Dinosaurs ranged in size from the size of a small chicken to giants over 36 meters in length. Most dinosaur species were medium in size. Compare Modern blue whale- the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth reaches a length of 30 to 33 meters
Nobody knows why some of the dinosaurs (and some other reptiles) are one of the most interesting questions unanswered in paleontology. There are many theories, but some of them are quite strange; none of them have been proven
Sauropods were the longest land dinosaurs; these were real giants, they moved very slowly, and led a lifestyle very similar to the image of a modern cow. These giants appeared at the end of the Jurassic period and walked the earth until the Cretaceous period. They had very long necks, which helped to tear vegetation from very tall trees. The long neck was balanced by a massive tail. Sauropods are the largest land animals ever discovered by paleontologists:
Supersaurus- length 134 feet (41 m)
Argentinosaurus— 115-130 feet (35-40 m); 80-100 metric tons
Seismosaurus("Earthquake Lizard") - 120+ feet long (37 m); +80 tons
Ultrasaurus– length 100 feet (30 m), +80 tons
Diplodocus- grew to 90 feet (28 m).
Brachiosaurus was about 85 feet (26 m), 40 feet tall and weighed 70-80 tons.
The largest carnivores were theropods of the Cretaceous period:
Gigantosaurus - Discovered in Patagonia, Argentina. 47 feet (14 m), 8 tons in weight and 12 feet (4 m).
Tyrannosaurus Rex - found in North America - 40-50 feet in length (12-15 m), 6 tons in weight.
Carcharodontosaurus — (i.e. shark-tooth lizard) found in Morocco, Africa, by Paul Sereno. This animal was probably about 45 feet long and had 5-inch long teeth. Its skull (5 feet 4 inches) was larger than T. rex's, but it had a tiny brain cavity (half the size of T. rex's).
The tallest dinosaurs
Brachiosaurid sauropods were the tallest dinosaurs; they had front legs that were longer than their hind legs and their body had a giraffe-like stance. They were giant, slow-moving animals that fed on plants from the late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They had very long necks that were held in a vertical position; such long necks made it easy to reach the top of the tall tree. The long neck was balanced by a massive tail. These sauropods are among the largest land animals ever discovered:
Sauroposeidon , a recently discovered brachiosaurid from Oklahoma, +60 tons, 60 feet tall.
Ultrasaurus– length 100 feet (30 m), +80 tons, height 40 feet
Brachiosaurus- about 85 feet (26 m), 40 feet high and weighed 70-80 tons.
The smallest dinosaurs
Fossils of small dinosaurs are very rare than large ones. Additionally, when small animals died, they were likely eaten by larger scavenger animals. The smallest dinosaurs discovered to date:
Copsognathus, a 2-foot (60 cm) long theropod (meat-eater), lived 145 million years ago. This dinosaur was the size of a chicken and weighed about 6.5 pounds (3 kg).
Saltopus — The 2-foot (60 cm) insectivore lived about 200 million years ago.
Lesothosaurus- 90 cm long, possibly a cannibal. Found in Africa.
I think many people have asked themselves this question since childhood: who is the most big dinosaur how long is it and how much does it weigh? In fact, this is a very controversial issue.
Patagotitan majorum is now officially considered the largest dinosaur. Its weight is estimated to be up to 77 tons. And this is not a fully grown individual yet!
However, there are scattered remains that may belong to larger animals. Bruhatkaiosaurus from India, according to the most immodest estimates, could reach 240 tons; Amphicelia from North America- could be 62 meters long and 122 tons in weight. Scientists are skeptical about these estimates, since, for example, only one vertebra is known from Amphicelia.
It is very difficult to calculate the exact length and weight of an animal without knowing its proportions. But there is another thing: we know only a few individuals from many dinosaurs. Often there are not even adults among them. What is the probability that a person randomly selected from the crowd will be the largest? Therefore, dinosaurs were most likely larger than generally believed!
Were they the largest animals ever?
In truth, only the blue whale can rival the largest dinosaurs. If we take the largest estimate of the weight of dinosaurs - 240 tons, then the blue whale, as they say, is in flight. But I repeat, this assessment is very controversial. Surely dinosaurs reached about 80 tons. Well, and taking into account the fact that the individuals found are definitely not the largest, I think we can cautiously suggest a weight of up to 100 - 120 tons. Even if it’s not a “blue whale,” it’s still a lot. This is just an awful lot for a land creature! Never before or after dinosaurs have there been such huge land animals!
Compared to their closest competitors - mammals, the size of dinosaurs is simply insanely huge. According to recent estimates, the largest land mammals were proboscideans. Some of these huge "elephants" of antiquity are estimated at a maximum of about 30 tons. These are not the largest individuals found, but the calculated maximum, taking into account the fact that the largest were not found. That is, dinosaurs are 3-4 times heavier than these elephants!
But it’s very difficult to reach such sizes. Scientists are already asking the question: how could dinosaurs maintain their weight? They didn't have any special adaptations for this. Everything that exists does not go beyond the same elephants. Perhaps, writes Gregory Paul, dinosaur bones were much stronger. But this also means that, with equal weight, a dinosaur will be stronger than a mammal!
Now imagine how strong they are considering their size... In various films, especially on Ren TV, they often say that dinosaurs maintained their monstrous weight due to the low gravity at that time. But in fact, such hypotheses have nothing to do with real science. Although yes, the conditions then were somewhat different from today: there was much less oxygen in the atmosphere, and where large quantity carbon dioxide. Well, the climate in general was warmer, and much less contrasting.
Another problem for such giants is nutrition. To date, science does not have a convincing answer to a simple question: how could the populations of all these giants feed themselves? They needed an unrealistic amount of food! Especially considering that, judging by the structure of the bones, dinosaurs were warm-blooded, and not cold-blooded, as previously thought. Special calculations have shown that the areas of the continents are not sufficient to feed the populations of giants. So this remains one of their secrets.
Well, now I suggest you ask yourself: which dinosaur would you consider the largest? The tallest, the longest, or the heaviest? But most likely it will be different types, and no one will take all the medals alone!
The largest dinosaurs belong to the Sauropod group. Of the sauropods, the longest are diplodocids (up to 62 m in length), the tallest are brachiosaurids (up to 18 m in height), and the heaviest are titanosaurids (up to 240 tons in weight). What would impress you more - a length of 62 meters or a height of 18 meters? Or maybe it weighs 240 tons? Hard to say.
This is all subjective and depends on the situation...
In general, people like to compare everything according to objective criteria. But if we go back to childhood, then we can probably more accurately rephrase the child’s question as follows: “Which dinosaur would make the greatest impression on me?”
A film with David Attenborough was recently released, in which approximately this question is raised. As a result, the authors come to the conclusion that the “coolest” is Patagotitan. But... When they show him in comparison with Attenborough, he doesn't make an impression. Why? A small head, followed by a long thin neck, and then a long body and tail. All this has no effect.
Try an experiment. I think everyone has seen the film “Jurassic Park”. So ask the kids: who is the biggest dinosaur in the frame? Most people will probably say T. rex. Although objectively it was a brachiosaurus. And why all? The T. rex is more impressive. It makes more impression than the Patagotitan from documentary film. Because a T. rex is not a small head on long neck. This is a huge, scary “muzzle” on a short, powerful neck, armed with large teeth protruding outward. And that's all, not to mention the fact that he is a predator. Who will impress you more - a 300 kg cow, or a 300 kg tiger? The answer is obvious.
Of course, predatory dinosaurs make more of an impression on people. And in this regard, it is logical to ask the question: which of them is the largest?
For a long time T. rex was considered the largest predatory dinosaur. But in Lately competitors appeared for him. A Giganotosaurus, a Carcharodontosaurus, and finally a Spinosaurus were found. All of them together are still trying to shake the throne under the T. rex. Yes, it's all to no avail.
The most notable attempt to rock the T-Rex throne for mass audiences appeared in the film “Jurassic Park 3.” The Spinosaurus kills the T. rex in this film. True, not only does the battle itself look very unrealistic, but the film was initially coldly received by the audience. And what I want to talk about now is not that everyone understands how the thin neck of Spinosaurus would have simply been cut off by these powerful jaws, and not even about the fact that there are a lot of “tyrannofans”. But rather about why there are so many of them.
If we compare the T. rex with absolutely any of its “competitors,” it doesn’t matter whether it’s a spinosaurus, a giganotosaurus, or a carcharodontosaurus, we will discover the following striking feature: compared to the T. rex, they’re all crap. And that's putting it mildly. The T. rex has solid volumes of head, neck, and body. He looks like a fighter. While the rest have a frontal view...
Ummm... Not really. Thin “muzzle”, thin neck. They all look like flounder flattened laterally. And another important point: The T. rex looks straight into your eyes. His eyes are positioned in such a way that they provide him with a stereoscopic effect. The rest don't have it! Well, the name itself is Tyrannosaurus rex. Tyrant, lizard, king. This is impossible to forget! What a spinosaurus! It's no surprise that the new Jurassic World reinstates the T. rex as a conquering predator! And it’s unlikely that he will be shown as a loser in “World 2.”
Already in the trailer, he reaps the laurels of the winner, killing the dangerous Carnotaurus (if you watched the 2001 cartoon “Dinosaur”, then he is there as the main villain).
I think the answer to the children's question: “which dinosaur would impress me more” is already obvious to you. But you need to add a few finishing touches to show off the T. rex in all its glory.
Firstly, as already mentioned, he is stronger than you can imagine! This is obvious from the fact that he carries his carcass, weighing 10 - 20 tons, on two legs bent at the knees. The T. rex's bones, ligaments and muscles must be stronger than those of any modern animal. And even than other dinosaurs: no one else carried such a carcass on two legs.
Secondly, they are terrible fighters, and during fights with each other, they tore their opponents’ ribs, necks and jaws, and bit off their tails. Besides, it was incredible tenacious creatures. They were literally terminators in this regard. As an illustration of this thesis, I advise you to watch the film “Tyrannosaurus: Champion of Survival.” That is, in addition to his enormous size and strength, he also has the incredibly reckless aggression of the Hulk and the vitality of Wolverine.
And finally, a quote from the famous Jack Horner: “... I think all T. rexes known today continued to grow.”
Even bigger, fiercer and more powerful! Which dinosaur would impress you the most? Definitely a Tyrannosaurus rex!
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 most latest estimates, appearing in scientific works. 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 plant foods. Moreover, the top belongs to the family of titanosaurids or those close to it. In contrast to 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 fell short of the target: the largest blue whale weighed 177 tons according to official methods, 190 tons 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 water 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.
And now we move on to direct illustrations of volumes. The drawing by Indian artist SameerPrehistorica compares several giants from different orders of 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 spreading 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(Last update: 12/03/2017)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).
An unimaginable event occurred about 251 million years ago, which significantly influenced subsequent eras. The name given by scientists to this event is the Permian-Tertiary extinction, or Great Extinction.
It became the formative boundary between the two geological periods- Permian and Triassic, or, in other words, between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. It took a little time for most of the sea and terrestrial species.
These events contributed to the establishment of a group of archosaurs on land (the most prominent representatives- dinosaurs) and marine dinosaurs.
Marine reptiles inhabited the aquatic territories of the Mesozoic along with land dinosaurs. They also disappeared at the same time - about 65.5 million years ago. The cause was the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.
In this article we would like to introduce you to a selection of the 10 most striking and ferocious representatives of marine dinosaurs.
Shastasaurus is a genus of dinosaur that existed more than 200 million years ago - the end of the Triassic period. According to scientists, their habitat was the territory of modern North America and China.
The remains of Shastasaurs have been found in California, British Columbia and the Chinese province of Guizhou.
Shastasaurus belongs to the ichthyosaurs - sea predators, similar to modern dolphins. Being largest reptile in water, individuals could grow to unimaginable sizes: body length - 21 meters, weight - 20 tons.
But, despite their large size, Shastasaurs were not entirely scary predators. They ate by sucking and ate mainly fish.
Dakosaurus – saltwater crocodiles, who lived more than 100.5 million years ago: Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous.
The first remains were discovered in Germany, and later their habitat expanded from England to Russia and Argentina.
Dakosaurs were large, carnivorous animals. Maximum length the body, reptilian and fish-like at the same time, did not exceed 6 meters.
Scientists who have studied the structure of the teeth of this species believe that the dracosaurus was the main predator during its period of residence.
Dracosaurs hunted exclusively for large prey.
Thalassomedon are dinosaurs belonging to the group of pliosaurs. Translated from Greek - “lord of the sea.” They lived 95 million years ago in the territory of the North. America.
The body length reached 12.5 meters. Huge flippers, which allowed him to swim at incredible speeds, could grow up to 2 meters. The size of the skull was 47 cm, and the teeth were approximately 5 cm. The main diet was fish.
The dominance of these predators remained until the late Cretaceous period, and only ceased with the appearance of Mosasaurs.
Nothosaurus - sea lizards that existed in Triassic- about 240-210 million years ago. They were found in Russia, Israel, China, North Africa.
Scientists believe that nothosaurs are relatives of pliosaurs, another type of deep-sea predator.
Nothosaurs were extremely aggressive predators, and their body reached a length of up to 4 m. The limbs were webbed. There were 5 long fingers, intended for both movement on land and swimming.
The teeth of predators were sharp, directed outward. Most likely, nothosaurs ate fish and squid. It is believed that they attacked from ambush, using their sleek, reptilian physique to stealthily approach the food, thereby catching it by surprise.
A full-fledged skeleton of the notosaurus is in the Museum natural history, Berlin.
Sixth on our list of marine dinosaurs is Tylosaurus.
Tylosaurus is a species of mosasaurus. A large predatory lizard that lived in the oceans 88-78 million years ago - the end of the Cretaceous period.
Huge Tylosaurs reached 15 meters in length, thus being the apex predators of their time.
The diet of tylosaurs was varied: fish, large predatory sharks, small mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and waterfowl.
Thalattoarchon is a marine reptile that existed during the Triassic period - 245 million years ago.
The first fossils discovered in Nevada in 2010 gave scientists new insights into the ecosystem's rapid recovery after the Great Dying.
The found skeleton is part of the skull, spine, pelvic bones, part of the rear fins - was the size of a school bus: about 9 m in length.
Thalattoarchon was an apex predator, growing up to 8.5 m.
Tanystropheus are lizard-like reptiles that existed 230 - 215 million years ago - the Middle Triassic period.
Tanystropheus grew up to 6 meters in length, had a 3.5-meter elongated and mobile neck.
They weren't exclusively aquatic inhabitants: most likely, they could lead both an aquatic and semi-aquatic lifestyle, hunting near the shore. Tanystrophae are predators that eat fish and cephalopods.
Liopleurodon are large carnivorous marine reptiles. They lived about 165-155 million years ago - the boundary of the Middle and Late Jurassic period.
Typical dimensions of Liopleurodon are 5-7 meters in length, weight - 1-1.7 tons. It is believed that the most famous major representative was more than 10 meters long.
Scientists believe that the jaws of these reptiles reached 3 m.
During its period, Liopleurodon was considered an apex predator, dominating the food chain.
They hunted from ambush. They fed on cephalopods, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, sharks and other large animals.
Mosasaurus - reptiles of the late Cretaceous period - 70-65 million years ago. Habitat: territory of modern Western Europe, North America.
The first remains were discovered in 1764 near the Meuse River.
Appearance Mosasaurus is a mixture of a whale, a fish and a crocodile. There were hundreds of sharp teeth.
They preferred to eat fish, cephalopods, turtles and ammonites.
Research by scientists suggests that mosasaurs may be distant relatives of modern monitor lizards and iguanas.
The first place is rightfully taken prehistoric shark, considered a truly terrible creature.
Carcharocles lived 28.1-3 million ago – Cenozoic era.
This is one of largest predators throughout history sea creatures. It is considered the ancestor of the great white shark - the most terrible and powerful predator today.
The length of the body reached 20 m, and the weight was 60 tons.
Megalodons hunted cetaceans and other large aquatic animals.
Interesting fact is that some cryptozoologists believe that this predator could have survived to the present day. But, fortunately, apart from the huge 15-centimeter teeth found, there is no other evidence.
Dinosaurs were the dominant living creatures on planet Earth for tens of millions of years, from the Triassic period to the Cretaceous. Great amount Animals living today are descended from these giants. The creatures amazed us both with their size and habits. What is the largest dinosaur that lived on Earth?
Supposedly, this is the largest dinosaur in the world, but some scientists question even the very existence of this species, since its skeleton was reconstructed from a single vertebra found. According to paleontologist Edward Cope, the dinosaur had huge size– up to 60 meters in length and more than 150 tons of weight.
The find was discovered by scientist Edward Cope in 1878. The vertebra was in a deplorable state, so the scientist hurried to sketch it and did the right thing: in the process of clearing the remaining soil, the vertebra crumbled. This is why many scientists have not seen this find and believe the vertebra is just Cope's invention. If Amphicelia really existed, then there is no doubt that it was the largest dinosaur in the world. Only Seismosaurus could compete with Amphicelia in size, but - what an irony! – and scientists have doubts about the existence of this animal.
Like most large dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, the diet of this species was herbivorous in nature - grasses, leaves, roots, etc. For other species the most tall dinosaur did not pose a threat, but could successfully defend itself from predators, in particular thanks to its huge tail.
Incredible growth allowed amphicelia to easily reach the top leaves of trees
The name of this species was given by Chinese paleontologist Y. Tsongkhian two years after the discovery of its remains. The translation of the name sounds like “dinosaur from Mamencha,” according to the location of the discovery. It has been established that Mamenchisaurus lived on Earth 150 million years ago, during Jurassic, and in appearance strongly resembled Diplodocus, but with several significant differences. Chinese sauropod dinosaurs have a completely different tooth structure than North American dinosaurs. Their teeth are stronger and wider, while in diplodocus they are cone-shaped.
Mamenchisaurus had an incredibly long neck, reaching a length of fifteen meters. To prevent the neck from being too heavy, there was also a long and thin, whip-like tail. The total length of the animal’s body was approximately 22 meters, with particularly large specimens up to 27. The skeleton of this dinosaur is distinguished not only by its strength, but also by its extraordinary lightness. After all, he could not raise his head if the vertebrae in his neck were too heavy. Thanks to its long neck, Mamenchisaurus had no competitors for food in its territory.
Of the creatures living in modern world, only the blue whale could compete with it in size
At the end of the 20th century, Argentina was a kind of supplier of valuable fossils to the whole world. Among the discovered animal remains, both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs were identified. One of them is an Argentinosaurus that lived about 35 million years ago. For the first time, his remains were found on a typical farm in the Argentine province of Neuquén. The farmer let the museum know about the find, and the visiting specialists removed the entire drumstick of this dinosaur from the ground. Unfortunately, this part is not enough to reconstruct the appearance of the dinosaur with certainty, but a tentative reconstruction exists.
Judging by the design, the Argentinosaurus had a height of 13 meters, a body length of 30 meters, and its weight reached 70 tons.
The animal walked on four thick, stocky legs of approximately equal length. Walking was quite slow due to the impressive weight. However, due to its highly developed muscles, the heavy giant could maintain a more or less stable speed, because the herds regularly had to move from devastated pasture to fresh one. The massive structure of the animal’s body was supported by a powerful spine - one vertebra one and a half meters long. An equally strong tail provided adequate protection from carnivorous species.
In the entire history of science, only a few parts of the skeleton of one of the tallest dinosaurs called Sauroposeidon have been found. He lived in Cretaceous period and grew up to 17 meters in height and 30 in length. They ate exclusively plant foods and most often settled near large bodies of water (this explains the name, Poseidon is the sea god in Ancient Greece). The neck length of this dinosaur reached 10 meters. Thanks to the mobility of its neck, Sauroposeidon could lower it down to the ground in order to feast on low vegetation if desired. And he had to eat almost around the clock to maintain life in his gigantic body. According to scientists, people died due to lack of food. most of young animals For the kids serious danger predators also represented.
Out of several hundred eggs laid, only 3-4 individuals survived to adulthood.
The remains of the lizard were first discovered in 1994 in Oklahoma. It was immediately clear that this species was new, previously unstudied. Big dinosaurs each had vertebrae more than a meter long. For a long time, people believed that the species lived only in the United States, but later another similar vertebra was found in Mexico. It seems that the animal periodically changed habitats in order to provide itself with fresh food.
Like most dinosaurs, this lizard lived throughout the Cretaceous period. Its remains were first found in 1915 in Egypt, and today six species of spinosaurs are known to man, although none of them have been properly studied due to the paucity of data available for research.
With the help of the first skeleton found, it was possible to establish the approximate dimensions of the creature: 5 meters in height, 12 in length, and weight 65,000 kg. According to the reconstruction, this animal had the longest snout and head.
Most distinguishing feature of this type - a crest, or so-called sail in the back area. This growth is quite long, up to one and a half meters. The functions of the sail are ambiguous: on the one hand, it is a demonstration, thanks to which representatives of the species distinguished each other; on the other hand, it is an excellent organ of thermoregulation.
Another version is that fat accumulated in the sail, similar to camel's hump. In front of everyone beneficial properties the crest also had a significant drawback: in a fight, the dinosaur easily toppled over if it was grabbed by the sail.
Its habitat corresponded to modern Egypt and other states of North Africa
This flying dinosaur was a member of a species of pterosaur that was very common in the Cretaceous period. The span of its giant wings reached 12 meters. Moreover, it is the largest predatory dinosaur, he ate by analogy with the cranes and other wading birds known to us. The basis of the animal’s diet was small creatures - fish, reptiles or amphibians. Quetzalcoatl could fly vast distances without any problems thanks to its powerful and muscular wings, which allowed it to soar for a long time, almost without wasting energy.
This dinosaur did not disdain carrion. Thanks to its sharp, strong beak, it easily tore the prey into pieces and got to the tasty flesh. But he had no teeth; apparently, his diet allowed him to do without them.
According to some scientists, the lizard attacked even smaller land dinosaurs
The seventh dinosaur on the list is the largest aquatic view, living in the water column and reaching an incredible weight of 100 tons. Upon reaching mature age the dinosaur could not be afraid of any of the creatures living at that time; none of them could pose a danger to it. Liopleurodon's main weapon is huge carnassial teeth; suffice it to say that each of them was 30 centimeters in length and resembled a sharp dagger. Ate giant predator all living beings that came his way, mostly aquatic lizards those times or land dinosaurs grazing in shallow waters.
The size of the jaws of Liopleurodon was amazing: each of them reached a length of 4 meters from the base of the skull. There were teeth in the front of the jaws. Having caught up with the prey, the lizard grabbed it with a death grip and held it until it stopped resisting. For the first time, the remains of this animal - three teeth - were dug up in France in late XIX centuries. Soon the dinosaur got its name, which means “fierce.” Then the finds continued, and not only in France, but also in England. Nowadays, the dinosaur is known by several combined parts of the skeleton.
The lizard was practically invulnerable, well armed and very formidable
Unfortunately, due to the long history of events, it is quite difficult to reliably know everything about these mysterious giants. But what humanity has managed to find out is extremely interesting and exciting. Perhaps with development modern technologies we will be able to acquire much more knowledge about the past of our planet.
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