The Era of Existence:

Spinosaurus existed during the Cretaceous period between the lower Albian to lower Cenomanian stage, 112-97 million years ago. Tyrannosaurus lived in the upper cretaceous period around 67-65.5 million years ago. T-Rex belongs to those dinosaur species which existed before the mass extinction.

Physical Traits:

What do T Rexes look like? Was the T Rex feathered?

T-Rex came into existence when spinosaurus got extinct i.e. they didn’t belong to the same time and hence never encountered each other. Tyrannosaurus was the largest carnivore of its time which was 12.3 m long and 4 m in height at hips weighing around 4.5+7.2 tonnes.  T-rex was a muscular, short-necked, heavy-headed, long-tailed, powerful, and strong dinosaur that walked on two legs. It also had two small-clawed forelimbs. young T-rex probably had a thin coat of downy feathers but adults don’t need them.

What did Spinosaurus really look like?

Spinosaurus was the largest carnivore ever roamed on earth but during its existence herbivores like the Argentinosaurus and the Sauroposeidon were larger than it. The estimated height of the spinosaurus range between 12.8-18 metres and weight between 7-20.9 tonnes. Spinosaurus had a narrow snout with a long skull similar to a crocodile. The distinctive vertical extension of the vertebra (backbone) formed a sail-like structure. Spinosaurus had shorter legs in proportion to their body.

However, there is an argument between palaeontologists that spinosaurus walked on two legs or four legs; recent studies found that it is quadrupedal i.e. it walked on four legs. T-Rex was short, muscular necked, heavy-headed having powerful legs and two short-clawed forelimbs. It had a long tail which provided balance to its torso and heavy head.

Diet:

Paleontologists are still confused over the diet of spinosaurus whether it preyed on terrestrial animals or fish and other aquatic animals. T-Rex’s diet is also not known whether it hunted the animals or lived as a scavenger.

Geographical Distribution:

The fossil remains of Spinosaurus are found in erstwhile Northern Gondwana region which falls under the present day North African countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria. Tyrannosaurus fossils are also found in a similar region of the USA (Montana, Texas, Utah), Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan), and East Asia.

Fun facts for kids:

Interesting Spinosaurus facts

• Fossils of the Spinosaurus were first found in Egypt around 1910.
• The Spinosaurus was larger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
• Spinosaurus was piscivorous, meaning fish eating dinosaur, but it likely scavenged and fed on whatever it could find.

Interesting T-Rex facts

• The T-rex had about 60 teeth.The largest tooth found was 12 inches long.
• Tyrannosaurus rex grew at almost 2.5 kg [4.6 pounds] per day for about 14 years.
• The dinosaur has many similar features to birds.

Dinosaur battle: Who would win?

The close combat Spinosaurus vs Tyrannosaurus would be the deadliest dinosaur fight ever. As we know, they both belonged to different halves of the world and existed during different time scale; they never really had encountered each other. Looking at the traits, Spinosaurus was heavier and bigger than Tyrannosaurus; it already had a size advantage. Whereas Tyrannosaurus was aggressive, stocky and muscular; when they both were in the arena it would become complex to choose the winner. However, Spinosaurus would be able to take down the tyrannosaurus due to its large size and conical shaped teeth. Hence, we predict Spinosaurus as the winner of this dinosaur battle.

Comparison Chart: T-Rex vs Spinosaurus

Comparison of Head	Spinosaurus	Tyrannosaurus
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata	Chordata
Class	Reptilia	Reptilia
Clade	Spinosauridae	Dinosauria
Order	Saurischia	Saurischia
Suborder	Theropoda	Theropoda
Species	S. aegyptiacus	T-Rex
Family	Spinosauridae	Tyrannosauridae
Location	Egypt	United States and Canada
Diet	Carnivorous	Carnivorous
Movement	Bipedal	Bipedal
Length	16 metre	Around 14 metre
Height	7m	6m
Weight	13 tons	10-12 tons
Head	Narrow skull like crocodile	Heavy headed, thick skull. Large face with eyes in front which provided it binocular vision.
Teeth	11 inches long teeth, visible from the outside.	Spike shaped teeth, 12 inches long and replaced continually.
Tail	Flexible tail	Powerful and pointed tail; helps in balancing torso
Bite Force	6500 lbs	12000lbs
Arms	2 large arms with claws	2 short-clawed forelimbs; can’t even reach its mouth
Meaning of Name	Spiny Lizard	Tyrant lizard

Comparison Video: T-Rex vs Spinosaurus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNFQYVMJDR0