The real spino vs Rex

[alexeratops]

C'mon now, if T rex was a scavenger then what was the apex predator in Hell Creek etc.? Eagle sized Maniraptorans? Omnivorous Ceratopsians? Every Dinosaurian ecosystem had at least one large superpredator. Even teenage Rexes weren't running the show. It was big fully mature specimens hunting and killing the megafauna. Sure they scavenged, but so does every other big carnivore.

Were Edmontosaurs and Tritops' max speed 15-20 miles an hour? Cus that was Rex's speed. And for a fast runner to be possible, the fibia bone (the shin) has to be longer  than the femur, like humans or even ornitomimus. But Rex's fibia was actually a couple inches longer than the fibia, which makes for a very slow runner (in dinosaur terms). And eagle sized maniraptorians could have been better hunters than previously imagined, or they could have larger packs.

[Balaur]

C'mon now, if T rex was a scavenger then what was the apex predator in Hell Creek etc.? Eagle sized Maniraptorans? Omnivorous Ceratopsians? Every Dinosaurian ecosystem had at least one large superpredator. Even teenage Rexes weren't running the show. It was big fully mature specimens hunting and killing the megafauna. Sure they scavenged, but so does every other big carnivore.

Were Edmontosaurs and Tritops' max speed 15-20 miles an hour? Cus that was Rex's speed. And for a fast runner to be possible, the fibia bone (the shin) has to be longer  than the femur, like humans or even ornitomimus. But Rex's fibia was actually a couple inches longer than the fibia, which makes for a very slow runner (in dinosaur terms). And eagle sized maniraptorians could have been better hunters than previously imagined, or they could have larger packs.

Being slow doesn't mean your a scavenger. They probably hunted in packs.

[triceratops83]

Ha! Fair enough. But it's up to Rexy to sneak up on 'em. I buy into the healed bite mark thing, though. As for dromaeosaurs, I think popular culture has made them a lot more ferocious than they probably were. I fancy they were taking on prey their size or more likely smaller. When I see a group of hawks bring down an elephant I'll recant.

[stargatedalek]

tyrannosaurs are well known for at the very least living(/dying) in groups, so its likely they hunted in groups as well

we know that they at least on occasion hunted well into adulthood based on healed wounds found in large dinosaurs matching tyrannosaurus bite

if it was a scavenger what would it eat? there weren't any other large predators at the same time as tyrannosaurus

there is no way that the species of maniraptor living at that time and place were taking on any top predator roles, imagine a pack of wild turkey killing a rhino, and then scale that rhino up but not the turkeys, and that is what you have when you pit a pack of maniraptors against a large hadrosaur such as edmontosaurus

[Dinomike]

I would bet on T.rex simply because of its massive jaws.  And in the light of the recent findings I would say Spino wouldn't do well on dry land.

[Arul]

Based on the recent discovery of spinosaurus, my vote is still for trex 

[suspsy]

C'mon now, if T rex was a scavenger then what was the apex predator in Hell Creek etc.? Eagle sized Maniraptorans? Omnivorous Ceratopsians? Every Dinosaurian ecosystem had at least one large superpredator. Even teenage Rexes weren't running the show. It was big fully mature specimens hunting and killing the megafauna. Sure they scavenged, but so does every other big carnivore.

Were Edmontosaurs and Tritops' max speed 15-20 miles an hour? Cus that was Rex's speed.

No, that's the lower estimate for its speed, and it's in no way conclusive. Other estimates are in the range of 25-45 mph.

And for a fast runner to be possible, the fibia bone (the shin) has to be longer  than the femur, like humans or even ornitomimus.

The human shin bone is shorter than the femur.

[LophoLeeVT]

SPINOSAURUS!!! The knuckle walking giant crocodile- with a sail!

VS

TYRANNOSAURUS!!! The slow-moving-but intimidating-scavenger!

ITS AN OBVIOUS TIE! Spinosaurus isn't willing to leave the water, while Rexy isn't equipped for combat! Hooray
haha i laughted at this googd one though realistic

[pylraster]

If the sail-intimidation trick fails, then I don't think Spino has a chance. With those short legs, I just can't see it using its forelimbs effectively. The long and relatively thin neck seems like an easy target as well.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Of course it's impossible for the two to have actually met, being so far apart both in space and in time, and even then it would be very unlikely that they'd attack each other for any reason whatsoever, but hypothetically speaking I don't think Spinosaurus would have stood much of a chance. Tyrannosaurus was a lot faster and had that incredible bite force, so it wouldn't have been too difficult for it to get its jaws round the unfortunate Spino's neck and end it all pretty quickly. Spinosaurus might just have stood a chance if it ambushed Tyrannosaurus from the water, but it would probably have had to have grabbed with its mouth to stand any chance, and from the fossil evidence it seems its claws were its main weapons.

[Shadowknight1]

Yes, but could either one beat a Calvinosaurus? 

I still want someone to discover a massive Carcharodontosaurid that's bigger than anything and then name the genus Calvinosaurus.  Why isn't this a thing yet??

[Tyto_Theropod]

I would dig up something Godzilla size and call it Tytosaurus rex. 

[LophoLeeVT]

that is juest...... so hilarious

[swedendino]

I would bet on T.rex simply because of its massive jaws.  And in the light of the recent findings I would say Spino wouldn't do well on dry land.

Exactly if Spino was an aquatic dino I think T-rex would win in a battle just because of its more powerful jaws compared to spino.

[stargatedalek]

Spinosaurus and tyrannosaurus are both top predators in their own element. An equivalent in nature today could be a large diving bird such as a cormorant or loon (spinosaurus), and a mid-sized canine for tyrannosaurus. Is tyrannosaurus going to win on land? Most likely it would, but there's no way it wouldn't sustain massive injury. Would spinosaurus win in deep water? Absolutely! Tyrannosaurus stands absolute zero chance in deep water, and that's why I say spinosaurus is the true winner here, even if its chances are slight on land, they are still exponentially better than tyrannosaurus chances in the water.

[swedendino]

I totally agree Stargate

[HD-man]

putting spinosaurus on land to fight tyrannosaurus would be like dropping an orca in the middle of a field and pronouncing it would loose a fight to a lion (and vice versa for tyrannosaurus)

False analogy: Spinosaurids were SEMI-aquatic, not FULLY aquatic, as in cetaceans.

SPINOSAURUS!!! The knuckle walking giant crocodile- with a sail!

Assuming you're not joking/trolling, "there's no evidence for knuckle-walking adaptations, and they don't appear to be necessary" ( http://scotthartman.deviantart.com/journal/There-s-something-fishy-about-the-new-Spinosaurus-481817982 ).

TYRANNOSAURUS!!! The slow-moving-but intimidating-scavenger!

Again, assuming you're not joking/trolling, "T. rex both hunted and scavenged" ( http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/books/#trhs ).

They probably hunted in packs.

Actually, they probably didn't. In fact, large theropods in general probably lacked the need & ability to hunt in packs (See the Gardom/Milner & Buchholtz quotes, respectively).

tyrannosaurs are well known for at the very least living(/dying) in groups,

Family groups, maybe, but not necessarily hunting groups ( http://blog.hmns.org/2010/03/raptors-group-hunters-or-cannibals/ ).

Quoting Gardom/Milner ( http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Museum-Book-Dinosaurs/dp/184442183X ):

Except in very rare cases, no skeletons of big hunting meat-eaters have been found near each other. This is in contrast to many 'mass grave' finds of herds of plant- eaters, and suggests that some, at least, of the large hunters operated alone. This is good survival logic, since there is no point in cutting down your food supply by sharing a hunting ground with another large stomach. The carnosaurs would have had little to gain from co-operative hunting as they were so much bigger than many of their potential victims and would have needed no help to kill them. For a single hunter the best places are forests or dense scrub, since this gives plenty of opportunity for ambushing animals which would certainly spot you coming on a flat plain. The modern leopard uses this lone hunting technique.
There are some areas where the number of meat-eating dinosaur trackways, both large and small, is surprisingly high. These may have been favourite hunting spots, perhaps along the shores of rivers and lakes, where the hunters constantly patrolled to pick up carrion that drifted ashore, or attack plant-eaters as they came to drink.
However lonely a life the big hunting dinosaurs may have led, they must have got together to produce baby dinosaurs. Again, we have very little evidence of their mating habits, although eggs attributed to meat-eaters have recently come to light in the Gobi Desert. Did they nest in groups or alone? One clue could be the discovery of different meat- eaters' skeletons with the bones of their own young inside their stomachs. Among today's animals, male bears and lions will occasionally try to kill off the young of other males, and some reptiles will actually eat their own hatchlings if put under stress. If cannibalism was part of the hunting dinosaurs' behaviour they would have tended to nest alone. They might also have been female dominated with the male being kept well away from the nest by the aggressive mother, and even being seen off completely after successful mating. The hatchlings would probably have stayed with the parent, or parents, during their most vulnerable early months, eventually leaving to find their own territory. A tantalising recent fossil find seems to show an adult Tyrannosaurus in association with a smaller adult, a juvenile and a baby. This may prove to be the first evidence of a carnosaur family group.

Quoting Buchholtz ( http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Dinosaur-Life-Past/dp/0253357012 ):

Brain anatomy in theropods is relatively well known and falls into two distinct anatomical groups, suggesting different dominant sensory modalities and lifestyles. Allosaurids and large coelurosaurs retain primitive endocast shape and distinct cerebral and pontine flexures (Fig. 10.2). The optic tectum is obscured and must have been small. The cerebral hemispheres are not separable and show only modest convexity. The prediction of extremely large olfactory bulbs in Tyrannosaurus rex (Brochu 2000) has been scaled downward, but it still seems likely that smell was a dominant sense (Rogers 1998, 1999; Stokstad 2005; Saveliev and Alifanov 2007). Rogers (1998, 1999) described the vestibular apparatus of Allosaurus fragilis, which more closely resembles that of crocodylians than that of lizards, turtles, or birds. He used semicircular canal orientation to suggest that Allosaurus held its head at or very slightly (≤10 degrees) inclined to the horizontal. Burish et al. (2004) included endocranial casts of Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, and Carcharodontosaurus in an analysis of relative telencephalic (~cerebral) size and behavior in birds. Their data indicate values for theropods at or below the range of living reptiles, and predict low social complexity.

[stargatedalek]

I made that analogy a year ago and it was intended to be humorous

[HD-man]

I made that analogy a year ago and it was intended to be humorous

7 months, but I get what you're saying. To be fair, though, it's hard to tell whether someone is being humorous online unless they make it obvious.

[LophoLeeVT]

spino has the advantage ...for now