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Giganotosaurus is one of the biggest carnivores and is close in size to the spinosaurus. Giganotosaurus lived in what is now Argentina and roamed the lush plains and valleys that appeared at the time. At first it puzzled scientist as to why it grew to such a size but they found their answer when other large herbivores were found in the area. This meant that in order for the Giganotosaurus to take down such large prey it had to be large itself. It's believed that they may have hunted in packs to take down large prey such as the Argentinosaurus which was about 90ft in length! Giganotosaurus also had an enormous skull filled with rows of large knife shaped teeth perfectly adapted for ripping and tearing flesh. Giganotosaurus would've been one of the top predators in the area and probably didn't have to hunt for its meals, rather it could simply steal carcasses from other carnivores. As its name implies Giganotosaurus means, "Giant southern lizard" because of its enormous size. The discovery of Giganotosaurus and other large canosaurs in the areas shows that although their kin had been all but completely eliminated from North America, a few species managed to make it into South America. It's here that over time South America became isolated along with its inhabitants. not many hadrosaurids and ceratopsians were present on the continent which allowed the previously outcasted sauropods to become the dominant herbivores. Thus as result of such little competition they in turn grew to astronomical lengths, even rivaling those of modern day whales. Furthermore carnosaurs also had to "supersize" in order to take down such prey taking their role as the top predators as they once had been in North America during the Jurassic. Another group of carnivores prevalent in South America were the Abelisaurids, animals with short rounded skulls, stubby arms, and powerful hind legs built for running. However abelisaurs probably assumed the ecological role of modern day hyenas, hunting small to medium sized game and scavenging on the kills of larger animals like Giganotosaurus. Unfortunately the reign of the South American Carcharadontids would not last and saw a slow but gradual decline in numbers as the cretaceous came to a close. The once abundant large saurpods died out as conditions and climates changed leaving a dwindling food supply and a population of starving sauropods. At first all would've seemed like a continuous feast for the Carcharadontids that preyed on the dying Titanosaurs, but once their food supply was gone they too could not find the sustenance needed to fuel their large bodies. |