W B For many of us, the most startling dinosaurs were the most fierce and scary ones. Since we were kids, we always dream about finding some fossilized specie and buried in our backyard. That’s why, today we’ll take you a walk-in pursuit of the scariest predators. Are you ready for the adventure? Let’s begin!
#10 TROODON
It´s possible that it is the smallest dinosaur of our journey, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to play around with it because it’s a dangerous predator and you might end up in its most delicious snack. He´ll enjoy feeling your bones creak while you are eaten. Ouch! It lived at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 75 million years ago in North America. Its name means “Hurting Tooth”, due to the small saws around each tooth in its mandible. It measured 6.5 feet long and 3.2 feet tall and weighed between 59.5 to 99.2 pounds. This little but deadly dinosaur had really long and thin members, which made it run and move faster when catching a prey. It used to hunt in groups because that way, the victims wouldn’t be able to run and escape. Its pair of big eyes pointed to the front, which give it the capacity of having a binocular vision. The Troodon is considered one of the most intelligent non-avian dinosaurs since its brain was so large that it allowed it to have an Encephalization Quotient of 5.8. Which means it had more brains and, consequently, greater intelligence. This was markedly superior to that of the most herbivorous dinosaurs that had a quotient of 1 and of carnivores that had 2. Without a doubt, this little one would graduate at the Cretaceous with honors.
#9 DILOPHOSAURUS
This amazing animal lived in the Jurassic period about 200 million years ago in what today comprises the territory of North American. Many of you might remember him for his famous appearance in the first movie “Jurassic Park”, the truth is that this dinosaur was, actually, very different and much larger, comparable to the size of an adult brown bear of our present. One of the most original qualities of this predator is its pair of rounded crests on the head, also its jaw was very similar to that of a current crocodile, which was full of rows of sharped and long teeth like blades. Surprisingly, its skull showed a weak connection between the pre-maxillary and maxillary bones. This detail led us to think that the Dilophosaurus was a scavenger because its front teeth were too weak, so it could hardly fall or sustain a fairly large prey. At the end, it was known, for sure, that this was not an impediment for our scary friend to end up hunting and devouring their prey at lunchtime.
#8 SPINOSAURUS
It lived 112 million years ago, approximately, during the Cretaceous period, dominating the Cenomanian period and was found in what is now known as Africa. Its name means “Spine Lizard” because it had big vertebral spines sticking out its back. This incredible predator measured 39.3 to 59 feet long and could measure 14.7 feet high. Due to its complex size, it weighted from 7 to 9 tons. Its famous dorsal sail measured from 5.4 to 6 feet long and served both for thermoregulation and to change the direction when swimming.
It’s known that it liked to travel by feet as well as swimming. Its skull was composed by a narrow snout but filled with straight and very sharp conical teeth. Also, it has a small crest on the upper part of the eyes, which made it very similar in aspect to the Ceratosaurus. This is the largest known therapod in history.
#7 CARNOTAURUS
This dinosaur of medium size belongs to the theropod family and lived at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 72 million years ago. It lived during the Campanian to the Maastrichtian period, being found in what’s now known as South America. The most notorious characteristic of this reptile were the two horns placed on its head right over its eyes, that’s why it has that name, which means Carnivore Bull. Some studies affirm that this dinosaur was able to catch prays bigger than it, same as the sauropods. It’s known that they had energy and an amazing ease to run, which made them the fastest therapods of big dimensions. Its skull was small but strong, it had some cavities in both sides to lower the weight of the animal. Also, it had the incredible characteristic of extending its mandible’s articulations so that it could have a bigger and effective bite against its victims. Maybe you’d like to have this ability to eat a burger in just one bite, right?
#6 ALLOSAURUS
It lived at the end of the Jurassic period, about 161 million years ago and lived, mainly, in what’s actually known as North American and Europe territory. It measured 31.8 feet long and weighted 2.3 tons. Its mass is similar to an actual adult Indian rhino. Its skull and teeth were small in comparison to other theropods. That’s why, it’s believed that its hunting strategy was to quietly hunt its pray to later bite them with their strong mandible as if they were axes. Its known that these had about 60 D-shaped teeth in its transverse border. The victims of these animals were normally herbivore dinosaurs, one of them would be the famous Stegosaurus, Drynosaurus and Camptosaurus. It wouldn’t be nice to run into with this specie; not in dreams.
#5 VELOCIRAPTOR
This scary dinosaur lived between the 75 and 71 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, in Asia. Jurassic World portrays to the velociraptor as a dinosaur with the size of an adult, but it´s not true. The dimensions of these scary predators resembled more to a large peacock. Its aspect also varies a bit with its Hollywood version. Paleontologists have determined that this dinosaur was covered in feathers. As if it wasn’t enough, on each of his hind legs had a sickle-shaped claw of 2.5 inches which were used to tear their preys. The velociraptor used its lightness to pounce on its victims. Once over them, it clawed its claws, used its tail as a counterweight and flapped so that it can maintain the balance. Only at that moment, it began to bite without any mercy.
#4 GIGANOTOSAURUS
This great reptile from south America lived in the Cretaceous period, about 97 million years ago. Its name makes a clear reference to its large size because it could measure between 39.3 feet to 42.6 feet long. They were so big that their skull measured around 5.1 feet long approximately. It weighed between 6 and 8 tons and even though it had one of the biggest skulls in its whole specie, which made it look disproportionate, its height of more than 13.1 feet (4 meters) offered it a perfect balance. The main hunting method was its smell, so, no matter where you hide, the Giganotosaurus could track you and possibly devour you as if you were its prey. Being a bipedal predator, its lower extremities were really strong, with a long tail that was used as a counterbalance and balance when moving. It´s known that its hunting technique was the ambush and that it usually hunted slow animals such as sauropods, among them are the Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus and others.
#3 UTAHRAPTOR
The name of this peculiar predator derives from the area of origin where it was found, the famous and desert state of Utah in United States. It’s believed that it only lived during the inferior Cretaceous period and it was probably the largest raptor that ever existed since it was about 23 feet long and 6.56 feet high. Its incredible claws of almost 11.8 inches, make it a threat for its prey. We’re sure you wouldn’t have enjoyed a visit to Utah in that time. No feathers have been found directly from the specimens of this animal but it´s known, thanks to the phylogenetic support, that all the dromaeosaurs had them. That’s why in most recreations of this fearsome predator are covered in feathers so many upper, lower and tail. It is well known that it was much stronger, bigger, fearsome and agile than his famous cousin; the Velociraptor. It would not be wise to underestimate them despite his giant hen look.
#2 CARCHARODONTOSAURUS
This incredible predator lived in the middle of the Cretaceous era, about 112 million years ago during the Cenomanian period. It was found on the African continent and measured about 42.6 feet long and 9.8 feet high. In its reign It shared the same time and stay with Spinosaurus. The name derives from the Latin which means lizard shark teeth; in fact, his bite was as lethal as its aspect thanks to a series of teeth that tore the meat of its preys letting them bleed. This amazing predator weighted between 6 and 15 tons. Although this animal had large dimensions, its power to bite was not so good, in contrast to one of its opponents: the Giganotosaurus. But it had similar strength to the Spinosaurus, which made it able to raise with jaws various preys of a maximum of 881.8 pounds, simulating a kind of crane from our current world.
Before naming the number one position of this Top, we must name some great predators, that lived with the dinosaurs. One of them was the Mosasaurus, which lived in the late cretaceous and was no less than 56 feet long, enough size to be the main character of one of the most famous scenes of Jurassic World. As in the time of the dinosaurs, the danger also came from the air, we cannot fail to name the Quetzalcoatlus, a flying animal that with its fully extended wings could reach 10 meters of wingspan and that bipedal posture could be as tall as a giraffe. Now, let’s check the number one.
#1 TYRANNOSAURUS REX
Not only is the most famous dinosaur thanks to the movies and documentaries on TV, but also because is the most dangerous predator that has ever existed. It lived in the cretaceous period, where it was common to see them devouring a triceratops or similar preys. It measured 42.6 feet long and 13.1 in height, weighting between 5 or 8 tons, which is what an adult African elephant weighs nowadays. The largest skull ever found of a Tyrannosaur measured 5 feet long, the rear area is extremely wide, which allowed it to have a moderated binocular vision. If you’ve visited a museum, you´ll know that the T-rex teeth have heterodonties, which means they were of different sizes. Their peculiar edge made them a mortal trap for its victims. The largest tooth ever found to date measured about 11.8 inches in length, the same size as the rule you use to make your homework. Ironically terrifying.
If you liked this post give it a comment. Don’t forget to share it with your friends! See you in the next adventure!
