From famous dinosaurs with large spikes, to rare recent discoveries here are 10 of the
largest herbivorous dinosaurs that ever lived….
10.
Diplodocus Longus
The Diplodocus is one of the most famous species of dinosaur and it might have even been your
favorite when you were a kid!
Chances are if you’ve ever been to a natural history museum, then you may have seen a cast
of one.
It’s skeleton was quite unusual, as it had two rows of bones on the underside of its
tail to support all of that weight!
That’s why its name is the combination of the Greek words “diplos” and “dokos”
which means “double beam”.(Like a support beam).
They lived during the late Jurassic period, from about 155 to 150 million years ago, with
the largest numbers found across the Western part of what is now North America.
It’s the longest dinosaur for which a complete skeleton has been found, and they are thought
to have grown up to 90 feet long, and weighed up to 18 tons!
Told you it was a big guy!!
The majority of its massive size was made up of its neck and tail.
Just the neck alone would grow to up to 21 feet, and the tail was even longer.
The reason for the development of a tail like this is first, as a counterbalance to the
long neck, which enabled them to reach high into the trees, but the second reason was
more to do with defence.
They could actually whip their tails around at supersonic speeds, which created a sonic
boom that would intimidate aggressors!!
Not to mention getting hit in the face with that thing would knock out a predator cold!!
And they also probably used it to communicate with others.
Could you imagine a herd of these guys whacking their tails on the ground and giving attackers
whiplash!!??
9.
Giraffatitan
The Giraffatitan was first discovered in Africa in 1914 where it was initially thought to
have been a species of Brachiosaurus, but was recently determined to have been a species
in its own right.
As you might have guessed, its name means ‘giant giraffe’, -giraffe-a-titan- but
only parts of its skeleton has ever been found.
It is estimated to have grown to be as long as 74 feet, and weigh about 86 tons!!
They roamed the earth during the late Jurassic period too, about 150 million years ago and,
while they are different to the Brachiosaur, they are believed to have lived in a fairly
similar way- spending most of their lives foraging for food from the tops of trees.
The lack of fossils of the Giraffatitan make it difficult to know exactly what it looked
like, but its skull had a tall arch in the front with bony nares.
It had an extremely long neck which was much longer than its tail- and its first toe on
its front feet, and first three toes on its hind feet had claws.
There is still some debate between paleontologists about the positioning of its nasal holes within
its skull because they are thought to have been supported by soft tissue that didn’t
survive the fossilisation process.
Paleontologists always have heated debates!!
This stuff is intense!!
Some think they were further back, but others think they were further forward and that the
crest was the support for a resonating chamber, which means, that the calls of this beast
would have been extremely loud to travel great distances.
And now for number 8, but first!!
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8.
Futalognkosaurus Dukei
The Futalognkosaurus isn’t a very well known dinosaur, possibly because it was only discovered
relatively recently in 2000.
And it’s name isn’t very catchy.
It was found in a rich 90 million-year- old deposit in Argentina, along with a vast array
of other remains.
Similar to other large species, only fragments of the Futalognkosaurus have been found, so
most of what we know is by deduction, rather than physical evidence.
Lots of gaps with this one.
They lived around 87 to 100 million years ago and, despite no tail ever being uncovered,
the pieces that have been found suggest this was an enormous creature, with some suggesting
it grew to as long as 112 feet, and weighing up to 55 tons.
Its neck had 14 vertebrae and, towards its base, was up to 10 feet thick, which meant
it must have had a long tail to counterbalance this weight.
It also had unusually wide hips, with each measuring up to 10 feet across- presumably
to accommodate the massive leg muscles that would have been needed for it to move around.
7.
Elaltitan Lilloi
The Elaltitan was first discovered in 1979, but it was only a number of years later that
researchers realised that it was a new species.
It’s not easy when you only discover pieces of things to know what it is!
I mean, I probably wouldn’t know a piece of bone if I saw one, I would think it was
a rock or something.
Anyway, this new species became clear because of the never before seen neural arches of
the vertebrae.
The remains were discovered in the Chubut province of Argentina, which is why it was
named after the god of the local Tehuelche people.
They lived during the Cretaceous period, about 145 million years ago and, like with many
of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs, were confined to the South American continent.
This restricted location is thought to have occurred because of the separation of the
continents that prevented newer predatory species from reaching the area, and of course,
it made it more difficult for species to leave.
Very little is known about what the Elaltitan actually looked like, and it’s assumed that
their method of defence came from being much larger than most other animals.
They still would have had a fight on their hands, though, if they came up against a Giganotosaurus
or Mapusaurus, which also lived in the same region.
Check out the largest carnivorous dinosaurs video for more information about these guys!
6.
Turiasaurus Riodevensis
Most of the largest dinosaurs have been discovered in Africa and the Americas, but the Turiasaurus
was the first one to be found in Europe in 2006.
The remains were found at a site near the village of Riodeva in Spain, and those that
found them couldn’t believe the size.
When alive, Turiasaurus is believed to have been as long as 120 feet long, and weighed
up to 48 tons- the same as 7 fully grown elephants.
The first digit on their feet was the size of an American football and the foreleg that
ran between the shoulder and elbow was the same size as an adult human.
Interestingly, this species is seen as more evolutionary primitive to the ones found elsewhere
in the world.
This could be because it was around earlier, about 150 million years ago, but also because
it evolved on a distinct path to other species- having been separated when the continents
drifted apart.
They behaved in a similar way to other large dinosaurs, though.
Their extreme size and weight meant that they lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle, using the
water to help support themselves.
When fully on land they would have moved very slowly, and would only be able to run for
short spurts at a time.
5.
Brachiosaurus Altithorax
The Brachiosaurus is the second dinosaur on this list that you’ve probably heard of
before, and it was huge.
It’s unusual in the fact that its front legs were larger than its rear ones, which
is where it gets its name, which means ‘Arm Lizard’.
This development meant that the Brachiosaurus could reach even higher into the canopy, because
its neck was already higher up to start with.
It also didn’t need to put in so much effort to reach lower areas, something that was also
enabled by the fact its neck was full of air sacs that were connected to the lungs.
This kept the neck strong while reducing its overall weight.
This meant that it couldn’t really rearing up on its hind legs, even though you probably
saw one do that in Jurassic Park!
They grew to around 90 feet long, and weighed somewhere between 35 and 56 tons.
The first remains of a Brachiosaur were found in 1903 in the Colorado River.
They lived about 150 million years ago and, as far as we know, were exclusive to the Americas-
despite similar species having been found in other places around the world.
4.
Dreadnoughtus Schrani
In 2014 scientists announced the discovery of the Dreadnoughtus which, they claimed,
was the largest species of dinosaur that could be accurately determined because enough of
its remains had been found.
It was unearthed in the Patagonian hills of Argentina, there’s a lot going on there!!
- And this specimen was still growing when it died about 77 million years ago.
The fossils that were found initially suggested that it was 85 feet long, and weighed 65 tons-
which is more than a Boeing 737!- but there has been some dispute over that figure, with
new research saying it was more like 42 tons.
Potato potahto-
This extreme size meant that, if the Dreadnoughtus was to fall over, it probably would have died
under the pressure of its own weight.
Still, its size would also have meant very few predators would have dared take it on-
for fear of being hit in the face with its powerful 29-foot-tail.
3.
Patagotitan
This next giant herbivore was also found in the Patagonian region of Argentina, this time
in 2012.
Known as the Patagotitan it was, at the time, said to be the largest species ever found.
Estimates based on the remains that were found, suggest that it weighed up to 76 tons, and
was up to 122 feet long.
This means it was as big as a space shuttle!!
Six fossils were found that dated back to 100 million years ago, which is thought to
have been a time where there was a massive amount of vegetation in the region- a fact
that could go some way to explaining how the Patagotitan became so large- because they
had so much food!!
These creatures would have dwarfed every other living thing that lived alongside them.
If you want to see how you’d stack up against one of these, there’s a skeleton on display
at the American Museum of Natural History.
2.
Argentinosaurus
The first remains of the Argentinosaurus were found in 1987.
They lived during the Cretaceous period around 92 to 100 million years ago, and grew to be
a staggering size.
They are thought to have weighed as much as 72 tons, and could be up to 115 feet long.
Their name literally means ‘Argentine Lizard’.
They were about 4 stories tall, and their length is just about the same as the width
of a football field.
Their size meant that their top speed was about 5 miles per hour, but with such a large
tail they wouldn’t have had to worry too much about predators.
One of the incredible things about this species was how much growth was needed for them to
get to this size.
Their eggs were only the size of a beach ball, and meant that from hatching they would have
to grow to more than 25,000 times their original size before being fully grown.
This is only thought to have taken about 15 years, but during this time they would have
been vulnerable to predators looking to take advantage.
It’s probably tough to stay safe for 15 years!!
1.
Puertasaurus
This herbivorous dinosaur is currently the largest to have ever been found- the Puertasaurus.
Meaning “Puerta’s Lizard” after the person who first found one, the original specimens
of this species were found in 2001 from the Pari Aike formation in Argentina.
Once again!!
Despite the certainty of its existence, only 4 vertebrae have ever been found, likely because
when the dinosaur died, its remains were scattered by scavengers and environmental factors.
These vertebrae are giant, though, with one of them measuring 3 and a half feet tall and
almost 4 feet wide.
This is bigger than any that have been found before, and has led researchers to suggest
that while the Puertasaurus may have been about the same length as the Argentinosaurus,
at around 115 feet, it would have weighed more- with estimates ranging from 88 to 100
tons.
The place where the fossils were found is also interesting, because no other Puertasaurs
have been found there.
It had long been thought that such large creatures only lived in the earlier stages of the late
Cretaceous period, but this suggests they lived far beyond that to the end of the Cretaceous.
This also means that the Puertasaurus could well have been one of the last species of
such giant dinosaurs to walk the earth, and represent the culmination of the growth spurts
that were seen at the time.
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