# New Dino Discovered! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 12, 2007, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727 "2007-12-12T10:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/1 "2007-12-12T10:52:43Z")
[Move over T. Rex, there’s a new badass in town, and his arms _can_ reach his weenie!](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7138782.stm) > [@](#): > > Fossils of a massive dinosaur unearthed a decade ago in the Republic of Niger, Africa, have been recognised as belonging to a new species. > > Scientists say _Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis_ was one of the largest meat-eaters that ever lived, rivalling T. rex in size and ferocity. > > The 95-million-year-old fossils have been kept in a Chicago laboratory for several years, awaiting classification. > > A student stumbled on the remains and realised they were important. > > “It really is a fascinating animal - it was one of the largest meat eaters that lived on the planet,” said Steve Brusatte, now an MSc student at the University of Bristol. “It’s a new species - it is something totally different.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ignis\_glaciesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@ignis\_glaciesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignis_glaciesque)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/2 "2007-12-12T12:25:19Z")
Like a coworker of mine just said the other day, “It’s _hard_ to masturbate with Tyrannosaurus rex arms!” ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/3 "2007-12-12T16:51:07Z")
I betcha my allosaurus gang could take it down. Ain’t no lab in Chicago strong enough to hold us in. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/4 "2007-12-12T18:15:10Z")
My friend Anthony, in 4th grade: “how did the T-Rex jack off?” I think it’s impossible for anyone to resist imagining T-Rex masturbation scenarios at some point in their life. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/5 "2007-12-12T18:22:45Z")
Here is a quote from the article: “It was a 13m long predator that still had to watch its own back because something bigger was out there - an animal called Spinosaurus,” Would that really be true? I thought that Spinosaurs were designed to be fish-eaters (due to the shape of their jaws and teeth) – feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Would a Spinosaur really go after another large, tyrannosaur-like predator? And what is that other gigantic, nine-meter tall predator? Any one know of pics of this devastating beast? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/6 "2007-12-12T18:27:17Z")
And these animals were running around the planet…Triceratops scampering about like herds of buffalo. What an interesting time. Makes me wish I’d have stuck with paleontology. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/7 "2007-12-12T18:40:34Z")
Actually, _Tyrannosaurus_ moved over a while ago, to make room for the dramatically (if somewhat misleadingly\*) -named [_Gigantosaurus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganotosaurus) and the pathetically-named [_Spinosaurus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus). But hey, there’s always more room at the top for Mondo Carnivores. \*–at least in my opinion. If a dinosaur is named “Gigantosaurus,” I think one would reasonably expect it to be not merely gigantic, but gigantic compared to other dinosaurs. Yes, it’s gigantic for a theropod; but I’d expect a name like that to be found among the titanosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/8 "2007-12-12T18:51:17Z")
[QUOTE=gytalf2000] And what is that other gigantic, nine-meter tall predator? Any one know of pics of this devastating beast? [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure the author, Helen Briggs, was high when she typed that line. I believe abelisaurids were closer to 9m in maximum length. In any case, if there were reliable evidence of a 27-foot-tall carnivore (half as tall as _Spinosaurus_ was long?!), _Carcharadontosaurus_ would seem like pretty small beer by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/9 "2007-12-12T19:16:48Z")
And it can run faster than a double-decker bus can? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/10 "2007-12-12T19:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Actually, _Tyrannosaurus_ moved over a while ago, to make room for the dramatically (if somewhat misleadingly\*) -named [_Gigantosaurus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganotosaurus) and the pathetically-named [_Spinosaurus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus). But hey, there’s always more room at the top for Mondo Carnivores. \*–at least in my opinion. If a dinosaur is named “Gigantosaurus,” I think one would reasonably expect it to be not merely gigantic, but gigantic compared to other dinosaurs. Yes, it’s gigantic for a theropod; but I’d expect a name like that to be found among the titanosaurs. [/QUOTE] [nitpick] It’s actually _Giganotosaurus._ There is another dinosaur, a poorly-known sauropod, named _Gigantosaurus._[/nitpick] Among theropods, a number of other species are known to have rivalled or exceeded known specimens of _T.rex_ in overall length or skull size or estimated weight, including the aforementioned _Giganotosaurus carolinii_, _Carcharodontosaurus saharicus_, _Spinosaurus aegyptiacus_, _Torvosaurus tanneri_, _Allosaurus amplexus_, _Acrocanthosaurus atokensis_. General consensus however, is that _T.rex_ is still the most heavily-built large theropod. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/11 "2007-12-12T19:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=gytalf2000] Here is a quote from the article: “It was a 13m long predator that still had to watch its own back because something bigger was out there - an animal called Spinosaurus,” Would that really be true? I thought that Spinosaurs were designed to be fish-eaters (due to the shape of their jaws and teeth) – feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Would a Spinosaur really go after another large, tyrannosaur-like predator? And what is that other gigantic, nine-meter tall predator? Any one know of pics of this devastating beast? [/QUOTE] _Spinosaurus_ was, indeed, built more for fish-eating than for taking down tyrannosaurs or carcharadontosaurs. That’s one of the main things (though far from the only thing) that pissed me off about _Jurassic Park III_. > [@Terrifel](#): > > \*–at least in my opinion. If a dinosaur is named “Gigantosaurus,” I think one would reasonably expect it to be not merely gigantic, but gigantic compared to other dinosaurs. Yes, it’s gigantic for a theropod; but I’d expect a name like that to be found among the titanosaurs. The critter is named _Giganotosaurus_, not _Gigantosaurus_. That extra “o” makes a lot of difference. And for the record, _Carcharadontosaurus_ isn’t new. The genus was first named back in 1931, for crying out loud! This may be a new species, but it’s not like it’s substantially larger than any other known carcharadontosaur. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-dino-discovered/429727/12 "2007-12-12T22:26:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] [nitpick] It’s actually _Giganotosaurus._ There is another dinosaur, a poorly-known sauropod, named _Gigantosaurus._[/nitpick] [/QUOTE] > [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > The critter is named Giganotosaurus, not Gigantosaurus. That extra “o” makes a lot of difference. See? SEE? Did I not say the name was misleading? I rest my case. It’s even worse than I’d imagined. When I discover my first dinosaur genus, I’m going to name it _Tyrrannosaurus_, just to dick with people. I hope it’s the size of a guinea pig and eats aphids. Children will turn in school reports on “Tyrrannosaurus, King of the Cretaceous;” and then their classmates will point out the error and laugh and laugh, shaming them into a permanent state of sullen withdrawl, and they’ll abandon their interest in dinosaurs and find jobs in the field of electrical engineering instead. The entire science of paleontology will wither on the vine. Or… is it _palaeontology?!_ Is that what the other “a” is for-- plausible deniability? So paleontologists can deflect criticism by claiming, “Oh, no, you’re thinking of that OTHER discipline, with the extra ‘a’ in it. That’s palAeontology, the study of Jack Palance. Totally different subject.” Nice try, paleontology! The rest of us see through your shameful tissue of lies!