Post by Tyrannotitan1316 on May 26, 2018 0:08:41 GMT
It would have been one of the most awesome matchups the world has ever seen. Two giants even matched and equally terrifying. Tyrannotitan chubutensis, a carcharodontosaur, and Tarbosaurus bataar- a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Witness the evaluation of the century that pits two of nature’s most terrifying beasts against one another. Both of these animals were some of the most advanced and largest of their kind.
Tyrannotitan chubutensis
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Clade: Tetanurae
Superfamily: †Allosauroidea
Clade: †Carcharodontosauria
Family: †Carcharodontosauridae
Tribe: †Giganotosaurini
Genus: †Tyrannotitan (Novas, 2005)
Species: †T. chubutensis (Novas, 2005)
Distribution: Cerro Castaño Member, Cerro Barcino Formation, Argentina
Time Period: Upper Aptian-Lower Albian, Early Cretaceous (c. 113-112 Ma)
Size: 13 meters (42.7 feet) in length, 7 tonnes (7.7 tons) in weight
Description:
Despite the similar sounding name to the more famous Tyrannosaurus and being extremely similar in size, Tyrannotitan actually was not closely related to T. rex. The two theropods were actually quite different. Tyrannotitan was a carcharodontosaur, which were less derived than the Tyrannosaurs like Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. The carcharodontosaurs dominated the Barremian-Turonian Stages of the Early-Late Cretaceous period about 127-89 ma.
T. chubutensis mainly preyed upon the giant Titanosaurian sauropods, some of which like Argentinosaurus huinculensis got to sizes of over 35 meters (~115 feet) and 100 tonnes (110 US tons). While Tyrannotitan did not live with A. huinculensis, it still preyed upon a different massive sauropod known as Chubutisaurus insignis, which was estimated to be 23 meter (~75.5 feet) in length. Tyrannotitan would not have attacked a fully grown, healthy adult Chubutisaurus. Such an attack, even for a predator as massive and powerful as the 13 meter, 7 tonne Tyrannotitan. Without backup, the it would be crushed quite easily. Sauropods had no armor or clubs (with the exception of Shunosaurus), but their sheer mass and size alone would have made them extremely difficult to tackle. They also had exceptionally thick skin which would have required something razor sharp to cut through.
Tyrannotitan had just the set of weapons that would allow them to butcher these behemoths. A mouthful of teeth designed like steak knives. The teeth had tiny serrations which would help increase the amounts of tears in the flesh of prey. They also curved backwards, which meant that when Tyrannotitan bit down on a prey it would **** its head back and all those teeth would work like a gigantic meat slicer and tear out a huge chunk of flesh. The fact they pointed backwards also meant that it would be difficult for a struggling animal to get free without having a chunk taken out of them. (Canale, Juan & Novas, Fernando & Pol, Diego., “Tyrannotitan.”, Novas, Fernando & de Valais, Silvina & Vickers Rich, Patricia & Rich, Tom.) In the BBC documentary series Planet Dinosaur (2011), it was theorized that Mapusaurus rosae, a close relative of T. chubutensis within the Giganotosaurini Tribe, would simply “graze” off of sauropods. This meant they would simply tear out large chunks of flesh from a titanosaur so that way they did not have to spend a large quantity of energy trying to bring a behemoth down and also risk a fatal injury from the powerful tail or crushing feet of a titanosaur. This however, likely would not have provided as muchnutrients and energy as the internal organs. It is likely that flesh grazing would have been practiced, but genera like Mapusaurus and Tyrannotitan would have also worked in groups to take down a titanosaur. These groups would have been more like ragtag gangs where the teamwork would have ended the second the prey’s body hit the ground. At that point, it likely would have been the biggest and toughest getting the best parts of the prey (Planet Dinosaur.).
Tarbosaurus bataar
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: †Tyrannosauridae
Subfamily: †Tyrannosaurinae
Tribe: †Tarbosaurini (Olshevsky & Ford, 1995)
Genus: †Tarbosaurus (Maleev, 1955)
Species: †T. bataar (Maleev, 1955)
Distribution: Nemegt Formation, Mongolia
Time Period: Lower Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous (c. 71-70 Ma)
Size: Up to 12 meters (39.4 feet) in length, 5 tonnes (5.5 tons) in weight
Description:
Tarbosaurus bataar is, as of now, the third largest member of the Family Tyrannosauridae in terms of overall length and weight. The order of the largest members of the Tyrannosauridae goes like this:
Tyrannosaurus rex: 12.3 meters (40 feet) and ~8.4-14 tonnes (9.3-15.4 US tons) (Hutchinson)
Zhuchengtyrannus magnus: ~10-12 meters (32.8-39.4 feet) and 5.4 tonnes (5.95 US tons) (“A New, Large Tyrannosaurine Theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China.”)
Tarbosaurus bataar: ~10-12 meters (32.8-39.4 feet) and 5 tonnes (5.5 US tons) (A Maleev, E. (1954). )
However, Z. magnus is based on less evidence than the other two and could possibly be smaller than T. bataar. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just say that they are tied. Tarbosaurus may have been nearly the same size as its close American relative, but it was nowhere near as strong or as well equipped with weapons. It did not have as strong of teeth or as strong of a bite as Tyrannosaurus rex. It also lacked the binocular vision that Tyrannosaurus had. Its skull was also narrower more like the less derived tyrannosaurs. This also meant that its bite force was significantly weaker than that of Tyrannosaurus rex. (H. Hurum, Jørn & Karol, Sabath. (2002)., Pepper, Darren. “Tarbosaurus.”) Despite its weaker bite, it still had something that its American cousin lacked: a locking jaw. The jaws of Tarbosaurus were much more stiff and rigid than those of Tyrannosaurus rex. This meant that Tarbosaurus would be able to lock its jaws onto struggling opponents and hold on with greater ease than predators with more flexible lower jaws like Tyrannosaurus (Pepper, Darren. “Tarbosaurus.”). This likely could have been an adaptation for hunting prey which had longer necks.
Tarbosaurus lived in ancient Mongolia, which would have been a large floodplain. It lived in a paradise filled with many choices for prey. While they were not as large as Chubutisaurus, which Tyrannotitan preyed upon, the prey of Tarbosaurus were just as dangerous. There was the 11 meter long ornithomimosaur, Deinocheirus mirificus. As bizarre as it looked, this monster was several times larger than any of its other relatives at 6.4 tonnes and even outweighed Tarbosaurus by nearly a tonne and a half. It also had some of the longest arms of any bipedal dinosaur at 2.4 meters long. These long arms were also tipped with three blunt, but powerful claws that could inflict serious injuries on a would be predator. (Lee.) However, there is evidence that the tyrant was not deterred. In 2012, fossils of Deinocheirus were found with bite marks from tyrannosaurs on it. There was another tyrannosaur in the Negmet Formation, Alioramus altai, but it was only around 6 meters long and would not have been able to take on the massive Deinocheirus. The only predator in the area that was large and strong enough to do this was Tarbosaurus. (Bell., Pepper.) Deinocheirus was not the only animal that would have been on the menu for Tarbosaurus.
Another was the hadrosaur, Saurolophus angustirostris. It was the larger species in the genera. Measuring at 11 meters in length, they were another challenge for Tarbosaurus to take down. While they did not have many obvious weapons, their weight and tail could deliver punishing blows to an unsuspecting Tarbosaurus that could knock it off its feet.
The Matchup:
As far as size and strength are concerned, Tyrannotitan easily has the upper hand, being longer by about a meter and outweighing its opponent by 2 tonnes. The fact that Tarbosaurus also did not have binocular vision meant that it lacked something that would have given it a crucial advantage over Tyrannotitan. It battled more opponents who were arguably more formidable than what Tyrannotitan had to face and had a stronger bite force, however. Despite this, Tyrannotitan had a weapon that would prove extremely advantageous against another large opponent: its teeth. It could use its razor sharp teeth to inflict wound after wound after wound. Tarbosaurus could try to do the same, however Tyrannotitan’s teeth were designed to make opponents slowly bleed to death. Likely the outcome of this fight would be hard fought and could even prove fatal for both sides, but in most scenarios it would seem that Tyrannoitan would come out on top more often than not.
Winner: Tyrannotitan chubutensis
It cannot be emphasized enough that this matchup would have been extremely close. It could have gone either way. This is simply what would be the most likely outcome if these two animals were to ever meet up. Subjectively, these two creatures’ appeal can vary from person to person. Some like Tarbosaurus better, other like Tyrannotitan better. However, the most likely winner in a fight between these two giants would have to have been Tyrannotitan. Feel free to make your own points on who would win.
Works Cited:
A Maleev, E. (1954). Giant carnivorous dinosaurs of Mongolia.. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR+. 104.
“A New, Large Tyrannosaurine Theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China.” Cretaceous Research, Academic Press, 30 Mar. 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667111000371.
Bell, Phil R., Philip J. Currie, and Yuong-Nam Lee. “Tyrannosaur Feeding Traces on Deinocheirus (Theropoda:?Ornithomimosauria) Remains from the Nemegt Formation (Late Cretaceous), Mongolia.” Cretaceous Research 37 (2012): 186–190. Web.
Canale, Juan & Novas, Fernando & Pol, Diego. (2015). Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannotitan chubutensis Novas, de Valais, Vickers-Rich and Rich, 2005 (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Historical Biology. 27. 1-32. 10.1080/08912963.2013.861830.
Hutchinson, John R. et al. “A Computational Analysis of Limb and Body Dimensions in Tyrannosaurus Rex with Implications for Locomotion, Ontogeny, and Growth.” Ed. Leon Claessens. PLoS ONE 6.10 (2011): e26037. PMC. Web. 6 Apr. 2018.
Lee, Yuong-Nam, et al. “Resolving the Long-Standing Enigmas of a Giant Ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus Mirificus.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 22 Oct. 2014, www.nature.com/articles/nature13874.
Novas, Fernando & de Valais, Silvina & Vickers Rich, Patricia & Rich, Tom. (2005). A large Cretaceous theropod from Patagonia, Argentina, and the evolution of carcharodontosaurids. Die Naturwissenschaften. 92. 226-30. 10.1007/s00114-005-0623-3.
Pepper, Darren. “Alioramus.” Alioramus, Prehistoric Wildlife, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/a/alioramus.html.
Pepper, Darren. “Chubutisaurus.” Chubutisaurus, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/c/chubutisaurus.html.
Pepper, Darren. “Tyrannotitan.” Tyrannotitan, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/t/tyrannotitan.html.
Planet Dinosaur. Dir. Nigel Paterson. Distributor, 2011. Documentary.
Tyrannotitan chubutensis
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Clade: Tetanurae
Superfamily: †Allosauroidea
Clade: †Carcharodontosauria
Family: †Carcharodontosauridae
Tribe: †Giganotosaurini
Genus: †Tyrannotitan (Novas, 2005)
Species: †T. chubutensis (Novas, 2005)
Distribution: Cerro Castaño Member, Cerro Barcino Formation, Argentina
Time Period: Upper Aptian-Lower Albian, Early Cretaceous (c. 113-112 Ma)
Size: 13 meters (42.7 feet) in length, 7 tonnes (7.7 tons) in weight
Description:
Despite the similar sounding name to the more famous Tyrannosaurus and being extremely similar in size, Tyrannotitan actually was not closely related to T. rex. The two theropods were actually quite different. Tyrannotitan was a carcharodontosaur, which were less derived than the Tyrannosaurs like Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. The carcharodontosaurs dominated the Barremian-Turonian Stages of the Early-Late Cretaceous period about 127-89 ma.
T. chubutensis mainly preyed upon the giant Titanosaurian sauropods, some of which like Argentinosaurus huinculensis got to sizes of over 35 meters (~115 feet) and 100 tonnes (110 US tons). While Tyrannotitan did not live with A. huinculensis, it still preyed upon a different massive sauropod known as Chubutisaurus insignis, which was estimated to be 23 meter (~75.5 feet) in length. Tyrannotitan would not have attacked a fully grown, healthy adult Chubutisaurus. Such an attack, even for a predator as massive and powerful as the 13 meter, 7 tonne Tyrannotitan. Without backup, the it would be crushed quite easily. Sauropods had no armor or clubs (with the exception of Shunosaurus), but their sheer mass and size alone would have made them extremely difficult to tackle. They also had exceptionally thick skin which would have required something razor sharp to cut through.
Tyrannotitan had just the set of weapons that would allow them to butcher these behemoths. A mouthful of teeth designed like steak knives. The teeth had tiny serrations which would help increase the amounts of tears in the flesh of prey. They also curved backwards, which meant that when Tyrannotitan bit down on a prey it would **** its head back and all those teeth would work like a gigantic meat slicer and tear out a huge chunk of flesh. The fact they pointed backwards also meant that it would be difficult for a struggling animal to get free without having a chunk taken out of them. (Canale, Juan & Novas, Fernando & Pol, Diego., “Tyrannotitan.”, Novas, Fernando & de Valais, Silvina & Vickers Rich, Patricia & Rich, Tom.) In the BBC documentary series Planet Dinosaur (2011), it was theorized that Mapusaurus rosae, a close relative of T. chubutensis within the Giganotosaurini Tribe, would simply “graze” off of sauropods. This meant they would simply tear out large chunks of flesh from a titanosaur so that way they did not have to spend a large quantity of energy trying to bring a behemoth down and also risk a fatal injury from the powerful tail or crushing feet of a titanosaur. This however, likely would not have provided as muchnutrients and energy as the internal organs. It is likely that flesh grazing would have been practiced, but genera like Mapusaurus and Tyrannotitan would have also worked in groups to take down a titanosaur. These groups would have been more like ragtag gangs where the teamwork would have ended the second the prey’s body hit the ground. At that point, it likely would have been the biggest and toughest getting the best parts of the prey (Planet Dinosaur.).
Tarbosaurus bataar
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: †Tyrannosauridae
Subfamily: †Tyrannosaurinae
Tribe: †Tarbosaurini (Olshevsky & Ford, 1995)
Genus: †Tarbosaurus (Maleev, 1955)
Species: †T. bataar (Maleev, 1955)
Distribution: Nemegt Formation, Mongolia
Time Period: Lower Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous (c. 71-70 Ma)
Size: Up to 12 meters (39.4 feet) in length, 5 tonnes (5.5 tons) in weight
Description:
Tarbosaurus bataar is, as of now, the third largest member of the Family Tyrannosauridae in terms of overall length and weight. The order of the largest members of the Tyrannosauridae goes like this:
Tyrannosaurus rex: 12.3 meters (40 feet) and ~8.4-14 tonnes (9.3-15.4 US tons) (Hutchinson)
Zhuchengtyrannus magnus: ~10-12 meters (32.8-39.4 feet) and 5.4 tonnes (5.95 US tons) (“A New, Large Tyrannosaurine Theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China.”)
Tarbosaurus bataar: ~10-12 meters (32.8-39.4 feet) and 5 tonnes (5.5 US tons) (A Maleev, E. (1954). )
However, Z. magnus is based on less evidence than the other two and could possibly be smaller than T. bataar. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just say that they are tied. Tarbosaurus may have been nearly the same size as its close American relative, but it was nowhere near as strong or as well equipped with weapons. It did not have as strong of teeth or as strong of a bite as Tyrannosaurus rex. It also lacked the binocular vision that Tyrannosaurus had. Its skull was also narrower more like the less derived tyrannosaurs. This also meant that its bite force was significantly weaker than that of Tyrannosaurus rex. (H. Hurum, Jørn & Karol, Sabath. (2002)., Pepper, Darren. “Tarbosaurus.”) Despite its weaker bite, it still had something that its American cousin lacked: a locking jaw. The jaws of Tarbosaurus were much more stiff and rigid than those of Tyrannosaurus rex. This meant that Tarbosaurus would be able to lock its jaws onto struggling opponents and hold on with greater ease than predators with more flexible lower jaws like Tyrannosaurus (Pepper, Darren. “Tarbosaurus.”). This likely could have been an adaptation for hunting prey which had longer necks.
Tarbosaurus lived in ancient Mongolia, which would have been a large floodplain. It lived in a paradise filled with many choices for prey. While they were not as large as Chubutisaurus, which Tyrannotitan preyed upon, the prey of Tarbosaurus were just as dangerous. There was the 11 meter long ornithomimosaur, Deinocheirus mirificus. As bizarre as it looked, this monster was several times larger than any of its other relatives at 6.4 tonnes and even outweighed Tarbosaurus by nearly a tonne and a half. It also had some of the longest arms of any bipedal dinosaur at 2.4 meters long. These long arms were also tipped with three blunt, but powerful claws that could inflict serious injuries on a would be predator. (Lee.) However, there is evidence that the tyrant was not deterred. In 2012, fossils of Deinocheirus were found with bite marks from tyrannosaurs on it. There was another tyrannosaur in the Negmet Formation, Alioramus altai, but it was only around 6 meters long and would not have been able to take on the massive Deinocheirus. The only predator in the area that was large and strong enough to do this was Tarbosaurus. (Bell., Pepper.) Deinocheirus was not the only animal that would have been on the menu for Tarbosaurus.
Another was the hadrosaur, Saurolophus angustirostris. It was the larger species in the genera. Measuring at 11 meters in length, they were another challenge for Tarbosaurus to take down. While they did not have many obvious weapons, their weight and tail could deliver punishing blows to an unsuspecting Tarbosaurus that could knock it off its feet.
The Matchup:
As far as size and strength are concerned, Tyrannotitan easily has the upper hand, being longer by about a meter and outweighing its opponent by 2 tonnes. The fact that Tarbosaurus also did not have binocular vision meant that it lacked something that would have given it a crucial advantage over Tyrannotitan. It battled more opponents who were arguably more formidable than what Tyrannotitan had to face and had a stronger bite force, however. Despite this, Tyrannotitan had a weapon that would prove extremely advantageous against another large opponent: its teeth. It could use its razor sharp teeth to inflict wound after wound after wound. Tarbosaurus could try to do the same, however Tyrannotitan’s teeth were designed to make opponents slowly bleed to death. Likely the outcome of this fight would be hard fought and could even prove fatal for both sides, but in most scenarios it would seem that Tyrannoitan would come out on top more often than not.
Winner: Tyrannotitan chubutensis
It cannot be emphasized enough that this matchup would have been extremely close. It could have gone either way. This is simply what would be the most likely outcome if these two animals were to ever meet up. Subjectively, these two creatures’ appeal can vary from person to person. Some like Tarbosaurus better, other like Tyrannotitan better. However, the most likely winner in a fight between these two giants would have to have been Tyrannotitan. Feel free to make your own points on who would win.
Works Cited:
A Maleev, E. (1954). Giant carnivorous dinosaurs of Mongolia.. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR+. 104.
“A New, Large Tyrannosaurine Theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China.” Cretaceous Research, Academic Press, 30 Mar. 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667111000371.
Bell, Phil R., Philip J. Currie, and Yuong-Nam Lee. “Tyrannosaur Feeding Traces on Deinocheirus (Theropoda:?Ornithomimosauria) Remains from the Nemegt Formation (Late Cretaceous), Mongolia.” Cretaceous Research 37 (2012): 186–190. Web.
Canale, Juan & Novas, Fernando & Pol, Diego. (2015). Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannotitan chubutensis Novas, de Valais, Vickers-Rich and Rich, 2005 (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Historical Biology. 27. 1-32. 10.1080/08912963.2013.861830.
Hutchinson, John R. et al. “A Computational Analysis of Limb and Body Dimensions in Tyrannosaurus Rex with Implications for Locomotion, Ontogeny, and Growth.” Ed. Leon Claessens. PLoS ONE 6.10 (2011): e26037. PMC. Web. 6 Apr. 2018.
Lee, Yuong-Nam, et al. “Resolving the Long-Standing Enigmas of a Giant Ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus Mirificus.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 22 Oct. 2014, www.nature.com/articles/nature13874.
Novas, Fernando & de Valais, Silvina & Vickers Rich, Patricia & Rich, Tom. (2005). A large Cretaceous theropod from Patagonia, Argentina, and the evolution of carcharodontosaurids. Die Naturwissenschaften. 92. 226-30. 10.1007/s00114-005-0623-3.
Pepper, Darren. “Alioramus.” Alioramus, Prehistoric Wildlife, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/a/alioramus.html.
Pepper, Darren. “Chubutisaurus.” Chubutisaurus, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/c/chubutisaurus.html.
Pepper, Darren. “Tyrannotitan.” Tyrannotitan, www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/t/tyrannotitan.html.
Planet Dinosaur. Dir. Nigel Paterson. Distributor, 2011. Documentary.
