Identifying the biggest dinosaurs that ever lived isn't as
easy a task as you might think: sure, these giant beasts left giant fossils,
but it's very rare to unearth a complete skeleton (tiny, bite-sized dinosaurs
tend to fossilize all at once, but lumbering giants like Argentinosaurus can
often only be identified by a single, massive neckbone). Here are the 7
winners, according to the current state of paleontological research.
Although paleontologists claim to have found bigger
dinosaurs, Argentinosaurus is the biggest sauropod whose size has been
backed up by convincing evidence. This gigantic plant-muncher (named after Argentina,
where its remains were found) measured about 120 feet from head to tail and may
have weighed over 100 tons. Just one vertebra of Argentinosaurus is over
four feet thick!
2. Biggest Sauropod: Sauroposeidon
Named after Poseidon, the Greek god of the ocean,
Sauroposeidon was once thought to be the biggest dinosaur of all time, but
paleontologists have since concluded that it was slightly lighter than
Argentinosaurus, "only" about 50 or 60 tons. However, Sauroposeidon
was almost certainly the tallest sauropod ever to roam the earth; its neck alone
was almost 40 feet long!
3. Biggest Carnivore: Spinosaurus
You probably thought the winner in this category would be T.
Rex, but it's now believed that Spinosaurus (which had a huge, crocodile-like
mouth and a sail of skin jutting up from its back) was slightly heavier,
weighing in at 7 or 8 tons. It's possible that this dinosaur's famous sail
evolved as a way of increasing its skin area, and hence allowing it to cool
down faster--yet more evidence that Spinosaurus was the king of the
meat-eaters.
4. Biggest Pterosaur: Quetzalcoatlus
Just as Sauroposeidon is named after the Greek god of the
ocean, Quetzalcoatlus is named after the winged Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. This
gigantic pterosaur had a wingspan of up to 45 feet, making it the largest
creature ever to fly, modern eagles included. That is, if Quetzalcoatlus really
did fly: new research hints that this giant pterosaur may have led a completely
landbound existence.
5. Biggest Pliosaur: Liopleurodon
With its long, thick, tooth-studded jaws, bulky body, and
massive flippers, this pliosaur looked a bit like a cross between an orca and a
shark. Paleontologists believe Liopleurodon attained lengths of 40 to 50 feet,
and may have weighed 20 to 30 tons, about the dimensions of an adult sperm
whale. If this doesn't sound impressive, keep in mind that the biggest great
white sharks weigh about 3 tons, max.
6. Biggest Hadrosaur: Shantungosaurus
The hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs, were the most
common herbivores of the late Cretaceous period. Recently discovered in China,
Shantungosaurus was the biggest hadrosaur yet known, about 50 feet long and
anywhere from 15 to 50 tons (the largest size ever achieved by an
ornithischian, rather than saurischian, dinosaur). Amazingly, this giant
duckbill may have been capable of running on two legs when escaping carnivores.
7. Biggest Raptor: Utahraptor
Velociraptor gets all the press these days, but this
chicken-sized raptor was positively puny next to Utahraptor, which weighed in
at a whopping 1,500 pounds (and was a full 20 feet long). Oddly, Utahraptor
lived a few tens of millions of years before its more famous (and smaller)
cousins, a reversal of the general evolutionary rule that tiny progenitors
evolve into plus-sized descendants.
Source : http://www.worldsbiggests.com
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