Dino Death Match!: POLL, Brontosaurus vs. Tyrannosaurus · 6:01am Jan 29th, 2018
Still working on the next chapter as I research further for the Giganotosaurus blog, which has been delayed on account of bad head cold following in nosebleed limiting my computer hours and requiring a LOT of research. I do not want to have to see something and then need to do a rewrite because I missed some study recently about the subject matter. And on a subject as touchy as potentially the largest land predator of all time, you can imagine many sources are very opinionated. Still working on it, just hit some snags.
As of lately I have been writing however, both the finale for the Lost World RPG as well as a 'leisure' fight scene to be featured in EvoWizard's RWBY fanfiction, "RWBY Remastered". Not posted yet, but it will be readable here and I highly recommend reading what my bud's written so far!
As for current events, who doesn't love a good fight? We love seeing A fight B ever since the Roman Colosseum pit different animals and different types of gladiators against one another or each other. Dinosaurs are awesome, who doesn't love dinosaurs? Dinosaur fights are the coolness of both put together, and carries the lovely extra benefit of deceased fighters in a hypothetical battle; so no one gets hurt! It seems like a law of fiction that if a movie or story has two dinosaurs or other prehistoric animals in the plot, they will eventually fight. Good times all around!
So hows about a rumble between two very well-known species?
Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Brontosaurus excelsus!
These two extremely popular dinosaurs have both gone through ups and downs. Tyrannosaurus was once labeled a scavenger and had to defend its throne against numerous challengers and Brontosaurus had to finally get its identity back from its close cousin Apatosaurus after nearly a century. They obviously never met in real life, separated by almost 90 million years, but what if they did?
Emblem of the Cretaceous vs. Icon of the Jurassic!
Osborn's Tyrant King vs. Marsh's Noble Thunder!
Crushing Jaws vs. Crushing Paws!
Speedy Predator vs. Brawny Browser!
Species: Tyrannosaurus rex ("King of Tyrant Lizard")
Clade: Theropod
Height: 3.6 meters at hip (roughly 12 feet)
Length: 12.3 meters (40 feet)
Weight: 8-10 short tons
Species: Brontosaurus excelsus ("Noble Thunder Lizard")
Clade: Sauropod
Height: 6 meters (roughly 20 feet)
Length: 18-22 meters (60-72 feet)
Weight: 18-22 short tons
From what I know of Tyranno, they were mostly show and intimidation. They didn't draw blood unless ravenous or parental. Then again, the possibility of infecting prey with their bite is an advantage. If Rex could move quick enough to bite the neck, I'd give it a quick win to the carnivore.
Brontosaurus stomp Tyranno
Tyranno die
Bronto die from T.rex bite
STALEMATE
Well I casted my vote on Rex, it's what my gut says and my gut has never been entirely wrong(only partially right).
Apatosaurus *Cough Knowledge Cough* is between 70-80 feet, its tail probably being one of its few defenses. T Rex just has to get at its neck and it's all over.
Rexy, plain and simple.
I am going to be different and give the vote to Brontosaurus. Sheer size, baby. Plus, he could rear up and try to crush Rexy with his front legs perhaps.
C'mon, let's show the thunder lizard some love here!
Really, this is like asking who would win in a fight between a Siberian Tiger and an African Elephant: if it's a one-on-one between two adults in their prime, obviously the much larger herbivore would win in a confrontation. Maybe if the Bronto was injured or fighting a pack of Tyrannosaurs THEN the outcome would be different, but in a 1v1 the Brontosaurus would literally and figuratively STOMP the T. rex.
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Just a note, Brontosaurus is a genus that is on average, a bit smaller than Apatosaurus. When they split the genus*, the two largest species went into Apatosaurus whereas the three smaller ones went into Brontosaurus. A 80 foot Brontosaurus would be a bit of an outlier individual. 60-70 was more on the average.
*Recent survey of the original Marsh discovery and some others found Brontosaurus is indeed distinct enough from Apatosaurus to count as its own genus, hence why I didn't use the Apatosaurus name here.
While it's POSSIBLE for a smaller, agile predator to take down a much larger prey animal, doing so usually requires the predator has a significant extra edge; be it venom, pack behavior, or just targeting a sick or injured prey animal. If we are talking about a one on one encounter between two healthy adults, then I expect the Tyrannosaur could well inflict significant damage, and possibly allow infection to make the sauropod vulnerable to future predation, but the shear muscle mass and resulting strength and weight means any impact by the Brontosaurus should be crippling at the least and lethal at the worst. The only exception would be a perfect ambush that lets the Tyrannosaur deliver a bite to either the head or neck, or to do a hit-and run strike and then wait a few days for infection to set in. This last one would require luck (unless the hypothesis from the 90's that the T-Rex had a "septic bite" is actually accurate...)
Over all, my money is on the Sauropod.
A little tough for me and my limited knowledge. Both have pros and cons about them that can very well determine the outcome of the battle. The diets for each of these creatures can also determine a sort of fighting style that is hard to miss. Who to pick?
As much as I know the long-neck boi can stand up to the tyrant king, I have to go with the T-Rex. Gotta go with my boy on this one. He's been by my side since was but wee lad.
I'm gonna vote based on weight. Given that the bronto is over twice as heavy as the rex, that has to count for something. Bronto has my vote.
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OOOOOH! Okay... I guess my knowledges are a bit less accurate than I had hoped. Cool to know that, though. I thought Brontosaurus was just the old name for Apatosaurus. Thanks for the facts, Tarb!
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Hmm... I'd say probably Tyrannosaurus, but the Bronto isn't a pushover,either; it has tonnage on its side.