What truly was the largest dinosaur?
– Zavier, 14, Tauranga, New Zealand.
Nice query Zavier, and one which palaeontologists (scientists who research fossil animals and crops) are involved in all world wide.
And let’s face it, children of all ages (and I embrace adults right here) are fascinated by dinosaurs that break data for the largest, the longest, the scariest or the quickest. It’s why, to this present day, considered one of most well-known dinosaurs continues to be Tyranosaurus rex, the tyrant king.
These record-breaking dinosaurs are a part of the explanation why the Jurassic Park film franchise has been so profitable. Simply consider the scene the place Dr Alan Grant (performed by New Zealand actor Sam Neill) is shocked by the large sauropod dinosaur rearing as much as attain the best leaves within the tree with its lengthy neck.
However how do scientists work out how large and heavy a dinosaur was? And what had been the largest dinosaurs that ever lived?
Calculating dinosaur dimension
In a super world, calculating how large a dinosaur was could be straightforward – with a virtually full skeleton. Standing subsequent to the outstanding Triceratops skeleton on everlasting show at Melbourne Museum makes you realise how gigantic and formidable these creatures had been.
By measuring bone proportions (akin to size, width or circumference) and plugging them into mathematical formulation and pc fashions, scientists can evaluate the measurements to these of dwelling animals. They’ll then work out the possible dimension and weight of dinosaurs.
Calculating the dimensions of dinosaurs is simple when you have got close to full skeletons like this Triceratops at Melbourne Museum.
Ginkgoales through Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA
Each palaeontologist has their very own favorite formulation or pc mannequin. Some are extra correct than others, which might result in heated arguments!
In palaeontology, nonetheless, we aren’t at all times blessed with practically full skeletons. In a course of referred to as “taphonomy” – principally, what occurs to the bones after an animal dies – dinosaur skeletons will be damaged up and bones misplaced.
The extra fragmented the stays of a dinosaur are, the extra error is launched into dimension and weight estimates.
The reconstructed skeleton of a Patagotitan on show in London’s Pure Historical past Museum.
Getty Pictures
Enter the titanosaurs
If we might journey again in time to South America throughout the Cretaceous interval (about 143 million to 66 million years in the past), we’d discover a land dominated by a gaggle of four-legged, long-necked and long-tailed, plant-eating sauropods. They might have towered over us, and the bottom would shake with each step they took.
These had been the titanosaurs. They reached their largest sizes throughout this era, earlier than an asteroid crashed into what’s now modern-day Mexico 66 million years in the past, making them extinct.
There are a number of contenders among the many titanosaurs for the largest dinosaur ever. Even the checklist under is controversial, with my palaeontology college students mentioning a number of different potential contenders.
However primarily based on six partial skeletons, the most effective estimate is for Patagotitan, which is assumed to have been 31 meters lengthy and to have weighed 50–57 tonnes.
A few others may need been as large and even greater. Argentinosaurus has been calculated to be longer and heavier at 30–35 metres and 65–80 tonnes. And Puertasaurus was considered round 30 metres lengthy and 50 tonnes.
However whereas the accessible bones of Argentinosaurus and Puertasaursus recommend reptiles of colossal dimension (the entire thigh bone of Argentinosaurus is 2.5 metres lengthy!), there may be at present not sufficient fossil materials to be assured of these estimates.
An artist’s reconstruction of Spinosaurus, thought to have been the most important carnivorous dinosaur.
Getty Pictures
Spinosaurus guidelines North Africa
An ocean away from South America’s titanosaurs, Spinosaurus lived in what’s now North Africa throughout the Cretaceous interval.
By a really small margin, Spinosaurus is at present thought to have been the most important carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaur, weighing in at 7.4 tonnes and 14 meters lengthy. Different Cretaceous giants are proper up there, too, together with Tyranosaurus rex from North America, Gigantosaurus from South America, and Carcharodontosaurus from North Africa.
Spinosaurus is exclusive amongst predatory dinosaurs in that it was semi-aquatic and had tailored to consuming fish. You possibly can see within the image above how related its cranium form was to a contemporary crocodile.
Palaeontology is now extra well-liked than ever – perhaps due to the continued Jurassic Park sequence – with a fossil “gold rush” occurring within the Southern Hemisphere.
The newest Jurassic Park film – in cinemas from July 2025 – is about discovering the largest prehistoric species from land, sea, and air.
Members of the general public (generally known as “fossil forecasters”) are making new discoveries on a regular basis.
So, who is aware of? The following discovery would possibly turn into a brand new document holder as the largest or longest dinosaur to have ever lived. There will be just one!
