Are you ready to step into a time machine and check out the world’s strongest dinosaurs?
Don’t hesitate to keep reading, as the facts you’ll discover will definitely impress you!
It goes without saying that giant carnivores were likely apex predators in their habitats, thus playing an essential role in changing the ecosystem.
Their fossils carried significant paleontological information, allowing us today to picture some of the most invincible dinosaurs!
If you thought the largest dinosaurs were also the strongest, we will prove you otherwise!
The Top 10 Strongest Dinosaurs On The List
Many of us probably picture a T-Rex when we think of the world’s strongest dinosaur.
It might, indeed, be the most powerful.
Or it might not. After all, nobody knows which dinosaur was the absolute strongest because nobody knows every single detail about these creatures.
But don’t be disappointed yet; you’ll soon learn such jaw-dropping details about these giants that you’ll want to reread the article!
The criteria we should use to state which dinosaurs were the strongest include their size, diet, bite force, and behavior.
However, only some of these details are known for each species.
For example, we might conclude that a species is almost as large as the T-Rex and even a better hunter, but its bite force might be weaker.
This remains a mystery, as scientists haven’t discovered it yet.
How do we choose the strongest?
Furthermore, scientists discovered other large carnivorous dinosaurs like the Deltadromeus or the Saurophaganax, so we might suppose they were just as strong as the T-Rex, right?
But the truth is, little is known about their predation techniques.
And what about the giant herbivores?
The Apatosaurus, for instance, could reach 23 meters (75 feet) in length and 22 metric tons (24.7 short tons) in weight.
Can we, in this situation, consider it stronger than a T-Rex?
It might have been stronger but definitely not smarter and adapted to hunting and killing other creatures.
So how do we, in this situation, decide which dinosaurs were the strongest?
It would be pure speculation until specialists propose an official list.
10.Utahraptor
| Name | Utah Raptor |
| Name Meaning | Utah’s predator |
| Pronunciation | Yoo-tah-rap-tore |
| Era | Mesozoic – Early Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 1.5 m (4.9 ft) |
| Length | 4.9–5.5 m (16–18 ft) |
| Weight | 280–300 kg (617–661 lb) |
| Location | North America |
Although quite small and lightweight compared to other dinosaurs on our list, the Utahraptor was an efficient predator.
Scientists argue that the Utahraptor wasn’t too fast but could outrun and kill large sauropods.
It also likely relied on ambushing large dinosaurs.
Besides this, this creature possessed a significant leg force used to subdue and kill prey.
This power was provided by its massive tibia that supported increased leg strength, which, in turn, encouraged the full use of the sickle claw found on the second toe of each foot.
Moreover, its robust body was equipped with blade-like manual claws, which were of great help during hunting.
9.Triceratops
| Name | Triceratops |
| Name Meaning | Three-horned face |
| Pronunciation | Try-seh-rah-tops |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Ceratopsia |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Height | 3 meters (9.8 feet) |
| Length | 8–9 meters (26.2–29.5 feet) |
| Weight | 5–9 metric tons (5.5–9.9 short tons) |
| Location | North America |
The Triceratops was a herbivore. How did it land on our list, right?
Although it didn’t actively hunt dinosaurs to kill and feed on them, the Triceratops had excellent defensive techniques and adaptations.
Paleontological evidence shows that it might’ve used its heavy-built and strong horns to escape a T-Rex!
Although such wins were probably rare, the mere fact that the Triceratops had the slightest chance of killing a T-Rex makes it one of the world’s strongest dinosaurs!
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that some specialists nowadays suggest that the horns were not actively used as defensive weapons.
8.Giganotosaurus
| Name | Giganotosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Giant Southern lizard |
| Pronunciation | Gee-gah-noh-toe-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 3.9 meters (12.7 feet) |
| Length | 12 to 13 meters (39.3 to 42.6 feet) |
| Weight | 4.2 to 13.8 metric tons (4.6 to 15.2 short tons) |
| Location | Argentina (South America) |
Having lived in today’s Argentina, the Giganotosaurus is now considered one of the world’s largest terrestrial predators.
Although there’s considerable debate regarding its size, specialists agree that it is among the largest theropods.
They weren’t too quick, reaching only 50 km/h (31 mph), and likely weren’t pursuit predators, meaning they didn’t actively chase prey.
However, this doesn’t mean they weren’t strong enough to kill large dinosaurs or win in confrontations!
This creature is known to have been able to deliver quick yet powerful bites.
It likely used its lower jaw for slicing bites.
However, since it was an apex predator in its habitat and likely lived among herbivores, the Giganotosaurus probably was not used to being confronted.
7.Carnotaurus
| Name | Carnotaurus |
| Name Meaning | Meat bull |
| Pronunciation | Kar-noh-tore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) |
| Length | 7.5 to 8 meters (24.6 to 26.2 feet) |
| Weight | 7.5 to 8 meters (24.6 to 26.2 feet) |
| Location | South America |
Commonly known as the meat bull, the Carnotaurus is an Argentinian dinosaur.
Although it wasn’t as heavy as other dinosaurs of its size, the Carnotaurus was still an excellent predator, especially thanks to its jaw structure which allowed the animal to produce a rather quick than strong bite.
Moreover, this creature had another unique adaptation that provided it an advantage against prey – its extremely flexible lower jaw made it easier for the Carnotaurus to swallow small prey items.
While some specialists argue that it preyed primarily on small animals, others suggest it could catch and kill even the biggest sauropods.
Supposedly, its jaws were used for slashing wounds, the upper jaw functioning like a serrated club.
6.Allosaurus
| Name | Allosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Different lizard |
| Pronunciation | Al-oh-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 4.5 meters (14.7 feet) |
| Length | 8.5-9.7 meters (27.8-31.8 feet) |
| Weight | 1.7-2.7 metric tons (1.9-3 short tons) |
| Location | North America |
The famous Allosaurus of the Late Jurassic was a bipedal predator known for its sharp, serrated teeth.
However, the most interesting thing about the Allosaurus in terms of its strength is its skull.
Although the creature didn’t have a very strong bite force, its skull was so resilient that it could withstand 55,500 N of vertical force!
This resilience is outstanding because its skull was relatively light and open!
As such, specialists suggest it relied on its skull to attack the largest dinosaurs, keeping its mouth open and using its teeth to tear the flesh apart.
Since it had a relatively small bite force, the Allosaurus left the bones intact, unlike the Tyrannosaurus!
Other studies based on the skull of this giant suggest that the Allosaurus could move its head and neck quickly, which helped it remove the flesh.
5.Carcharodontosaurus
| Name | Carcharodontosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Shark-toothed lizard |
| Pronunciation | Car-kah-roe-don-to-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) |
| Length | 12–12.5 meters (39.3–41 feet) |
| Weight | 6–6.2 metric tons (6.6–6.8 short tons) |
| Location | Northern Africa |
The Carcharodontosaurus was one of the world’s longest and strongest carnivores! It lived in what we now call Northern Africa approximately 99-94 million years ago.
Naturally, its large size and weight were greatly used during confrontations with other dinosaurs.
However, the strength of this dinosaur stands in its powerful jaws.
Can you imagine these dinosaurs could lift 400-kilogram animals by using their jaw and neck muscles alone!
That’s not all! This giant also had a strong bite force, reaching 11,312 N for the anterior bite force and 25,449 N for the posterior bite force, almost equaling that of the powerful Tarbosaurus!
4.Spinosaurus
| Name | Spinosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Spine lizard |
| Pronunciation | Spy-noh-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 4.5 meters (14.7 feet) |
| Length | 15 meters (49.2 feet) |
| Weight | 7.4 metric tons (8.1 short tons) |
| Location | Northern Africa |
The Spinosaurus lived roughly 99-93.5 million years ago.
It is now known as the world’s longest terrestrial carnivore, being often compared to the large Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus.
Besides its large size, the Spinosaurus had a strong bite force – more precisely, it had an anterior bite force of 4,829 N and a posterior bite force of 11,936 N.
Scientists also suggest that this giant’s jaws were specialized in killing prey through a fast-snapping technique.
Since it is also believed to have been semi-aquatic, the spine lizard can be considered stronger in defensive adaptations, as well as in competing for food with terrestrial and aquatic species, like large crocodilians and large theropods.
Another Spinosaurus strength stands in the fact that its tail and neck were flexible, and it might’ve relied on them in the water to injure or kill prey.
3.Acrocanthosaurus
| Name | Acrocanthosaurus |
| Name Meaning | High-spined lizard |
| Pronunciation | Ah-kroh-kan-tho-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Early Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 4 meters (13 feet) |
| Length | 11-11.5 meters (36-38 feet) |
| Weight | 4.4-6.6 metric tons (4.9-7.3 short tons) |
| Location | North America |
The giant Acrocanthosaurus!
This bipedal predator lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous.
It is believed to have been an apex predator and the largest theropod in its habitat.
As with other dinosaurs on our list, the Acrocanthosaurus had a strong bite force – 8,266 N for the anterior part of the jaws and 16,894 for the posterior part!
Besides its strong bite force, the Acrocanthosaurus had very weird forelimbs.
More precisely, their range of motion likely differed from most dinosaurs.
Since the high-spined lizard couldn’t swing its forelimbs too far forward, it couldn’t use them to catch prey.
Instead, it relied on the ability to retract its hands toward the body, thus holding prey tightly against it, preventing an escape.
But that’s not all!
The Acrocanthosaurus also had stiff wrists and hyperextensible digits, so it was almost impossible for the prey to slip this grip!
2.Tarbosaurus
| Name | Tarbosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Alarming lizard |
| Pronunciation | Tar-bo-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 3 meters (9.8 feet) |
| Length | 10 meters (32.8 feet) |
| Weight | 4.5–5 metric tons (5.0–5.5 short tons) |
| Location | Asia |
Can you imagine that the Tarbosaurus is often forgotten to be added to lists of the strongest dinosaurs?
They’re roughly the same size as the T-Rex, but, most importantly, it has one of the strongest bite forces known in terrestrial animals!
A study shows that its anterior bite force is 13,298 N and posterior bite force is 24,253 N!
This means its jaws were almost as powerful as those of a T-Rex, being able to crush bones just as easily!
Furthermore, this giant had large olfactory bulbs, indicating a keen sense of smell, while the large auditory nerve points to a good sense of hearing.
However, the Tyrannosaurus had the upper hand regarding vision, as it had forward-facing eyes.
The Tarbosaurus, on the other hand, had sideway-facing eyes, so it likely relied more on its smell and hearing to hunt and catch prey.
What do you think? Would the Tarbosaurus be an equal of the T-Rex?
1.Tyrannosaurus
| Name | Tyrannosaurus |
| Name Meaning | Tyrant lizard |
| Pronunciation | Tie-ran-oh-sore-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Height | 3.66–3.96 m (12–13 feet) |
| Length | 12.3–12.4 m (40.4–40.7 feet) |
| Weight | 8.87 metric tons (9.78 short tons) |
| Location | Western North America |
The almighty Tyrannosaurus rex!
How could it not have been number 1?
After all, it’s believed to have had the strongest bite force among all terrestrial animals.
More precisely, it could exert an average bite force of 35,000-57,000 N, although studies estimate its maximum bite force to be between 183,000 and 235,000 N!
The strong bite force allowed the powerful T-Rex to crush bones and feed on even the largest dinosaurs!
But is this enough to make it the world’s strongest dinosaur? We think so, but with new discoveries being made everyday, we’ll never know for sure.
Some scientists argue that this giant was rather a scavenger, not a predator.
This is supported by the fact that its arms were too short to achieve the required gripping force to subdue prey.
On the other hand, it was fairly large, had binocular vision, which is found primarily in predators, and was probably capable of moving fast enough to catch and kill large ceratopsians.
This further supports that it was a strong predator.
But will it win against any type of dinosaur? Again, for now we are confident so. Will the future tell us otherwise? We shall see!
Conclusion
This journey helped us explore the strongest dinosaurs that were once dominant predators in their habitats.
This way, we learn to appreciate the incredible diversity of our world’s prehistoric wildlife!
Although they disappeared millions of years ago, the strongest dinosaurs are still of great interest to paleontologists and dinosaur enthusiasts.
As such, tell us, which one’s your favorite? We’re eager to know!
Sources:
- www.wikipedia.com for all dinosaurs discussed
- https://www.academia.edu/225747
- https://www.nature.com/articles/35059070
- https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.23164
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080227134632/http://www.mnhn.ul.pt/geologia/gaia/12.pdf
- https://peerj.com/articles/13731/
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00015-010-0025-1
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0891296021000050755
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303775/
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