studios)

Spinosaurus : Even T. rex could only bow to the size of Spinosaurus aegypticus. The only species of the genus could reach 14 meters in length and weigh between 6 and 7 tonnes. Imagine three African elephants lined up one behind the other, you will then have an idea of ​​the gigantism of this dinosaur. Spinosaurus was primarily piscivorous and lived in North Africa during the Late Cretaceous, approximately 99 to 93 million years ago. Even if T. rex and he never met, some of you may remember their Homeric struggle immortalized in Jurassic Park 3 in 2001…

©Universal Studios

Spinosaurus – Jurassic Park III (Universal Studios)

Giganotosaurus : The new antagonist of T. rex In Jurassic World: The World After (2022). With dimensions equivalent to the tyrannosaurid (12 to 13 meters long and 6 to 8 tonnes on the scale), Giganotosaurus was distinguished by its narrow head and its teeth made for tearing flesh rather than crushing bones. The only species affiliated to the genus, Giganotosaurus carolinii (or “southern giant lizard”), was described by Argentine paleontologists Rodolfo Cario and Leonardo Salgado in 1995.

Its formalization is based on fragmentary remains discovered in 1994 at the foot of the Andes, in the northwest of Argentine Patagonia. Living in the Upper Cretaceous, 99 to 93 million years ago, it could have hunted large prey like the titanosaur. Argentinosaurus…