Top 20 Most Extremely Dangerous Dinosaurs

During the Triassic period, large sauropods walked the land while plesiosaurs stalked the seas. It was a dangerous era filled with predators and natural disasters. One of the greatest dangers of the Triassic was also one of its smallest: the Coelophysis. This seemingly fragile, tiny creature thrived during one of the most chaotic eras on earth. Don’t let its almost cute exterior fool you: the Coelophysis was a stone-cold killer. It had grasping arms, which helped to pin down prey. But the defining feature of these tiny killers is that they were built for speed. They ran in packs and would run their prey down, overwhelming them with numbers. Teamwork made the Triassic dream work.

Saurophaganax made its home in North America where it was the largest land predator of the Late Jurassic. It was equipped with deadly ‘meat-chopper’ chevrons on its tail. It grew to around 40 feet in length weighing in at more than three metric tons. The Saurophaganax sported tremendous claws and jaws of steel. Think of the mighty Allosaurus but on steroids. Saurophaganax was the apex predator in its place and time: there was no dinosaur it could not hunt and kill. It was one of the main predators of the Stegosaurus.

Before there was the T-rex, the world was terrorized by the mighty Acrocanthosaurus. The Acrocanthosaurus was the largest theropod in North America during the Early Cretaceous. It likely stalked and feasted upon local ankylosaurs, ornithopods, and sauropods. Its name means ‘high-spined lizard’ after the row of spikes along its spine. It was smaller than a T-rex, but was the apex predator of its age. It was a Texas boy, and even today its footprints are fossilized all over the Lone Star State. Even so, pieces of Acrocanthosaurus have been found as far east as Maryland. This tells us that, in its day, it may have had a hunting range across most of the continent. It's good to be the king.

The Diplodocus is one of the few herbivores on this list, but one look makes it clear as to why. This sauropod may have been gentle, but it was truly a giant. On average they grew to a height of over 80 feet and could push almost fifteen tons. Its size and massive legs alone could prove deadly to a predator. More importantly, they were armed with an almost 40-foot-long sinuous tail. It could move fluidly like a bullwhip. Scientists recently performed simulations based on scans of Diplodocus fossils. They determined that, when wielded in defense, the Diplodocus could swing its tail with the force of a Mack truck speeding down a highway.

The Triceratops is not only one of the most well-known dinosaurs around, it was also one of the deadliest herbivores to ever live. It was slow, but well-armored like an ancient living tank. While its horns and frills may have been primarily used for attracting mates, they were also deadly weapons. In 2020, paleontologists in Montana found a fascinating set of fossils: a Triceratops next to a Tyrannosaurus rex. While the Triceratops had T-rex. teeth embedded in its spine, it appears to have done lethal damage to its killer. The T-rex had a shattered skull, broken teeth, and a broken hand. This beast may not have eaten meat, but it could turn the toughest predator into food for scavengers.

When you hear the name ‘Gigantoraptor,’ you may imagine a supermassive version of the classic Jurassic Park animal. Instead, try to imagine a dinosaur cousin of a killer ostrich that haunts your nightmares. It was relatively small - around sixteen feet tall - and lightweight. As a result, the thing could run. When it caught its prey, it would take it down with its razor-sharp beak. One paleontologist, Cassius Morrison, believes it was sharp and powerful enough to easily bite a human in half. Though they had relatively gangly arms, those arms ended in long claws that could tear into most herbivores.

The Megaraptor was pure nightmare fuel, as if a mad scientist hit a velociraptor with a growth ray. Like its smaller cousin, the Megaraptor’s feet each had one vicious killing claw. But while the Velociraptor claw was about 2.5 inches long, the Megaraptor claw measured fourteen. It essentially ran around the late Cretaceous with butcher knives on its feet. Its teeth, too, were serrated. The Megaraptor was designed from head to toe with the sole purpose of tearing prey to literal pieces. By measuring its brain-to-body ratio, scientists are confident that the Megaraptor was one of the most intelligent creatures of its time. This made Megaraptor a well-armed super-intelligent killing machine.

The Tarbosaurus was the deadly king of the Korean Peninsula and other parts of East Asia during the Late Cretaceous. The apex predator was a cousin to the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex, similarly sized and armed. Based on analysis of its skeleton, paleontologists are confident in their guesses as to the Tarbosaurus’ diet. While the T-rex may have specialized in hunting smaller, well-armored beasts, the Tarbosaurus went after bigger game. While it almost certainly hunted prey like hadrosaurs, it may have had larger ambitions. The rigidity and thickness of its skull suggest it went after huge prey like roaming sauropods.

The name Carnotaurus means ‘meat-eating bull,’ and given what we know, it's incredibly appropriate. Though it may resemble a T-rex, the Carnotaurus was much smaller and sported a shockingly short skull compared to other predators. While the T-rex was built for large game, the Carnotaurus was built for speed. It likely killed and ate its prey quickly, desperate to not lose a meal to a larger predator. It had a thick muscular neck and horns atop its head. This suggests that it was skilled at pushing and shoving, and could headbutt the flanks of other animals. It also had a powerful bite, causing serious damage to any unlucky herbivore.

The Troodon was a small carnivore that haunted North America in the Late Cretaceous period. Scientists believe that it was one of the most intelligent dinosaurs to have ever lived. It was compact, lightweight, and sported long legs suggesting that it was a speedy predator. It had big eyes with excellent vision, which probably meant it hunted at night, stalking the forest floor. The Troodon, unlike other theropods, had sharp serrated teeth. According to paleontologists, this may have meant that the Troodon was an omnivore. It also meant that their bites left ragged, torn wounds that would ensure its prey bled out quickly.

Stegosaurus is undoubtedly one of the most popular types of dinosaur, but they were also one of the most dangerous. Don’t let its herbivorous nature fool you – a Stegosaurus could mess up other dinosaurs like nobody’s business. This guy was extremely large, heavily built, and covered in plates, which made it a physically intimidating foe. However, it’s their tail spikes, known as the thagomizer, which made the Stegosaurus so dangerous. These spikes protruded from the tail and could reach up to three feet in length, and when used with the might of the massive stegosaurus…well, let’s just say that it wouldn’t feel very good to be punctured with it.

The Mapusaurus was the same size as the Giganotosaurus, so you know that the Mapusaurus was one big and nasty dude. A humongous creature, the Mapusaurus measured roughly 33 feet long and weighed 3 metric tons. If that wasn’t all, researchers have theorized that the Mapusaurus hunted in packs, and there’s evidence of these creatures taking down the Argentinosaurus, a massive sauropod measuring 100 feet long and weighing up to 100 metric tons. It seems as if size didn’t matter to the fury that was a hungry pack of Mapusauruses.

Utahraptors were just little guys (well, when compared to other dinosaurs), but like most tiny fighters, they were quick and they were vicious. You certainly wouldn’t want to be in its way when it started swinging. The Utahraptor is estimated to be about 20 feet long and weigh roughly 1,000 pounds, but it’s the dino’s legs which are really worth noting. The Utahraptor had extremely long and dangerous claws which could measure up to 9 inches in length. Yes, combined with the creature’s speed, these deadly claws would prove extremely dangerous indeed.

The massive Carcharodontosaurus fit right in with the likes of some of the biggest dinosaurs in existence, including the Tyrannosaurus and the previously mentioned Giganotosaurus. Scientists claim that the dinosaur could measure up to 44 feet long and weigh up to 15 metric tons, and 8-inch long serrated teeth lined its mouth. To summarize, it was quite a beast. A study done by a man named Donald Henderson even argues that the Carcharodontosaurus could lift dinosaurs weighing up to 935 pounds in its jaws due to its strength and sharp teeth. That thing could kill smaller dinosaurs with a single bite.

Sure, it may have a cute and funny name, but the Majungasaurus was easily one of the most dangerous dinosaurs to have walked the planet. Evidence shows that the Majungasaurus had a similar hunting technique to cats, as they would bite onto a predator and not let go until it bled to death. Teeth marks have been found on the bones of a Rapetosaurus, indicating that the Majungasaurus hunted and killed these elephant-sized creatures with ease. If that wasn’t scary enough, there is also evidence that Majungasauruses were cannibals, as bite marks consistent with the Majungasaurus have been found on bones of the same genus. In short, even Majungasauruses don’t mess with Majungasauruses.

The Spinosaurus certainly sounds like a dangerous creature, and believe us, it more than lives up to its terrifying name. The Spinosaurus was just as large, if not larger, than a Tyrannosaurus, measuring over 45 feet in length and weighing up to 20 metric tons. This makes it one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, carnivorous dinosaurs, and it ate basically anything it could get its claws on. If that wasn’t all, the Spinosaurus also had the ability to swim, so it could take to the water should it not find any fresh meat on land. No one was safe from the fury of the Spinosaurus.

The Ankylosaurus sounds like a complete monster, and we’re sure that its appearance alone scared off more than enough dinosaurs to keep it safe. It weighed 8 metric tons, had four horns on its head, its entire body was protected by armored plates, and various bones in its body were fused together to give it even more strength. On top of its tank-like appearance, it also had a massive clubbed tail, and when swung with enough force, it could easily shatter the leg of an approaching predator or cause some massive damage to its skull. Put simply, dinosaurs wouldn’t want to be anywhere close to the Ankylosaurus when its tail started whippin’.

The Allosaurus is not only one of the most popular and studied genus of dinosaur, but it’s also one of the most vicious. The Allosaurus was an enormous creature, with the largest specimen measuring at over 30 feet long and weighing 2.3 metric tons. Thanks to its size and might, the Allosaurus was king of the food chain, and it preyed on a wide variety of dinosaurs, including sauropods and stegosaurids. It has also been put forth that the Allosaurus hunted in packs, and if that’s true, then that is absolutely terrifying. One is mean enough. We don’t even want to imagine what a group of them could do.

Don’t let the size fool you. While Velociraptors were made famous due to their appearance in “Jurassic Park,” they were actually much smaller in real life – about the size of a turkey. However, they had massive claws that they used for fighting, usually as a means to slit the throat of their victims. Modern research done by Denver Fowler argues that they had another method of killing called “raptor prey restraint.” He thinks the Velociraptor would pin its prey under its massive claws and eat it while it was still alive. Yikes! Velociraptors are violent little guys.

The big daddy himself, nothing beats the Tyrannosaurus. This big guy has been a mainstay in popular culture for some time, typically portrayed as a hulking, carnivorous, violent beast. And, yeah, that’s not too far off. It’s similar in size to a Giganotosaurus, only the T-rex had the strongest bite force of any land-based animal in existence, making it much more powerful. Getting caught between those rows of pointy teeth would not feel great. Sure, its tiny arms may look funny and less-than-intimidating, but its sheer size and strength meant that many other dinosaurs stayed far, far away.

Did one of our entries hunt down and knock your favorite killer dino off our list? Let us know in the comments below!