Mapusaurus was a genus of large carnivorous dinosaurs.
Not long after the discovery of Giganotosaurus, another huge South American carnivore was found. This new predator was originally to be larger than Tyrannosaurus by at least half a meter, but later estimates showed it to be slightly smaller. Even at this reduced estimate, the predator was still obviously a very large theropod, well into the top 10 biggest. Another point of interest is that four leg bones were found at the site, suggesting that the carnivore may have lived in groups. In 2006, Phil Currie and Redolfo Coria named the new theropod Mapusaurus, meaning "earth reptile". Like its cousins Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, it was an allosaur, and from South America.
Mapusaurus was similar in most respects to Giganotosaurus, but there were a few differences. It was noticeably a bit smaller, with narrower jaws and a few other differences in the bones. Like Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus had widely splayed feet, wider than the feet of most theropods. This probably gave Mapusaurus better balance than most theropods, such as Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurus.
- Name Means: Earth reptile
- Pronouciation: MAH-pu-SORE-uss
- Length: 33-46 feet (12.2-14 meters)
- Height: 8.5-12 feet (2.65-3.5 meters)
- Weight: 4 to 7 tonnes
- When: about 113 to 90 million years ago.
- Where: Patagonia, Argentina
- Diet: Large Titanosaurs and ornithopods