The longest dinosaur on earth. The biggest dinosaur

Amazing and mysterious animals -. Despite the fact that people could not detect their existence, the remains of dinosaurs were forever preserved in the geological deposits of the Earth, on the pages of scientific and fiction, in our imagination.

The period separating humans and dinosaurs is 230 million years.

Of course, knowledge about these incredible creatures are available thanks to the painstaking work of scientists around the world, collecting information bit by bit.

Many discoveries and discoveries allowed us to restore appearance animals, design their behavior, determine the type of food and relationships with relatives.

In today's article, we invite you to get acquainted with the largest representatives of dinosaurs and evaluate their size and appearance.

Unusual name came to us from the Nahuatl language, and translated means “feathered serpent” - the deity of the Aztecs and other tribes of Central America.

Today, Quetzalcoatlus is the only large representative of the pterosaur order.

Flying lizards lived at the end of the Cretaceous period - 69-65 million years ago.

The weight of quetzalcoatlus reached 250 kg, body length - 7 m. The wingspan of the feathered dinosaur was 12 meters.

They presumably ate carrion, and rarely small animals. They had a long beak and sharp teeth, which allowed them to absorb rough food without difficulty.

Quetzalcoatli were distributed in the United States, Texas.

The name of this type of ancient lizard comes from two Greek words “flesh” and “crocodile”. However, Sarcosuchus does not belong to the order of crocodilians.

It is considered the largest crocodile-like reptile that lived in the Cretaceous period.

The body length of Sarcosuchus could reach 15 meters, and the weight ranged from 8 to 14 tons. The dimensions of the skull were also gigantic - 1.6 m.

The huge Sarcosuchus had a powerful jaw, the strength of which was 15-20 tons.

These dinosaurs ate aquatic animals, fish and other lizards.

Scientists have determined that they lived in the territory modern Africa.

Spinosaurus literally means “spined lizard.” Spinosaurus received this name due to its body structure and skin.

They lived in the Cretaceous period - 112-93.5 million years ago - on the territory of modern North Africa.

Spinosaurs mastered both aquatic and terrestrial environment habitat. Among their carnivorous relatives, they had the largest skull. Body weight could be from 9 to 12 tons, length - 15-18 meters.

Spinosaurus is easy to recognize: the sail-shaped vertebral processes especially stand out in its appearance. They also had well-developed forelimbs, which helped them hold the prey.

Scientists believe that the favorite delicacy of spinosaurs was stingrays.

The remains were first found in Egypt in 1915. It was they who allowed the German paleontologist E. Stromer to compile detailed description.

Shantungosaurus is a hadrosaurus found in Shandong Province, China, during the Late Cretaceous period.

It is considered the largest representative of ornithischian dinosaurs.

The herbivorous Shantungosaurus could reach 15-17 meters in length and 15-20 tons in weight.

The dinosaur's beak was toothless, but the jaws themselves had about 1,500 tiny teeth designed for grinding food.

Near the nostrils there was a hole covered with a membrane. By inflating it, Shantungosaurus could make sounds.

The unusual name, derived from its long neck and tail, translates to “double beam.”

A giant representative of lizard-hipped dinosaurs that existed in Jurassic period.

Diplodocus had very impressive dimensions: height - 10 m, body length - 28-32 m, weight - 20-30 tons. 4 powerful legs helped him move, and his tail created balance.

Some researchers, for example, believe that the tail could also serve for communication between individuals in a flock. But its main purpose is protection from predators.

Diplodocus fed on vegetation, algae and small mollusks. The dinosaur's poorly developed teeth only allowed it to grind food, not chew it.

Shonisaurus is considered the largest fish lizard, or ichthyosaur. They existed in the Late Triassic period - 250-90 million years ago, hiding in the depths of the ocean.

The dimensions of shonisaurs were enormous: length - 12-14 m, weight - 30-40 tons. The skull reached 2 meters and had narrow jaws.

Most likely, they were hunters and preferred big fish.

The largest burial was found in Nevada in 1920. While mining for gold and silver, miners came across a giant skeleton.

All remains found belong to adults.

Sauroposeidon are giant sauropods that existed during the Cretaceous period - 125-100 million years ago.

WITH greek name This dinosaur is translated as "Poseidon's lizard".

The four-legged herbivore had gigantic dimensions: the length of the body reached 31-34 meters, and the weight of the lizard was 60 tons.

On the list of the most tall dinosaurs Sauroposeidon would take second place, since its height, including its elongated neck, is 20 m.

Female sauroposeidons laid hundreds of eggs, but, unfortunately, a catastrophically small number survived: 3-4 individuals. This is due to the fact that after hatching, the babies faced many dangers: apart from their size, they had no other protection.

Young sauroposeidons lived independently in forests, eating around the clock to grow. Only upon reaching a certain size were they accepted into the flock.

This type lizards were discovered quite recently - 1994, Oklahoma, USA. Unusual remains were discovered in the prison yard. Moreover, the vertebrae initially found were mistaken for the trunk of a huge tree.

So unusual name The dinosaur acquired its name thanks to the dialect of the local languages Mapudungun. Translated as “chief giant”.

Futalognkosaurs lived in the Upper Cretaceous period - 94-85 million years ago - on the territory of modern South America.

Futalognokosaurs grew up to 15 meters in height, 32-35 meters in length, and their weight reached 80 tons.

The remains of these giants were also discovered recently - 2000, Neuquen province, Argentina.

Argentinosaurus is one of the largest dinosaurs that lived in South America.

Apparently, they didn’t think long about the name of this species: that’s what they called it, “lizard from Argentina.”

Individuals of Argentinosaurs could grow to unimaginable sizes: body length - 22-35 m, weight of the lizard - 60-110 tons.

They had a long neck. The 4 limbs were approximately the same in size - they used them to move. The ability to stand on two legs, shown in films about the Argentinosaurus, is controversial, since the size of the front legs and the volume of the body most likely would not have allowed him to do this.

The giants' diet consisted of leaves tall trees and other vegetation of the Cretaceous period. In order to grind the food in the stomach, they swallowed stones.

Mamenchisaurus are herbivorous sauropods. Existed in the Upper Jurassic period on the territory of modern East Asia about 145 million years ago.

Mamenchisaurs had the longest neck, reaching a length of 15 m. All the vertebrae in the neck, and there were about 19 of them, were fastened by rows of ligaments, thanks to which the neck was strong and motionless.

The entire bony skeleton was strong and had little mass due to the cavities in each bone.

The body length of the Mamenchisaurus was 25 meters, the weight of the lizards could be from 60 to 120 tons.

Despite the gigantic body size, the head of dinosaurs was small. They moved on 4 legs and ate leaves and other vegetation.

Amphicoelias – ever existing on the planet. Belongs to the genus of herbivorous giants.

The body length was 40-65 m, body weight reached 160 tons.

The cervical vertebrae were extremely light and allowed the amphicelias to support its neck. The head was small, and the huge body was clumsy, which is why these dinosaurs became easy prey for predatory lizards.

Such large amphicelias had to eat a lot, but even this had negative consequences: they ate so many plants that after them many places became uninhabitable.

Amphicelias - the first open view herbivorous dinosaurs. The remains, or rather the only vertebral fragment found, were discovered in 1878 by archaeologist E. Kop.

Research by scientists has shown that Amphicelias is not only the largest dinosaur, but also the largest creature that has ever existed on the planet.

To XIX century people did not even suspect that dinosaurs once lived on our planet. Their remains were first discovered in 1822 in Oskfordshire, and subsequently scientists found and studied over 1000 species of these fossils.

Dinosaurs lived in Mesozoic era and finally disappeared about 65 million years ago. Among them were both small representatives weighing only about 2 kg, and giant lizards weighing tens of tons. Which dinosaurs were the largest? Let's look at the 5 largest animals.

Amphicelia

The existence of amphicelia still raises some doubts, but if this type of dinosaur really lived in the Mesozoic, then it can be called the largest animal that ever lived on Earth.

Amphicelia was described from just one fragment of a spine found in 1877 near Canon, Colorado. Subsequently, the bone was lost, so all information has reached us only in the form of photographs, drawings and descriptions by paleontologists.

Amphicelia belonged to the group of sauropods and was. Despite the lack of meat nutrition, it supposedly grew up to 62 meters in length and weighed about 155 tons.

Scientists studying the discovered specimen made rough calculations of individual parts of the dinosaur's body. It is believed that its neck reached a length of 16 meters, its tail - 32 meters, and its hind limbs - 7.5 meters. The total height of the animal at its highest point could have been approximately 9.25 meters.

Bruhatkayosaurus

As in the case of Amphicelia, scientists still cannot come to a consensus on whether an animal of the Bruchatkaiosaurus species lived on Earth. The problem is that all estimates of the fossil are based on a description provided by several paleontologists in 1989.

According to this document, the pelvic bones of an animal, part of a leg, coccyx and forearm were allegedly discovered in the southern part of India. However, they all disappeared during the flood, so scientists can only speculate.

If Bruchatkaiosaurus actually existed, then they were the largest dinosaurs and exceeded even Amphicelia in size. According to the description, the animals were about 40–44 meters long and weighed between 175 and 220 tons. IN different years paleontologists tried to build a rough model of Bruchatkaiosaurus.

As a result, they came to the conclusion that fossils with such a mass simply could not live on land or in a semi-aquatic environment. Mathematical calculations indicate that creatures weighing over 120 tons, by definition, are not capable of moving on land, so if bruchatkaiosaurs existed, they most likely lived in water.

Seismosaurus

Seismosaurus is considered the largest dinosaur after Bruchatkaiosaurus and Amphicelia. Its remains were found in the 1980s in New Mexico and classified as a herbivorous saurian. It is believed that its weight was approximately 140 tons, and its length reached 50 meters.

Despite such large general dimensions, the body of the seismosaur was quite small, but it had a long neck and tail. The animal was distinguished by a tiny head, short front legs and lived mainly in herds.

Futalognosaurus

Futalognosaurs belong to the group of titanosaurs. Three fossil skeletons of these animals were found in 2000 in Argentina. The find became one of the most complete among those discovered to this day.

Based on the samples, scientists concluded that the dinosaurs were about 30 meters long and weighed up to 80 tons. They had long necks with 14 vertebrae with processes resembling a shark fin, and rather bulky hind legs up to 3 meters wide.

Diplodocus

Diplodocus is among the dinosaurs whose skeletons have been the most complete when excavated. For this reason, they are well studied and described. The first skeleton was discovered in the Colorado Rockies in 1877, and subsequently fossils were found in Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Today, several species of diplodocus are known, weighing, according to various estimates, from 10 to 80 tons and up to 35 meters long. The animals had a long tail, which probably acted as a weapon for defense.

On the vertebrae of the tail there were double processes, thanks to which the dinosaur got its name (diplodocus in Latin means “double ray”).

One of the previous publications presented the longest dinosaurs. Now it’s the turn of the “record weight holders.” Naturally, as always, we take into account the latest estimates appearing in scientific papers. Let us immediately note that the situation here is completely different. Want to know the leaders?

So, the heaviest dinosaurs that ever shook the surface of the planet:

Twelve positions have been identified so far, but we will gradually increase their number. In this case, the rating will be updated periodically.

As one would expect, among the heaviest dinosaurs are exclusively sauropods - long-necked four-legged colossuses that feed on plant foods. Moreover, the top belongs to the family of titanosaurids or those close to it. Unlike the lightweight diplodocids, which did not make it into the top ten at all (remember that diplodocids are the leaders in length due to their very long neck and tail), they are characterized by a more monolithic skeletal structure.

It is important to note that sauropod babies hatched very small: the size of titanosaurid eggs usually does not exceed 20 centimeters in diameter. They then grew steadily throughout their lives, constantly increasing their appetites.

Now let's move on to comparisons with other living organisms. As we know, some sauropods were longer than even the modern blue whale (also called the blue whale). What about the mass? The numbers show that even the Argentinosaurs did not reach the target: the largest blue whale weighed 177 tons according to official methods, 190 according to unofficial methods. The whale is the heaviest animal in the world in its entire history.

However, we should not forget here that whales are typical aquatic inhabitants. In dense sea water maintaining and managing such body volumes is much easier than on land.

On the surface, sauropods had no competitors. For example, the most massive mammal, the Oligocene Paraceratherium, weighed only up to 16 tons.

Now let’s move on to direct illustrations of volumes. The drawing by Indian artist SameerPrehistorica compares several giants from different squads animals (click to enlarge).

So, let’s list in turn everyone who is depicted here: next to the man and the head of the Argentinosaurus, our record holder, we see the Spinosaurus. Next comes the most massive land animal of our days - African elephant. Behind it stands Paraceratherium, better known as indricotherium, the heaviest land mammal at all. A blue whale is located at the top, and Hatzegopteryx is fluttering its wings nearby. The latter, along with Quetzalcoatlus, is the heaviest flying animal.

Let's add here a comparison of the scales of Alamosaurus and Puertasaurus from American reenactor Scott Hartman.

In light gray in the background is another specimen of Alamosaurus, slightly smaller in size. It is known from its preserved neck and is in the process of being described.

Bruhatkayosaurus

In order to anticipate possible questions, we note that the species Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi, to which incredible masses are constantly attributed, is currently doubtful, and any estimates are unfounded.

Amphicelia

Another species, namely Amphicoelias fragillimus, is also questionable for similar reasons. Author of the article: ArgusEye (Latest update: 03.12.2017)

Literature

Featured scientific works( - journals with limited access):

Mazzetta, Gerardo V.; Christiansen, Per; Fariña, Richard A. (2004). Giants and Bizarres: Body Size of Some Southern South American Cretaceous Dinosaurs. Historical Biology. 16 (2-4): 71–83.
José L. Carballido; Diego Pol; Alejandro Otero; Ignacio A. Cerda; Leonardo Salgado; Alberto C. Garrido; Jahandar Ramezani; Néstor R. Cúneo; Javier M. Krause (2017).

Animals of the Mesozoic

What did the Earth look like during the Mesozoic period? Reptiles of huge and small sizes walked everywhere. Dinosaurs reigned for more than 165 million years, but mysteriously began to disappear. To gain knowledge about species, paleontologists study their fossils remaining on Earth. The remains of the smallest dinosaur were found in North America. Fossils were discovered back in the 1970s. thanks to Elizabeth Nichols at the University of Alberta in Canada.

Bones of unknown species

It is unclear how these small bones were stored in cabinets until they were found by Nick Longrich. So they were identified quite recently. The new species was given the name Hesperonychus elizabethae. Scientists studied the shape of the skeleton's pelvis and were able to prove that the ancient lizard was an adult representative of these individuals, just small by nature.

The bones of such a small dinosaur were the hardest to find, as they decomposed faster and fell into pieces. However, scientists were able to detect it in North America, in the Canadian province of Alberta. This previously unknown species of dinosaur weighed no more than 1 kg and was about 70 cm long. It was proven that the creature lived about 150 million years ago.

Dinosaur the size of a cat

Canadian paleontologists have announced that miniature dinosaurs occupied an important link in the food chain. Most small dinosaur was the size of a domestic cat, although it was dangerous predator. Its main sources of nutrition were insects and small mammals. In addition, when hunting in a pack, they could attack the young of other dinosaurs.

Such a miniature lizard ran briskly on its feet and defended itself with very sharp teeth and sickle-shaped claws. Nick Longrich, who proved the existence of the species and named it in honor of Elizabeth Nichols, believes that they lived in large quantities in the forests of the Cretaceous period.

Anatomical structure

The anatomical structure makes Hesperonychus elizabethae similar to velociraptors found in Asia - two-legged predators, well known from the film “Jurassic Park” by Steven Spielberg. The small lizards were even more similar to the ancient four-winged microraptors. Paleontologists speculate that these populations may have shared a common land route between Alaska and Siberia.

By the way, quite recently Longrich found and described a second very small predator, living in what is now North America. Albertonykus borealis did not exceed 60 cm in height and ate small insects: ants and termites.

Yulia Domakhina, Samogo.Net

The largest and heaviest dinosaurs that lived V Mesozoic era (252-66 million years ago), there were sauropods - four-legged herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks and tails. Sauropods fed on vegetation; by using long neck, which was balanced by a massive tail, they reached the top branches of trees and lowered their heads to the ground to drink water without moving their huge bodies.

The average weight of sauropods was 15-20 tons, but lizard-hipped dinosaurs from the group of titanosaurs that lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods(171-66 million years ago), grew to gigantic size– up to 70 tons and more. Find out which dinosaurs are on the list of TOP 5 largest dinosaurs.

Fifth place - Apatosaurus or brontosaurus (Apatosaurus)

Apatosaurus is a genus of giant lizard-hipped sauropods that lived in North America in the Late Jurassic, 157-146 million years ago. Apatosaurus is a member of the Diplodocidae family, which includes the longest dinosaurs, including Diplodocus, Supersaurus and Barosaurus. "Apatosaurus" means "deceptive lizard" in Greek, as its fossils are similar to those of other sauropods. Apatosaurus is also known as "brontosaurus".

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Apatosaurus was a massive herbivorous dinosaur that reached 22-28 m in length, up to 5 m in height and weighed 33-72 tons. He had four powerful massive legs, long tail, neck and small skull in relation to body size. The tail is long and thin, since the vertebrae of the spine sharply narrowed from the hips.

Brontosaurs lived near river banks, where they found water and vegetation. They ate mainly low growing plants, but with the help of a long flexible neck they reached high tree branches. The tooth-shaped teeth did not allow them to chew food, so they swallowed it (about 400 kg every day).

Fourth place – Mamenchisaurus

Mamenchisaurus is a genus of sauropod from the family Mamenchisauridae, which lived in China from 160 to 145 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic period. "Mamenchisaurus" means "lizard from Mamenxi" (from the Greek saurus - lizard). The long, muscular neck of Mamenchisaurus accounted for half the entire length of the body; its skeleton contained 19 cervical vertebrae, more than other dinosaurs. This Asian sauropod had spade-shaped teeth suitable for chewing rough plant material, including seed ferns, mosses, mosses and horsetails. Mamenchisaurus consumed about 500 kg of food per day.

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The genus Mamenchisaurus includes 6 species: M. constructus, M. hochuanensis, M. sinocanadorum, M. youngi, M. anyuensis, M. jingyanensis, M. yunnanensis. The largest species, M. sinocanadorum, reached 35 m in length with a long neck of 17 m and weighed between 50 and 75 tons.

Third place – Puertasaurus

Puertasaurus is a genus of titanosaur from southern Patagonia (Argentina) that existed between 100 and 94 million years ago. The only species of this genus, Puertasaurus reuili, belongs to the Lognkosauria clade, a group of giant sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the Upper (Late) Cretaceous period in South America. Puertasaurs have a wide chest (5-8 m), which made them the most voluminous dinosaurs. They had a thick flexible neck, with which they bent to reach high tree branches without moving their whole body.