The most carnivorous dinosaurs in the world. Marine dinosaurs: a selection of the largest inhabitants of the depths What are the predatory dinosaurs
Mankind was lucky - it did not meet dinosaurs. Giant reptiles had died out before then. It is not known how such a meeting could end, although, most likely, the death of a reasonable person, because sticks and stones in the hands of people are absolutely powerless against a huge predator with sharp teeth.
This article presents the most scary dinosaurs antiquities.
Pteranodon
The "cute" bird Pteranodon is one of the most terrible dinosaurs. The only similarity this dinosaur has with birds is that it flew through the sky just like them, and that's where the similarity ends.
Terrible had a huge beak and sharp teeth. Its wingspan was as much as 15 meters. Pteranodon ate fish, probably because people did not exist in those days.
Sinosauropteryx
This "charming" creature preferred to move on two legs. Sinosauropteryx can be compared externally to a chicken with a long tail, which moved exclusively by running. The hind legs (long and powerful) more than compensated for the short forelimbs. The dinosaur ate meat, or rather, worms and small animals. This lizard did not grow tall, its maximum height was 50 centimeters, but this did not prevent it from becoming one of the most terrible dinosaurs.
Allosaurus
A predator whose height reached 3.5 meters. The length of the body along with the tail was 9 meters. This dinosaur moved only on its hind legs, and this did not prevent it from reaching speeds of up to 55 km / h at all.
Why is Allosaurus considered one of the most feared and dangerous dinosaurs? All because of his habits, he killed smaller relatives, his massive head with elongated jaws made it possible to tightly fix the prey.
Although the Allosaurus had a large head, it did not differ in intelligence. Archaeologists have found the remains of these reptiles, which are mired in a swamp hole, chasing prey.
Troodon
This dinosaur weighed only 50 kg and was no more than 1 meter tall. How could he be dangerous? Intelligence. The smaller the dinosaur, the higher the level of mental development.
Troodon was distinguished by the fact that it could hunt at night. Fast, with long jaws and sharp teeth, it grabbed prey with its forelimbs and dealt with it in a matter of minutes.
Majungasaurus
This reptile was distinguished by cannibalism. With a length of 6 meters and a weight of 1 ton, the predator did not have a great mind. Its brain was extremely small in comparison with the size of the body, but the Majungasaurus was distinguished by its appetite - it ate its own kind, smaller dinosaurs, and enjoyed life.
Sarcosuchus
Among the 10 scariest dinosaurs, this one stands out for its appearance. real crocodile, literally the words. From the modern "Genes" the ancient one is distinguished by its size - 12 meters in length and weight up to 8 tons.
ate sarcosuchus small dinosaurs, fish and aquatic animals. FROM big booty could not cope due to too short and blunt teeth.
Kronosaurus
What is the scariest dinosaur? Judging by its appearance, this is a Kronosaurus. Imagine the body of a seal with a short neck and the head of a crocodile. This "seal" reached a length of 10 meters, and in the mouth were 30-centimeter teeth. ate aquatic life, the prey was captured and torn to pieces.
Carcharodontosaurus
Another two-legged "charming" lizard, it weighed 4 tons with a body length of 13 meters, do not forget about 20-centimeter teeth. This representative hunted mainly sauropods.
Amphicelius
It can be attributed to the list of the most terrible dinosaurs only because of height and weight, and so the lizard was quite safe for itself, because it is a herbivore. Amphicelia reached a length of 9 meters, its weight was 12 tons. And taking into account the fact that the lizard had very poor eyesight, even though he did not eat his relatives, he could trample down with ease.
Velociraptor
This is a small predator, like most of them - bipedal. Its length was 1.8 meters, weight - 20 kg. How dangerous is such a predator? First, he is fast and agile. Secondly, its size paid off with more than sharp claws on its front paws. With them, he captured prey and broke through her trachea, and then proceeded to a bloody meal.
tyrannosaurus rex
Not a single movie about dinosaurs can do without this foot-and-mouth disease. What did he look like in reality? With a body length of 13 meters and a weight of 7 tons, this lizard had very powerful and strong jaws. According to scientists, the bite force of one of the most terrible dinosaurs that once lived on Earth was 15 times greater than that of modern lion. Can you imagine the consequences for the victims of these bites? You can die from only one pain shock.
Utahraptor
He was a small predator, 3 meters in total. The owner of huge claws on his hind legs, he, like his other relatives, captured and strangled the victim with them, breaking through her arteries. He ate dinosaurs like himself, only smaller.
Spinosaurus
Another carnivorous representative, and unlike the above dinosaurs, this one had a huge size. 15 meters in length with a weight of 7 tons. This lizard, despite his passion for meat, could not eat everything he wanted. The fact is that the structure of the jaws did not allow him to tear his victim and bite off pieces of meat. For hunting, only the front clawed paws served. And what can you catch with small paws? Only fish and smaller relatives.
Pliosaurus
This waterfowl is also one of the most feared dinosaurs in the world. Body length - more than 15 meters, it was elongated with large spade-shaped fins. This predator was distinguished by sharp triangular teeth, suitable for tearing meat into pieces, so it is not surprising that those unfortunate underwater inhabitants that came across it on the way immediately became its dinner.
Gigantosaurus
From the name it is clear that this lizard had a huge size. According to the remains that were found, scientists determined that the predatory relative of the tyrannosaurus reached a length of 15 meters, and it weighed about 8 tons.
Despite his huge size, he ran poorly. This is due to the fact that the sizes of the femur and tibia were approximately the same. Vision also failed giant lizard, unlike the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Giganotosaurus was blind. And therefore, more vulnerable. Due to the peculiarities of vision and the structure of the musculoskeletal system and the size of the lizard, it was rather clumsy, unlike most predators of antiquity.
Its teeth were not suitable for catching and holding prey. As for the brain, among the predatory lizards, the Giganotosaurus was distinguished by its smallest volumes. A sedentary, poorly seeing and thinking huge lizard often became the prey of more agile dinosaurs.
Conclusion
We examined the most terrible representatives among dinosaurs. What unites them? Mainly appearance and manner of movement. Most of moved on its hind legs. There is also a pattern regarding the size of the body and brain - than more dinosaur the more stupid he is.
Small representatives of extinct lizards are distinguished by a sharp mind, as well as by the structure of the jaws. Mobile, with a good grip and quick-witted, they can easily cope even with large predators.
The most terrible dinosaurs, photos of which are posted in the article, look very scary and dangerous. What would happen to people if they faced these monsters? It is possible that some representatives, for example, the Gigantosaurus, could be saved. But a man could not escape from a small predator. And fortunately for our kind, we live in a time when meeting with such horrors of antiquity is impossible, unless it occurs to scientists to create something like "Jurassic Park" and then lose control over it.
Carnivorous dinosaurs appeared in Triassic period and became extinct in the Cretaceous. They were all reptiles and laid eggs, although appearance most of them are different from ordinary snakes and lizards. The largest of the predatory dinosaurs reached 30 m in length and weighed more than a ton, but not all of them were giants. The length of the smallest predatory dinosaurs was no more than 25 cm, but, nevertheless, they were extremely dangerous.
In 1841, the English zoologist Sir Richard Owen coined the word "dinosaur", which means "terrible lizard". Herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs are extinct reptiles giant size. However, you should not consider all dinosaurs to be large animals - some of them were medium in size, and some were very small. Most of the dinosaurs weighed about 2 tons. Dinosaurs lived on Earth for about 160 million years in mesozoic era, during the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous periods.
Interesting to know, Dinosaur fossils were first discovered in England and described in 1824. Then the scientists were able to find fossils of other fossil animals that were assigned to the same class. The number of such finds is in the hundreds.
Tyrant Lizard - Tyrannosaurus Rex
The largest carnivore that ever existed on Earth and lived on land is a tyrannosaurus rex, a predatory dinosaur 2.5 meters high, more than 10 meters long and weighing about 7 tons. When the tyrannosaurus stood up on its hind legs, it became a six-meter giant. Only one huge skull of a tyrannosaurus rex was 1.3-1.5 meters long, and there were 60 teeth in its mouth, some of them were up to 20 cm long. This predatory dinosaur moved on its hind legs, since the front ones were too short. Two claws on the forelimbs served as a support or were used by this predator to attack and grab the prey. Tyrannosaurus attacked large herbivorous dinosaurs- sedentary and incapable of effective defense.
Interesting to know. Another predatory dinosaur, a contemporary of the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Gorgosaurus lived in what is now Canada. The length of this lizard was 7-9 m and weighed about a ton.
Terrifying - Tarbosaurus
Modern Mongolia and China were home to the carnivorous Tarbosaurus dinosaurs. Somewhat smaller than a Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus was one of the most dangerous and largest predators on Earth in the prehistoric period. This pangolin had powerful three-toed hind limbs and a long, heavy tail that balanced its body. With a height of about 10-12 meters, this predator weighed 5-6 tons. Despite being smaller than Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus had a larger skull and large quantity teeth. This predatory dinosaur could reach speeds of no more than 30 km / h and, most likely, ate carrion. Studies of the fossilized brain of Tarbosaurus indicate that it had an excellent sense of smell and good hearing, but poor vision.
Interesting to know. Carnotaurus - predator dinosaur Cretaceous. The remains of this large lizard were found in Argentina. Similar in physique to Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex, Carnotaurus was distinguished by horn-like growths above the eyes, thinner hind limbs and very tiny front paws. His height was 8-9 m, weight - about 2 tons.
Strange lizard - allosaurus
The predatory dinosaur Allosaurus, slightly smaller in size than the Tyrannosaurus Rex, reached a length of 9 meters, and half of its body was the tail. The powerful jaws that complemented the huge head of the Allosaurus allowed it to cope with the bones of flying orinitopod dinosaurs. This predatory dinosaur weighed about 2 tons, but at the same time it moved quickly, taking big steps while chasing the prey. Perhaps, the front short paws served him in order to hold the victim at the moment of capture. Allosaurs lived in Jurassic period in North America and hunted large herbivorous lizards - brontosaurs, stegosaurus, sauropods.
Terrible Claw - Deinonychus
Another predatory dinosaur 3-4 m tall and weighing 50-100 kg is Deinonychus. Fast and agile, Deinonychus was very aggressive. It was the discovery of the remains of this predatory dinosaur that prompted scientists to think about the warm-bloodedness of ancient dinosaurs. It is assumed that Deinonychus was able to climb trees, and the claws on the middle fingers of his hind legs helped him in this. The sharp sawtooth teeth of the predator allowed it to cope with the bones of large herbivorous dinosaurs.
Graceful jaws - compsognathus
One of the smallest predatory dinosaurs is a compsognathus with a small body of 40-100 cm and a narrow elongated head of about 7 cm. The weight of this prehistoric predator was approximately 3 kg due to the lightweight structure of bone tissue. He was lightning fast and flexible. Sharp, slightly curved teeth and dagger claws on the front paws helped him deftly attack the victim. The Compsognathians hunted in packs. The bones of this animal have been found in Bavaria and France in the deposits of the Jurassic period.
The last of the finds of paleontologists is the skeleton of a predatory dinosaur tyrannosaurus
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Carnosaurs were and remain the largest bipedal predators that have ever existed on Earth. All carnosaurs, even carrion-eating ones, had to be very strong to be able to separate meat from bones. Sharp teeth and the claws of predators were necessary not only for hunting, but also for protection from fellow tribesmen.
Carnosaurs - huge carnivorous dinosaurs
A typical representative of the carnosaur infraorder is the dinosaur Allosaurus (Allosaurus — "other" or "strange" "lizard"), which lived approximately 154-144 million years ago. Allosaurus grew up to 12 meters in length and weighed up to 5 tons. Yes, it was a huge animal, which, most likely, was not able to move quickly over long distances.
The short but powerful front legs of the Allosaurus dinosaur helped to hold prey. Three fingers were armed with sharp claws that could tear through the skin and flesh of the victim. And they did not serve to move - allosaurs walked only on their hind legs.
The skull of the Allosaurus was almost a meter long. The mouth was full of jagged-edged teeth.
The allosaurus dinosaur had a long tail. This helped to balance the weight of the torso while walking. The lower limbs ended in three long fingers with sharp claws.
The skull and teeth of the Allosaurus were not very large relative to the body. If we compare the proportions of the allosaurus dinosaur with the human, then if a person were 8 m tall, his skull would be 85 cm long.
One of the largest allosaurus dinosaur skeletons was found in 1991. The skeleton is 95% preserved, and was nicknamed "Big Al" (MOR 693). The length of "Big Al" at the time of death was about 8 feet. The remains were excavated in Wyoming by a team from the Museum of the Rocky Mountains and Geological Museum University of Wyoming.
Allosaurus (Allosaurus)
Dimensions:
- length - 10-12 m;
- growth - up to 5 m.
They lived about 155-144 million years ago.
Diet: Large herbivorous dinosaurs.
Habitat: North America, Europe (Portugal).
In previous publications, we have already touched on the topic of giants, but regardless of lifestyle. It's time to talk about the champions among carnivorous dinosaurs and in general land predators that have ever existed on earth. Isn't it very interesting for you?
Who is the largest carnivorous dinosaur? After repeated comparisons and tests various sources the list has been completed. So, 15 leaders for today:
Among them, Tyrannosaurus rex is the most famous and studied. Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus are still being reconstructed from scattered fragments, so we look forward to new excavations. Perhaps larger individuals or even entire genera will be found.
Ask, how small are modern predatory counterparts in comparison with them? For example, the most large snake(reticulated python) reaches a length of 6.95 meters. longest combed crocodile about 6.7 m. And the largest mammal is a hunter, polar bear, just 3 meters. The drawing allows you to imagine what the largest predator dinosaur was.
A graphical comparison of several genera from the top of the list has also been implemented, which will certainly be of interest to you.
Used skeletal reconstructions by Scott Hartman and other paleoartists.
This landscape was brought to life by the Indian paleo-artist Sameer Prehistorica.
It is important to note that the largest predatory dinosaur does not mean the most formidable. In the future, we will define a list of the most powerful creatures. We take into account the latest scientific assessments and update the list periodically. Follow our articles.