Giganotosaurus

giant southern lizard

• gigas / giganto- · Greek · giant
• notos · Greek · south
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines Greek words for "giant" and "southern" with the word for "lizard", so it means "giant southern lizard". It refers to the animal's huge size and to its discovery in Argentina, in the Southern Hemisphere. The type species, G. carolinii, honours Rubén Carolini, the amateur fossil hunter who found the first skeleton.

Named by

Coria and Salgado

Year named

1995

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Cenomanian

Found in

Candeleros Formation, Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina

A large carcharodontosaurid theropod and one of the biggest known meat-eating dinosaurs. It is closely related to Mapusaurus and Tyrannotitan.