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Largest Dinosaurs in Earth’s History
Top 7 Largest Dinosaurs in Earth’s History
Patagotitan, Argentinosaurus, Spinosaurus – these names have become symbols of the astonishing sizes that life on Earth was capable of reaching. Scientists still debate which of them was actually the largest.
- Patagotitan – a 37-metre giant, longer than three buses
- Argentinosaurus – the giant that may actually have been the heaviest
- Dreadnoughtus – the giant whose dimensions could be calculated most accurately
- Mamenchisaurus – the absolute record holder for the longest neck in animal history
- Brachiosaurus – the dinosaur that left the heroes of “Jurassic Park” speechless
- Diplodocus – longer than two school buses, with a nightmare of a tail
- Spinosaurus – the largest of the predatory dinosaurs and a hunter adapted to life in water
The first bones were discovered in Argentina in 2010. However, the dinosaur was officially described and given a name only in 2017. The genus name means “the titan from Patagonia,” while the species name, mayorum, was chosen in honour of the Mayo family, who hosted the palaeontologists during the excavations.
Patagotitan is the only giant titanosaur whose skeleton could be reconstructed almost completely. Bones belonging to six individuals were discovered. Its femur alone measures 2.4 metres – more than the height of an average adult.
Fifty-seven tonnes is roughly the weight of nine adult African elephants. Or an Airbus A320 passenger aircraft. And its length – 37 metres – is comparable to the diagonal of a tennis court.
A life-size Patagotitan skeleton is displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It is so large that it had to be mounted with its neck and head extending out of the exhibition hall and into the corridor – it simply would not fit entirely inside the room.
It was discovered in Argentina and described in 1993. For a long time, it held the title of “the largest dinosaur of all time.” However, in 2017, with the description of Patagotitan, it lost its crown.
But the story did not end there. In 2020, palaeontologist Gregory Paul recalculated the dimensions of the vertebrae and femurs of the two giants and reached a surprising conclusion: Argentinosaurus may nevertheless have been heavier. The new estimate puts its weight at 65-75 tonnes.
In any case, Argentinosaurus weighed about as much as twelve African elephants and reached a length of around 35 metres. It lived approximately 95 million years ago – nearly 30 million years before T. rex.
Its bones were discovered in 2005, and the species was described in 2014. The name means “the one who fears nothing” and refers to dreadnought-type battleships from the early 20th century, considered almost unbeatable in their era.
In terms of size, Dreadnoughtus is somewhat more “modest” than Patagotitan and Argentinosaurus – “only” 26 metres long and about 59 tonnes. However, it has a unique advantage: approximately 70% of its skeleton has been discovered. It is one of the most complete skeletons of a giant titanosaur known to science.
Even so, its mass was 10-12 times greater than that of the largest land animals alive today. Even without the crown of “the largest,” Dreadnoughtus remains one of the most astonishing creatures ever to walk the Earth.
Mamenchisaurus – the absolute record holder for the longest neck in animal history. Its remains were discovered in China in 1987, but for a long time scientists could not determine the exact length of its neck because some of the bones were missing. In March 2023, an international team of palaeontologists, including researchers from Stony Brook University, reassessed the data and announced that this dinosaur had the longest neck known to science: 15.1 metres.
By comparison, a giraffe’s neck measures about 2.5 metres. Mamenchisaurus exceeded that sixfold. Its neck was around three metres longer than a school bus. And we are talking only about the neck – without the rest of the body.
Mamenchisaurus had 18 cervical vertebrae. A giraffe has 7. Humans also have 7. In Mamenchisaurus, each cervical vertebra could exceed one metre in length.
It was discovered in the United States in 1900. Brachiosaurus is the dinosaur that appears in the famous scene from “Jurassic Park” in which the characters see a living dinosaur for the first time and are left completely speechless.
Brachiosaurus holds no record for either length or weight – it reached about 25 metres and could weigh 50-60 tonnes. Its distinctive feature, however, was its body proportions.
Its front legs were longer than its hind legs, giving it the silhouette of a giant giraffe. Its head stood at a height of about 12-13 metres – roughly at the level of the roof of a four-storey building.
Most likely, its ability to feed at heights inaccessible to other herbivores allowed it to reach such dimensions and thrive on Earth for millions of years.
It was discovered in 1877 and became one of the first large dinosaurs whose skeleton could be reconstructed almost completely. It was about 26 metres long and weighed around 15 tonnes.
In terms of mass, it was much lighter than the titanosaurs, but for a long time it ranked among the record holders for length.
The spectacular feature of Diplodocus was its extremely elongated body and incredibly long tail. Of its roughly 26 metres of body length, almost half – about 14 metres – belonged to the tail. It functioned like a gigantic whip.
Some biomechanical calculations have suggested that, when moved with force, the tip of the tail could have reached very high speeds and produced an extremely loud crack, similar to a gunshot. If Diplodocus really managed to move the tip of its tail at speeds close to the speed of sound, it would have been one of the most spectacular acoustic phenomena ever produced by a prehistoric animal – millions of years before the appearance of jet aircraft.
The first bones were discovered in Egypt in 1912. They were then lost dramatically: the skeleton was kept in a museum in Munich and was destroyed during the bombing in 1944.
New fragments were discovered by palaeontologists in Morocco only during the period from 2008 to 2014.
Spinosaurus was longer than T. rex – about 15-16 metres compared with roughly 12 metres. In terms of weight, however, it was probably lighter: around 7-9 tonnes, compared with estimates of 8-14 tonnes for T. rex. Nevertheless, Spinosaurus ranks among the largest predatory dinosaurs ever known.
Its limbs, tall paddle-like tail and dense bones indicate a very close connection with the aquatic environment. All these adaptations could have helped it move and hunt in water. It probably spent an important part of its time in the river systems of North Africa, where it also fed on giant fish.
In “Jurassic Park III,” Spinosaurus defeats T. rex in a confrontation on land. In reality, the two could never have met: they lived on different continents and in different periods.
Spinosaurus lived in Africa about 100 million years ago. T. rex lived in North America about 66 million years ago. Approximately 34 million years separated them.
On the back of Spinosaurus rose a huge “sail,” nearly two metres high, supported by very long extensions of the vertebrae and covered with tissue.
Its role remains a subject of debate even today: it may have contributed to thermoregulation, attracting mates, intimidating rivals, or it may have had an entirely different function.
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