- « "That wasn't a T. rex, that was a Giganotosaurus. Uh, a G-rex if you like. That thing is bigger, it's faster... it's even more dangerous." »
- — Connor differentiates Giganotosaurus from Tyrannosaurus.[src]
Giganotosaurus, nicknamed G-rex by Connor Temple, was a theropod dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period and was even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex.
Characteristics[]
Giganotosaurus was a massive predator which was larger than Tyrannosaurus rex but smaller than Spinosaurus. Giganotosaurus bore a physical resemblance and similar physical build to the T. rex, but it was bigger and had three claws on its forelimbs rather than two, and the forelimbs were also bigger in proportion compared to the rest of the body than Tyrannosaurus's forelimbs in proportion to its own body.
Giganotosaurus apparently lived in packs, although at least some were known to stray from the pack and go off on their own for prey. Generally, upon finding or seeing prey, Giganotosaurus would head to the prey, catch it in its jaws and immediately tear it to shreds, shown through some of the crew members, but unknown with Mike and his boss. Giganotosaurus was also very powerful and formidable and did not tire easily; they could easily tip cars over, they could run the length of an airfield runway, and they could quickly recover from being tripped up and collapsing despite their topheavy weight. Due to their great size, power and aggression, even one Giganotosaurus would be highly dangerous, chaotic, and difficult to contain. (Episode 3.4)
Incursions and encounters[]
Episode 3.4[]
A Giganotosaurus came through an Anomaly into an airport hangar in the present. It ate most of a camera crew and a wildlife presenter that were observing the Anomaly, except for Mick Harper and Katherine Kavanagh; whom the dinosaur trapped in their car by pushing their car over. The Giganotosaurus then went back through the Anomaly.
The Giganotosaurus later returned through the Anomaly to the airport hangar in the present, and escaped out onto the airport's runway. The dinosaur proceeded from there to travel down the runway to a Boeing 747, and to try and attack the crew and pilots inside the plane. When Jenny Lewis was trapped in her car and the Giganotosaurus attacked it, Connor Temple lured the creature away from the plane and Jenny, in a luggage cart. Connor then used the cart to trip the G-Rex up, but the creature quickly recovered. Just as the Giganotosaurus was about to eat Connor, Danny Quinn used a helicopter to lure the G-Rex back into the hangar.
In the hanger, Connor unlocked the Anomaly, then the Giganotosaurus apparently killed Mick and Kavanagh, and followed the helicopter back through the Anomaly. Shortly afterwards, in the Cretaceous, an entire pack of Giganotosaurus headed towards the Anomaly. However, Connor was able to lock the Anomaly just before the pack could come through.
Real life[]
Giganotosaurus (name meaning "giant southern lizard") was a carcharadontosaurid dinosaur genus, which lived approximately 100 or 97 million years ago in what is now Argentina. Though Giganotosaurus specimens could vary in size, some of the biggest are among the largest land-based carnivores ever known. It is believed that Giganotosaurus was probably the apex predator in its ecosystem, and that it may have preyed on gigantic herbivores such as titanosaurs living alongside it.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Episode 3.10, some theropods resembling Giganotosaurus were visible in the background in the Cretaceous forest when Connor and Abby were sleeping up in a tree near the end of the episode. Some fans believe that these theropods were Giganotosaurus.
- In Episode 4.2, an archive shot of the Giganotosaurus that appeared in Episode 3.4 was used for a picture of a creature on Area51creatures.com.
- Connor Temple nicknamed Giganotosaurus G-rex, but in reality its species name would have been G. carolinii. It was changed because Giganotosaurus resembled and was initially mistaken for Tyrannosaurus rex, and Connor dubbed it G-rex to help get the point across. Also, in reality T. rex had a stronger bite force than Giganotosaurus. However, Giganotosaurus was longer and heavier than Tyrannosaurus.
- The Giganotosaurus specimen which appeared in Episode 3.4 was bigger than the Spinosaurus which appeared in Episode 4.1; in real life, it was believed at the time that Spinosaurus was larger than Giganotosaurus, but it has since been discovered that Spinosaurus has short legs, making it smaller or around the same size.
Errors[]
- Giganotosaurus was depicted in Primeval with pronated hands. In real life, theropods could not pivot their arms without breaking them. This error was noticeable when the Giganotosaurus roared at the plane.
- Giganotosaurus was depicted as being extremely fast, even outrunning a truck. In real life, Giganotosaurus would not have gone faster than 31 mph. (50 km/h)
- The trip that the Giganotosaurus suffered in Episode 3.4 would most likely have killed it.
- In Episode 3.4, Giganotosaurus was seen living in the same time and place as Velociraptor, as a Velociraptor came through the same Anomaly. This is inaccurate, as Velociraptor lived in Mongolia 70 million years ago, while Giganotosaurus lived in South America 97 million years ago. Some fans believe that the Velociraptor in Episode 3.4 may have come through an Anomaly to Giganotosaurus' home, or vice versa.