Expert: David Prus - 6/8/2009

Question
hi what was the bite force of giganotosaurus, carcharodontosaurus and purrusaurus?  thanks


Answer
No one has calculated the bite force of Giganotosaurus yet to my knowledge, but considering it's a scaled-up Allosaur with a well-muscled neck and narrow jaws, you can estimate it-Giganotosaurus was roughly twice the volume of Allosaurus, which had a bite force of 2,000 Newtons. That would make Giganotosaurus (and, by extension, the sister species of Carcharodontosaurus) roughly 4,000 to 5,000 Newtons (less than T.Rex, but allosaurs had a different hunting strategy based on slashing flesh rather than crushing bones)

Purussaurus had similar dimensions with Deinosuchus, a giant Cretaceous alligator. Based on this, it probably had about 20,000 N bite force.

Another way is by scaling up modern-day caimans. The Spectacled Caiman has a 70 N bite force and are 2 meters long. Purussaurus was 6 times longer and probably 10 times heavier. That would suggest a bite force of (70 X 10) 7000 N. So with estimates between 7000 and 20000, it's a big range. The only conclusive evidence can happen if the skull itself was measured and estimated.

I hope this helps