Mapusaurus

Filed under Cretaceous dinosaurs · Types of Dinosaurs editorial team

Order: Saurischia · Suborder: Theropoda · Infraorder: Carcharodontosauria · Family: Carcharodontosauridae

Mapusaurus was a large carnivorous dinosaur belonging to the family Carcharodontosauridae, within the order Saurischia and suborder Theropoda. It lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina, and its name translates as "Earth lizard."

In terms of size, Mapusaurus reached a length of around 39 to 41 feet, or approximately 12 meters. It possessed narrow, blade-like teeth suited to a carnivorous diet, and it is considered to have been among the apex predators of its environment, likely preying on the immense sauropods of Patagonia. Mapusaurus is closely related to Giganotosaurus, another large carcharodontosaurid from the same region.

Mapusaurus is known from a bone bed containing the remains of several individuals of different sizes. Some scientists have interpreted this assemblage as possible evidence that these giant theropods gathered together or even hunted cooperatively, though this interpretation remains a subject of scientific discussion rather than established fact. The presence of multiple individuals at a single site makes Mapusaurus a particularly significant specimen within the Carcharodontosauria infraorder, offering potential insight into the social or behavioral dynamics of large theropod dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous.

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Reference background: Natural History Museum, London — Dinosaurs; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs; American Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs & Fossils. Figures are typical published ranges; taxonomy follows the source era and modern consensus is noted where it differs. See our sources & fact-check policy.

Related dinosaurs

Other dinosaurs from the Carcharodontosauridae family.