What Were The Largest Meat Eating Dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs were fascinating creatures with many complex features and adaptations to the environment in which they lived. When we think of carnivorous dinosaurs, most of us will probably think of the fearsome T-rex. But did you know that were meat eating dinosaurs whose sizes were comparable to this famous dinosaur?
The largest meat eating dinosaurs were the Spinosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Giganotosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Bahariasaurus, and Mapusaurus, among others. The Spinosaurus is believed to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur known to date at up to 59 feet long and 18 tons in weight.
If you want to know a little more about the biggest meat-eating dinosaurs ever to roam the earth, you’re in luck! Our article examines some of the largest meat eating dinosaurs. It compares the weight, length, number of teeth, and tooth size to give you everything you need to know about the largest carnivore dinosaurs.
Largest Meat Eating Dinosaurs Comparison
We have a table below to make it easier to compare the largest carnivore dinosaur. there is still intense debate, even more so than for the title of largest herbivore dinosaur, but in reality all the dinosaurs on this list were huge. The sake of a few inches, or a couple more teeth doesn’t make them any less scary.
| Dinosaur | Length (feet) | Weight (tons) | Tooth size (inches) | Number of teeth | Period |
| Spinosaurus | 46-55 | 7 – 8 | 1 – 3 | 64+ | Late Cretaceous |
| Tyrannosaurus Rex | 39-43 | 7-9 | 12 | 60 | late Cretaceous |
| Giganotosaurus | 39 – 43 | 4 – 8 | 8 | 76 | Late Cretaceous |
| Carcharodontosaurus | 36 -41 | 6-7 | 8 | 64 | Early Cretaceous |
| Bahariasaurus | 36 – 39 | 4 – 8 | Unknown | Unknown | Late Cretaceous |
| Mapusaurus | upto 40 feet | up to 5 | 6 | 70 + | Late Cretaceous |
| Oxalaia | 39-46 feet | 5-7 | Unknown | Unknown | Late Cretaceous |
| Epanterias | up to 40 feet | 3 plus | Unknown | Unknown | Late Jurassic |
| Deltadromeus | 26 feet | 1 ton | none | none | Late Cretaceous |
| Megalosaurus | 20 | 3 – 4 | 3.5 | 30 | Late Jurassic |
You can check out our infographic on the largest carnivore dinosaurs below and share of sace it if you need to .
How many Meat eating Dinosaurs Were there?
The number of both discovered and classified dinosaurs goes up on average by about 50 species a year. of the 1000 plus dinosaurs currently classified there have been over 100 that have been identified as solely carnivorous, meat eating, dinosaurs. though this number will adjust as new species are discovered.
This is a ratio of about 1-10 Carnivore to herbivore currently found. We have highlighted 10 of the largest meating eating dinosaurs below, though when dinosaurs get to this size there is a lot of estimation included! At the end of the day all of them were massive apex predators and to be admired and respected.
1. Spinosaurus
Although most popular media have portrayed the image of the all-mighty T-rex being king of the carnivores. It wasn’t the biggest, you may be surprised to know that the Spinosaurus held this crown
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During the Late Cretaceous period, these incredible creatures lived between 99 to 93 million years ago. The Spinosaurus could weigh up to a whopping 7 tons and could be as long as 60 feet.
With “-Saurus,” meaning lizard, the name Spinosaurus translates to “spine lizard,” which accurately describes how scientists believe this dinosaur may have looked. Based on the available evidence, we know that these dinosaurs had spines running along their back that could be as long as 7 feet.
They also had spines and chevrons at the end of their back, making up a tail that acted like a paddle. This paddle-shaped tail was necessary, as the Spinosaurus is believed to have been semiaquatic, and the only truly swimming dinosaur spending around half of its time in the water.
Using their long, narrow snouts and cone-like teeth, it had a powerful bite to help it catch and kill its prey. A Spinosaurus tooth measures between 1 to 3 inches long, and they lived off a diet consisting mainly of fish. Still, they may have also preyed on other smaller dinosaurs when on land.
We have more facts and figures about the super sized Spinosaurus in the article below.
2. Tyrannosaurus Rex
Otherwise known as a T-Rex, the Tyrannosaurus Rex narrowly misses the top spot for the biggest carnivorous dinosaur.
Although the T-rex may not be the biggest carnivore, it is believed that it did have the most substantial bite. This bite strength makes it one of the most fearsome apex predators to have roamed the earth up to 66 million years ago.
although other dinosaurs on this list may be longer, T-Rex have been found to have thicker and therefore heavier bones and were therefore likely to be more muscular. As any gym Teacher will tell you muscles weight more than fat. So in terms of weight and strength it was likely that T-Rex was probably heavier.
However these top Four dinosaurs, Giganotosaurus, T-Rex, Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus were all such large predators that is is really difficult to judge. One thing is clear though all Four were massive meating eating dinosaurs.
Living during the Upper Cretaceous period, these carnivores may have scavenged for food just as much as they hunted their prey, often choosing to feast on already dead dinosaurs before looking to spend energy hunting other dinosaurs.
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New evidence suggests that these incredible dinosaurs were covered in feathers, unlike how the T-rex has been depicted until recent years. So not only was the T-rex one of the largest carnivores, but it may have also been one of the largest feathered dinosaurs!
3. Giganotosaurus
We know relatively little about the Giganotosaurus in comparison to other dinosaurs. But with the fossils and evidence, we already have, it’s safe to say that these were some of the largest meat eating dinosaurs that ever lived.
The Giganotosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous period, between 99.6 to 97 million years ago. This information reveals that the Giganotosaurus lived during the same period as the Spinosaurus though they were on different continents with Giganotosaurus living in South America, and Spinosaurus being in North Africa.
They had a length of between 39 to 43 feet and a weight of between 4 and 8 tons. The Giganotosaurus is believed to have been an apex predator that preyed mostly on herbivorous dinosaurs.
The most exciting thing about this dinosaur was that it had a metabolism that sits somewhere between that of a reptile and a mammal, meaning that it was homeothermic.
With a running speed of 31 miles per hour, these dinosaurs could not run any faster without completely losing their balance.
We have a couple of pages devoted to this Massive Carnivorous dinosaur, you can follow the links below.
4. Carcharodontosaurus
The Carcharodontosaurus lived between 7 to 100 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. They were one of the most giant meat-eating dinosaurs in history. At around 41 feet long and weighing more than 7 tons, these dinosaurs were named after another, more commonly known predator.
Like the Great White shark, the Carcharodontosaurus had razor-sharp serrated teeth that helped them to overpower and kill their prey. It also had an enormous and robust jaw that could lift smaller dinosaurs that weighed up to 935 pounds!
5. Bahariasaurus
The Bahariasaurus may often be confused with a T-rex because of their similar appearances. Still, this carnivorous dinosaur was smaller than its big brother look-alike. Weighing around 4 to 9.5 tons, the biggest Bahariasaurus would still weigh less than the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The difference between these two dinosaurs is their length, with the Bahariasaurus “only” measuring 36 to 39 feet long.
First discovered in 1935, the Bahariasaurus is thought to have had spines along its back that reached its head. Unfortunately, this dinosaur’s only known fossil specimens were housed in Munich and were destroyed during World War II. This lack of fossil evidence leaves scientists and paleontologists to speculate on many of this dinosaur’s features.
6. Mapusaurus
Although its a funny sounding name ( Mah – Poo – Saw – Rus) which means Earth lizard, there wasn’t much else funny about this dinosaur. It was closely related to giganotosaurus, with a similar, though slightly smaller size.
It could be up to 41 feet long, but was less heavy than other dinosaurs on this list at 5.5 tons or around 11,000 pounds.
It would have lived at a similar time and in a similar area to giganotosaurus which also had perhaps the largest Sauropod of all time living as well, the Argentinosaurus. however, neither of these two massive dinosaurs would have likely taken on a full sized Argentinosaurus….the juvenile ones though, that’s a different story.
7. Oxalaia
was the largest Spinosaur type dinosaur discovered in South America, and the largest theropod dinosaur discovered in Brazil. Unfortunately it is only known from a very small number of fossils so a lot of estimation has gone into its size.
however it was thought to be able to grow to up to 46 feet in length and up to 7 tons ( about 15,000 pounds. it looked like a Spinosaurus, and like its bigger cousin was thought to be at the very least semi aquatic (another swimming dinosaur maybe!)
It would also have eaten fish and other animals that it could have attacked or found on land or in the water.
8 Epanterias
Epanterias is somewhat of a mystery dinosaur, for a long time it was thought to be a different species of thropod but was later reclassified as an Allosaurus. Now most allosaurus can not grow to this size being an average of around 26 feet.
Epanterias was estimated to be 12 metres long which is heading to 40 feet. thats over 8 feet longer than any Allosaurus found to date. However, it is only known from a finger and some pieces of backbone so is not 100% provable.
it means we don’t know the weight, but from Allosaurus fossils it would have been less heavy than other large carnivore dinosaurs, but faster!
We actually have the Allosaurus as our most scary dinosaur in the link here, as it was fast, likely a pack hunter and still a large size! Now if it grew to T-Rex size as well…..
9. Deltadromeus
Deltadromeus name means “delta runner” and it was given this name as it had really thin legs compared to other large meating eating dinsoaurs. So it is thought it could run in the Africa plains where it was discovered very quickly.
It was thought to grow up to 26 feet long, and as it was quite agile, it weighed less than other dinosaurs on this list. It was estimated to weigh up to 1 ton or about 2000 lbs.
Unfortunatly no skull or head has been foudn of Deltadromeus has been found ( no idea what could have happned to that!) so we have no idea what its head looked like, or waht kind of carnivore dinosaur it was.
People keep digging though so hopefully we will find more soon.
10 Deinocheirus
Deinocheirus is the largest “Ostrich type dinosaur” (ornithomimosaurian ) on this list. The largest fossil found to date was 36-38 feet long! That’s very big for a feathered dinosaur, and Deinocheirus was very feathered indeed.
As well as being alomst as long as T-Rex is could weigh up to 7 tons. Unlike a T-Rex is had developed fore arms with long sharp claws ( its name means horrible hand) and together with the less scary ( in real terms) therizinosaurus it had the longest arms of any dinsoaur!
it had quite a different mouth to all the others on this list and is thought of to be an omnivore not solely a meating eating dinosaur. it mouth was smaller, flatter ( almost bill like) and had no teeth!
it lived with tarbosaurus which was comparable sized to a Tyrannosaurus and probably but be on this list ( there were just too many large meat eating dinosaurs!!) Tooth marks of a tarbosaurus have actually been found on Tarbosaurus so we know it had some run ins with an equally large predator.
Honourable mention: Megalosaurus
The Megalosaurus lived in the Middle Jurassic period. It was much smaller than many of the carnivores on this list. That doesn’t mean that it was small, though! The Megalosaurus dinosaur was typically around 20 feet long and weighed between 3 to 4 tons.
The Megalosaurus primarily walked on its hind legs, using its muscular tail to balance itself.
One of the most interesting facts about this dinosaur is that it was the first dinosaur ever named! And being the granddaddy of them all surely needs a place on our largest carnivore list. After all for quite a while it was the largest known!
If you are looking for the smallest dinosaurs ever to live then we have this article here on the site as well.
Conclusion
Don’t forget to check out our other dinosaur articles, both carnivores and herbivores and everything in between. We also have coloring, facts sheets, resources and activities to download for free. You can check all our content on the big button below!
References
https://owlcation.com/stem/biggest-carnivore-dinosaurs
https://www.foxnews.com/science/10-largest-meat-eating-dinosaurs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-truly-exceptional-allosaurus-30879252/
Hi, I am Roy Ford a General Studies and English Teacher who has taught all over the world. What started as a fossil collection became a great way to teach, motivate and inspire students of all ages and all over the world about dinosaurs and from that and children’s love of dinosaurs came the site dinosaur facts for kids, a resource for all ages.
