How Nature's Biggest Land Predators Hunted Their Prey

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Theropod dinosaurs were the most physically powerful land predators in the history of Planet Earth, and appeared in a variety of forms during their Mesozoic dominance. From fleet-footed, sickle-clawed killers like Velociraptor to bulky, bone-crushing giants like Tyrannosaurus, nonavian theropods were such evolutionary successes that it took a space apocalypse to take them out. But during their 150-million-year reign as the apex predators on land, they had to eat something: so how did they go about getting their food, anyway? Let’s go over theropod hunting strategies, contrasting how they captured prey across different taxonomic groupings and body size ranges, including behavior, biomechanics, and ecological roles. Megatheropods like Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Carcharodontosaurus are analyzed using cutting edge science. Each megatheropod had its own ecological role formed by millions of years of selective pressure.

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00:00: How Nature's Biggest Land Predators Hunted Their Prey
00:44: Seismic Camouflage
01:58: Dromaeosaurs
04:53: Megaraptorans
05:50: Ceratosaurs
08:07: Allosaurids
09:41: Carcharodontosaurids
12:05: Tyrannosaurs
15:13: Megalosauroids

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