Move Over Tyrannosaurus Rex! Giant Meat Eating Dinosaur Ruled Before T Rex

• Siats  meekerorum deemed to have ruled 98 million years ago

• Giant meat eating dinosaur was approximately as large as Tyrannosaurus rex

Giant meat eating dinosaur Siats meekerorum
Image by Weldt

The fossil of another massive meat eating dinosaur that ruled before Tyrannosaurus rex has been discovered in Utah.  This giant meat eating dinosaur is a part of the allosaurid theropod family which were deemed “megapredators.”  This dinosaur, fortunately for Tyrannosaurus rex, ruled over the lands well before t-rex even existed.  The fossil was estimated to have lived approximately 98 million years ago.  Tyrannosaurus rex, subsequently taking the lead in the world of predators, lived 67 million years ago.

The giant meat eating dinosaur was dubbed Siats  meekerorum, and was the top predator of its time.  Siats meekerorumwas similar to Tyrannosaurus rex in size, weighing in at more than four tons, and growing to the length of a school bus (approximately 36 to 37 feet).  By comparison, Tyrannosaurus rex grew to 40 feet, and weighed in at about 7.5 tons.

If Tyrannosaurus rex and Siats  meekerorum had ever met, you can be sure that an epic battle would have ensued.  Siats  meekerorum may have had an advantage with its longer arms.

Siats  meekerorum, the giant meat eating dinosaur was named after a rapacious monster from legend of the Ute tribe in Utah.

The remains of Siats meekerorum found in Utah were unfortunately incomplete.  This specimen of the giant meat eating dinosaur were also juvenile.  The fossil found puts the specimen at approximately 30 feet long, weighing in at 9,000 pounds at full growth.  This puts the monstrous meat eater as the third largest predator found in North America.

Researchers are excited about the find due to having an estimated 25 million years of undocumented predatory history previously.  The finding of the giant meat eating dinosaur Siats meekerorum helps to fill in the gap and prove that allosaurids did indeed rule for longer than previously believed.

For more information on Siats meekerorum, see the study published in Nature Communications.