Discovered in 1993, Giganotosaurus gave notice to the world of the huge South American dinosaurs. Because of this continent’s isolation, the dinosaurs there grew to tremendous sizes. At 45 feet (14 meters), Giganotosaurus displaced Tyrannosaurus rex as the largest meat-eater of the dinosaurs. (Later Spinosaurus supplanted them both.) At 9 tons, Giganotosaurus had to be big for She hunted 90 ton Argentinosaurus, the largest land animal ever found (so far).
As one of the Shark-teeth Dinosaurs (Carcharodontosauridae), Giganotosaurus had serrated teeth. They were thin, sharp with jagged edges similar to shark teeth. (In contrast, T. rex had blunt rounded teeth.) With her jaws, Giganotosaurus could manipulate her mouth to act like a pair of scissors. Instead of chomping through bones, She would slice through muscles and flesh. By doing that, She would weaken Argentinosaurus until He collapsed from blood loss.
Since She was a theropod dinosaur, Giganotosaurus had short arms and three-fingered clawed hands. Using her keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight, She could catch both the scent and sight of her prey in the distance. Big, strong and fast, Giganotosaurus would sprint about 31 MPH (50 Km/H) to chase down her unfortunate victim. Meanwhile, her pointed tail kept Her balanced and enabled Giganotosaurus to make quick turns as She raced.
Judging from various finds, some scientists think that Giganotosaurus hunted in packs. This is controversial since it means that dinosaurs could coordinate their hunting. Moreover, the finds suggest that She lived in groups. That and the size of her prey which were the Titanosaurs would lend itself to pack hunting. Therefore, Giganotosaurus could be considered to be a pack-hunter like wolves or lions.
Until her discovery in the 1990s, few people considered South America a prime dinosaur area. Her spectacular find in Argentina ushered in the discoveries of the largest dinosaurs ever to be found. More spectacular is that She represents the concept that dinosaurs had more intelligence than people give them credit for. Giganotosaurus probably did work together with her friends to take down huge prey. As the apex predator of her ecosystem, Giganotosaurus was both spectacular and noticed. She opened doors to other discoveries. Shy people can learn from Her that standing out and being spectacular can be a good thing.