Mapusaurus roseae

Mapusaurus inhabited what is now Argentine Patagonia during the Cenomanian, 97 to 93 million years ago. The paleoenvironment of the Huincul Formation was arid to semi-arid, with ephemeral or seasonal watercourses in a braided river system. Vegetation included ferns, conifers, gnetophytes, and flowering plants at an early stage of expansion. The same ecosystem harbored giant titanosaurs like Argentinosaurus and Choconsaurus, rebbachisaurids, abelisaurids, paravians, crocodilians, chelid turtles, and squamates.

Mapusaurus was an apex predator with laterally compressed serrated teeth adapted for slicing the flesh of large prey. The most discussed hypothesis is that groups of Mapusaurus cooperatively hunted giant titanosaurs like Argentinosaurus, which could reach 30 to 40 meters and was considered immune to solitary predators. The presence of multiple individuals of different ages in the bonebed suggests habitual interspecific association. Biomechanical studies indicate that at 3-6 tonne body mass, maximum speed was below 20 km/h, favoring ambush tactics or collective attrition against sauropods.

The monospecific bonebed at Cañadón del Gato, with at least seven to nine individuals of different ages, is the strongest evidence for gregarious behavior in a carcharodontosaurid. Researchers including Rodolfo Coria and Philip Currie interpreted the site as indicating Mapusaurus lived and possibly hunted in groups, although taphonomic accumulation through other factors (such as drought mortality events) cannot be ruled out. Bell & Coria's (2013) paleopathological study revealed bone traumas consistent with an active and hazardous lifestyle, possibly including intra or interspecific conflicts.

As a large theropod, Mapusaurus likely had endothermic or mesothermic metabolism, similar to that demonstrated by bone histology in tyrannosaurids (Erickson et al., 2004). Forelimbs were vestigial relative to body size, a convergent trend with tyrannosaurids and abelisaurids documented by Canale et al. (2022) in Meraxes. The prominent fourth trochanter on the femur is a diagnostic character of clade Giganotosaurini. Maximum speed estimates based on giant theropod biomechanics fall below 20 km/h for individuals of 3 tonnes or more.

Founding paper formally describing Mapusaurus roseae based on material from a monospecific bonebed in the Huincul Formation, Neuquén, Argentina. Rodolfo Coria and Philip Currie analyze cranial and postcranial elements from at least seven individuals of different sizes, diagnose the new genus and species, and perform phylogenetic analysis placing Mapusaurus within a new subfamily, Giganotosaurinae, more closely related to Giganotosaurus than to Carcharodontosaurus. The paper describes the deeper and narrower skull compared to Giganotosaurus, fused rugose nasals, and proportionally shorter cervical vertebrae. The presence of multiple individuals of varying ages at the same site led the authors to hypothesize gregarious behavior or cooperative hunting against giant prey like Argentinosaurus. Published in Geodiversitas 28(1):71-118, this work is the primary taxonomic reference for the species.

Skull reconstruction of Mapusaurus roseae including outline of the largest known specimen. The deep, narrow skull shape is one of the diagnostic characters defined by Coria & Currie (2006).

Display of cranial elements of Mapusaurus roseae at the Museo Carmen Funes, Plaza Huincul, Argentina, where holotype MCF-PVPH-108.1 is housed.

Description of Giganotosaurus carolinii, the closest South American relative of Mapusaurus and coexistent in the same Patagonian region. This Nature paper is fundamental for contextualizing Mapusaurus: both species form the tribe Giganotosaurini within Carcharodontosauridae, defined by Coria & Currie (2006) when describing Mapusaurus. Coria & Salgado establish diagnostic characters of Giganotosaurus, such as the proportionally low skull and reduced shoulder girdle, which would serve as the basis for anatomical comparisons Coria would use ten years later to separate Mapusaurus as a distinct genus. The discovery of a giant South American carcharodontosaurid also paved the way for accepting Mapusaurus as the apex predator of the Cenomanian Patagonia.

Size comparison of major known carcharodontosaurids, including Mapusaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Carcharodontosaurus. Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus form the tribe Giganotosaurini, more closely related to each other than to any other family member.

Size comparison of dinosaurs from the Huincul Formation, where Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus coexisted with giant titanosaurs like Argentinosaurus during the Cenomanian.

Phil Bell and Rodolfo Coria examine 176 skeletal elements from at least nine Mapusaurus individuals from the monospecific bonebed of the Huincul Formation and identify five bones with pathologies. Lesions include traumatic fractures, infectious erosions, and developmental anomalies in a cervical vertebra, ribs, phalanx, and ilium. The anomaly rate (7-19% of individuals) is compared with tyrannosaurid and allosaurid populations, reflecting an active and hazardous lifestyle for these apex predators. The study is pioneering in applying population paleopathology to carcharodontosaurids, providing unprecedented data on behavior and life risks in a poorly known dinosaur group. Trauma evidence is consistent with active predatory behavior against large-bodied prey.

Pathological postcranial skeletal elements of Mapusaurus roseae published by Bell & Coria (2013) in PLOS ONE. The image shows ribs, phalanx, and neural arch with erosions, fractures, and lesions documented in the paleopathological bonebed study.

Skull cast of Mapusaurus roseae on display at the Museo Carmen Funes, Plaza Huincul, Argentina. Cranial elements from the bonebed provided essential data for Bell & Coria's (2013) paleopathological study.

Canale, Novas, Salgado, and Coria analyze cranial ontogenetic variation in multiple Mapusaurus roseae individuals from the Huincul Formation bonebed. The study demonstrates significant differences in the maxillary fenestra and surface bone texture between individuals of different sizes, indicating heterochrony: differing developmental rates of cranial features relative to overall body growth. The authors suggest this pattern may have played an evolutionary role in cranial diversification of carcharodontosaurids as a group. The work is fundamental for understanding how Mapusaurus grew and how the bonebed represents a multi-ontogenetic sample of the population. Published in Paläontologische Zeitschrift 89, 983-993, 2015, the paper strengthens the interpretation that the bonebed preserves individuals of different ages from the same group.

Scale comparison of seven carcharodontosaurids. Canale et al. (2015) cranial ontogenetic variation study in Mapusaurus contributes to understanding morphological differences observed among family members.

Size comparison between Mapusaurus roseae and a human. The bonebed studied by Canale et al. (2015) preserved individuals from 6 to 13 meters, allowing direct ontogenetic analysis of cranial variation throughout growth.

Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Tetanurae by Carrano, Benson, and Sampson, coding 65 taxa and 290 morphological characters, with direct implications for Mapusaurus's position within Carcharodontosauridae. The work confirms Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus as sister taxa in tribe Giganotosaurini, and firmly places Carcharodontosauridae within Allosauroidea. The authors discuss that they could not identify unambiguous autapomorphies separating Mapusaurus from Giganotosaurus based solely on postcranial morphology, but maintain both as distinct genera. The work provides the most complete tetanuran phylogenetic matrix published to that date and is widely cited in all subsequent carcharodontosaurid studies, including analyses incorporating Meraxes (2022) and new African carcharodontosaurids (2025).

Artistic restoration of Mapusaurus roseae. Carrano et al. (2012) phylogenetic analysis confirms its position as the sister taxon of Giganotosaurus in tribe Giganotosaurini, within Carcharodontosauridae.

Five large Cretaceous carnivores in comparative scale. The phylogenetic position of Mapusaurus, established by Carrano et al. (2012), shows that South American giants Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus evolved independently of Northern Hemisphere tyrannosaurids.

Description of Meraxes gigas, a new giant carcharodontosaurid from the Huincul Formation, Argentina, whose phylogenetic analyses place it as the most basally branching member of tribe Giganotosaurini, as sister taxon to the clade formed by Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus. Canale et al. (2022) in Current Biology has direct implications for understanding Mapusaurus evolution: it demonstrates that forelimb reduction in large theropods is a convergent independent trend across different lineages (carcharodontosaurids, tyrannosaurids, abelisaurids), not an inheritance from a common ancestor. The study updates the phylogenetic tree of Carcharodontosauridae and provides new divergence time estimates between Mapusaurus and its relatives, showing that tribe Giganotosaurini diversified mainly in South America during the Cretaceous.

Mounted skeleton of Mapusaurus roseae. Canale et al. (2022) analysis revealed that Meraxes gigas, from the same Huincul Formation, is the most basal relative of the Mapusaurus-Giganotosaurus clade, deepening knowledge of Giganotosaurini diversity.

Mapusaurus roseae silhouette to scale. Canale et al. (2022) study on Meraxes gigas updated phylogenetic relationships within Giganotosaurini and confirmed Mapusaurus as one of the most derived tribe members.

Seminal paper by Paul Sereno and coauthors re-describing Carcharodontosaurus saharicus based on African material and positioning it as a close relative of South American carcharodontosaurids, including the clade that would come to include Mapusaurus. The biogeographic analysis demonstrates faunal connections between Africa and South America during the Cretaceous, when both continents were still closer before the full opening of the South Atlantic. This work establishes the essential paleobiogeographic context for understanding why Mapusaurus exists in Patagonia: carcharodontosaurids originated in Gondwana and diversified in parallel on South American and African landmasses. Sereno et al. (1996) in Science is widely cited in all Mapusaurus papers as the basis for discussing the family's historical biogeography.

Five of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, including representatives of African and South American carcharodontosaurids. Sereno et al. (1996) established the biogeographic connection between Gondwanan predatory faunas that led to the diversification of the group including Mapusaurus.

Diagram of the Carcharodontosaurus saharicus skull published by Ernst Stromer (public domain). Sereno et al. (1996) re-described and repositioned Carcharodontosaurus as a close relative of South American carcharodontosaurids including Mapusaurus.

Hutchinson, Ng-Thow-Hing, and Anderson develop 3D interactive methods for estimating body segment parameters in extinct animals and apply them to giant theropods. Locomotor performance estimates are especially relevant for Mapusaurus, whose bonebed led to speculation about group hunting against Argentinosaurus. The study demonstrates that for individuals above 3 tonnes, maximum sustainable speeds fall below 20 km/h, implying that large sauropod hunting by carcharodontosaurids depended more on strategy and collective force than on individual speed. The paper contextualizes biomechanics and behavior in giant predators of the dinosaur age and is a mandatory reference for discussion of Mapusaurus locomotor capabilities.

Size comparison between Mapusaurus roseae and a human. Hutchinson et al. (2007) estimated that at Mapusaurus's body mass of 3-6 tonnes, maximum sustainable speed would be below 20 km/h, with implications for the cooperative hunting hypothesis.

Comparison of the largest known theropods, including Mapusaurus (right). The biomechanical constraints calculated by Hutchinson et al. (2007) for giant theropods apply to all giant predators of the dinosaur age.

Although focused on tyrannosaurids, this paper by Erickson et al. establishes the bone histology method for estimating growth rates in giant theropods that would be applied by subsequent researchers to carcharodontosaurids like Mapusaurus. The study demonstrates endothermic metabolism in large theropods based on explosive adolescent growth, with T. rex gaining over 700 kg per year. These growth patterns have implications for interpreting the Mapusaurus bonebed: if carcharodontosaurids shared similar growth rates to tyrannosaurids, the very differently sized individuals in the bonebed could represent a relatively small age range, reinforcing the family group or multigenerational herd hypothesis. Erickson et al.'s histological method is the methodological foundation for any future growth study on Mapusaurus.

The largest known theropods compared. The bone histology methods established by Erickson et al. (2004) for estimating growth in giant theropods are the methodological foundation applicable to Mapusaurus for reconstructing its ontogeny.

Allosaurus fragilis skeleton at the Natural History Museum of London. Allosaurus is a basal allosauroid used as outgroup in carcharodontosaurid phylogenetic analyses, and its bone growth pattern is compared with Mapusaurus in histological studies.

Novas, Pol, Canale, Porfiri, and Calvo describe a new bizarre Patagonian theropod and discuss Gondwanan theropod evolution during the Cretaceous, including phylogenetic and biogeographic context for carcharodontosaurids like Mapusaurus. The work helps understand the diversity of apex predators inhabiting the same region and time period as Mapusaurus, offering evidence that Gondwanan continents maintained limited faunal exchanges with the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous. Novas et al. (2009) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B is widely cited in discussions of Gondwanan theropod biogeography and evolutionary isolation that led to independent diversification of groups like giganotosaurines in South America.

The longest theropods. The diversity of Patagonian theropods studied by Novas et al. (2009) demonstrates that South America harbored unique evolutionary lineages of giant predators, including tribe Giganotosaurini to which Mapusaurus belongs.

Map of supercontinents Laurasia and Gondwana 200 Ma ago. Novas et al. (2009) discusses how Gondwana fragmentation during the Cretaceous isolated South American theropod faunas, leading to independent diversification of lineages like the giganotosaurines including Mapusaurus.

Kellermann, Cuesta, and Rauhut reexamine a destroyed Egyptian carcharodontosaurid specimen using historical photographs and propose a new genus, Tameryraptor markgrafi, separate from Carcharodontosaurus saharicus. The phylogenetic analysis included in the paper, published in PLOS ONE in 2025, confirms Mapusaurus and Giganotosaurus as sister taxa in Giganotosaurini and presents the most updated phylogenetic matrix of Allosauroidea. The work has direct implications for carcharodontosaurid biogeography: the separation of African and South American species into distinct genera reinforces the vicariant diversification scenario following Gondwana fragmentation. This is the most recent high-relevance paper including phylogenetic analysis positioning Mapusaurus and discussing the family's evolutionary history.

Comparative morphology of pneumatic openings in the quadrate of non-avian theropods, including carcharodontosaurids. Detailed anatomical studies like Kellermann et al. (2025) rely on comparisons of cranial elements among taxa to establish phylogenetic relationships.

Skull of Giganotosaurus carolinii displayed at the National Museum of Natural History of Chile (2025). Giganotosaurus is the sister taxon of Mapusaurus in Giganotosaurini, and skull comparisons were fundamental to Kellermann et al. (2025) phylogenetic analysis.

Pol and Novas describe new theropod fauna from the Huincul Formation of northwestern Patagonia, documenting faunal diversity of the Cenomanian-Turonian Patagonian ecosystem contemporaneous with Mapusaurus. The work records carcharodontosaurids, abelisaurids, and paravians from the same formation, indicating Mapusaurus coexisted with other predators of different sizes and ecological strategies. The coexistence of a giant apex predator like Mapusaurus with medium-sized abelisaurids and smaller paravians suggests ecological niche partitioning, with each group exploiting different prey classes. This paper is fundamental for understanding the ecological context in which Mapusaurus lived and the biological interactions that shaped the Huincul Formation ecosystem during the Cenomanian.

Location map of Neuquén Province in Argentina, where the Huincul Formation outcrops. Pol & Novas (2003) describe the theropod fauna from this specific geographic context, where Mapusaurus was the apex predator.

Skeletal reconstruction of Argentinosaurus huinculensis (public domain). Argentinosaurus was the likely primary prey of Mapusaurus in the Huincul Formation, and the coexistence of both in the ecosystem documented by Pol & Novas (2003) underpins the cooperative hunting hypothesis.

Benson et al. analyze body mass evolution rates across the entire dinosaur phylogeny, including carcharodontosaurids like Mapusaurus. The study demonstrates that the avian lineage (leading to modern birds) maintained sustained ecological innovation for 170 million years, while lineages like carcharodontosaurids evolved gigantism as a niche specialization for apex predators. Mapusaurus data (3-6 tonnes) is incorporated into the macroscopic analysis, and the paper provides the broadest evolutionary context for understanding why Mapusaurus and its relatives achieved such extreme sizes. Published in PLOS Biology, the work is a reference for macroecological dinosaur studies and includes Mapusaurus in comparative analyses of body mass evolution in Carnosauria.

Comparison of the longest known dinosaurs, including sauropods like Argentinosaurus. Benson et al. (2014) macroevolutionary study shows that gigantism evolved differently in predators like Mapusaurus and the sauropod prey that inhabited the same ecosystem.

Size comparison of Argentinosaurus huinculensis with a person. Benson et al. (2014) macroevolutionary analysis includes Argentinosaurus and Mapusaurus as representatives of the Patagonian ecosystem where predator and prey evolved in parallel toward extreme sizes.

Agnolin et al. reassessed non-avian dinosaur faunas from Cretaceous Australia and New Zealand, documenting Gondwanan affinities with South American and African faunas. The work has implications for understanding the biogeographic distribution of carcharodontosaurids like Mapusaurus in the context of Gondwana fragmentation. Analysis suggests that faunal connections between Gondwanan landmasses during the Cretaceous were more extensive than previously thought, helping explain the disjunct geographic distribution of Carcharodontosauridae between South America, Africa, and Asia. The paper provides complementary biogeographic context for understanding why predators so similar to Mapusaurus evolved in different parts of the ancient Gondwana supercontinent.

Skeletal reconstruction of Argentinosaurus huinculensis (Sellers et al., 2013, PLOS ONE). The Gondwanan biogeography studied by Agnolin et al. (2010) connects the sauropod and carcharodontosaurid fauna of the Huincul Formation with other Southern Hemisphere Cretaceous faunas.

Scale comparison between Carcharodontosaurus saharicus specimens. The Gondwanan distribution of carcharodontosaurids documented by Agnolin et al. (2010) shows that African relatives of Mapusaurus like Carcharodontosaurus inhabited multiple Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the Cretaceous.

Hendrickx, Araújo, and Mateus propose standardized terminology for theropod quadrate morphology and document the comparative anatomy of this bone across various lineages, including carcharodontosaurids like Mapusaurus. The quadrate is demonstrated as a highly phylogenetically useful element, with pneumatic features being particularly diagnostic at family and genus levels. The image published in the article, available on Wikimedia Commons, shows pneumatic openings in the quadrate of multiple theropods including carcharodontosaurids, allowing direct comparison with Mapusaurus material. Published in PLOS ONE, the work is a reference for comparative cranial anatomy in theropods and was widely used in subsequent carcharodontosaurid studies like Kellermann et al. (2025).

Comparison of the longest theropods (Arabic version): Spinosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, T. rex, and Carcharodontosaurus. The standardized quadrate terminology by Hendrickx et al. (2015) applies to all these large theropods, including Mapusaurus.

Comparison of the longest theropods (Russian version): Spinosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, T. rex, and Carcharodontosaurus to scale. The standardized terminology by Hendrickx et al. (2015) is adopted in anatomical comparisons among these large predators.

Full-size T-rex animatronic from the Jurassic Park franchise, with the iconic red Jeep — Amaury Laporte · CC BY 2.0