The smallest carnivorous dinosaurs. The largest and smallest dinosaurs How tall is the smallest dinosaur known to science

Amazing animals - huge lizards, inhabited the planet millions of years ago. The extinction of dinosaurs, according to research, occurred as a result of a meteorite collision with the Earth. Archaeologists still find the remains of giant creatures today.

Thanks to the wonders of bioengineering, scientists are trying to recreate the image of ancient animals. But the considerable age of the remains does not allow us to reliably bring Jurassic Park to life. Systematic study provides correct information about numerous types of dinosaurs, their lifestyle, appearance and size.

It is wrong to assume that all prehistoric inhabitants are giants. There were also very modest specimens. Thus, thanks to the efforts and research of archaeologists and geneticists, it is possible to rank dinosaurs by their size and see how diverse the species and subspecies of these mysterious animals are.

TOP – 10 giant dinosaurs

Not a single modern animal in the world can compare in size with giant dinosaurs. Unless the blue whale competes with ancient species. The rating takes into account both reliably established facts about dimensions and conjectural ones. The second group includes those whose sizes could not be determined for certain due to the small amount of biomaterial obtained.

This harmless herbivore is the largest dinosaur, which is still not reliably confirmed. The image of the amphicelia was recreated from a fragment of a vertebra. According to scientific research, the dinosaur lived 145 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.

The mass of the amphicelia was 155 tons, and the height was 60 meters. Today, researchers are debating the reality of the existence of this giant animal.

A relative of Diplodocus may have reached 140 tons in weight and 50 meters in height. Most of the length was in the neck, so the seismosaur would not have been able to lift it completely vertically. The first excavated remains in 1980 indicate the lizard's massive hind legs. The forelimbs were intended to stabilize the body.

The structure of the wriggling tail helped the seismosaur to brush off predators. The lizard lived mainly on flat surfaces, since its impressive size did not allow it to enter the forest.

Supposedly, this is the heaviest dinosaur. But it is impossible to reliably determine the mass and size. Thus, excavations in South India indicate that the average representative of Bruhatkayos weighed 200 tons. The dinosaur belongs to the saurpod family; the length of the ancient animal of the Cretaceous period reached 40 meters.

The name of the animal was given by the site of the first excavations. According to the studied remains, the reptile weighed at least 90 tons and reached a height of 28 meters. Argentinosaurus lived about 100 million years ago, that is, during the Cretaceous period. The ancient lizard is considered the heaviest among those reliably confirmed.

A giant living 90 million years ago lived in the territory of modern Argentina. The known maximum length of the dinosaur is 24 meters. The mass of the huge saurpod was 80 tons. The remains of a giant dinosaur were discovered in 2000.

The skeleton found in the province of Neuquén is still considered a most valuable discovery, since it is 70% preserved. Thus, the recreated copy of Futalognkosaurus is the most reliable.

The dinosaur preferred a herd lifestyle, which helped defend itself from predators and ate plant foods. Habitat preferably in swampy areas. Diplodocus could swim, but on land it only fed and laid eggs. Extinct at the end of the Jurassic period.

Scientists attribute the extinction of the species to changing climate conditions. It is known for certain that diplodocus reached 27 meters in length and 75 tons of weight. But the dinosaur's brain was hardly larger than the size of a chicken egg. Powerful limbs ended in sharp claws, with which diplodocus defended itself from enemies.

Thanks to the biomaterial sufficient for study, it was possible to reliably determine the size of the herbivore. It is 26 meters long and 65 tons of weight. Dreadnoughtus lived 77 million years ago in the territory of modern South America. It stayed in one place, eating all the vegetation around.

Scientists have determined the cause of the species' extinction. It was an instant death due to the sudden overflow of the ancient river from its banks. The soil on which the dreadnoughts stood turned into quicksand and the giant dinosaurs instantly went underground.

And this is the tallest dinosaur. There is unconfirmed information about 50 meters in height, and real information that indicates that breviparol reached 27 meters. Both figures exceed reliably studied inhabitants of the period BC. Scientists suggest that breviparol lived 175 million years ago. The mass of the lizard is unknown, presumably it is about 55 tons.

The 10-meter inhabitant of the modern territory of the United States is round and massive - up to 40 tons. To scare away predators, the herbivorous supersaurus used a whip-like tail, which, when swung, made a piercing sound and caused significant damage. The super lizard chose places with ponds and rich vegetation to live.

The identification of this dinosaur as a separate species causes much debate, so Giraffatitan is often considered a synonym for Brachiosaurus. Together with the neck, which the prehistoric beast could not hold vertically, the herbivore reached 25 meters. The large male weighed from 15 to 30 tons.

Tree foliage is the main food of giraffatitan. Unlike Brachiosaurus, this subspecies had a higher crest on the skull and attached vocal sacs. With the help of such adaptations, Giraffatitan had the ability to thermoregulate and vocalize.

Interesting!

The largest representatives of the most ancient inhabitants of the planet were herbivores. Its huge size made it possible to eat the crowns of trees, and its long tails and massive legs allowed it to defend itself from predators.

But, as already mentioned, among the dinosaurs there were also very small ones. They are talked about less in the media, so it makes sense to highlight record holders according to this criterion.

TOP – 5 small dinosaurs

Small-sized dinosaurs are represented by flying, sea, and predatory representatives. Just as in the case of giant extinct animals, it is quite difficult to know the exact size. Therefore, it is impossible to make a reliable rating of the supposed miniature representatives of the Mesozoic era.

The smallest dinosaur reliably confirmed. In translation, the name of the prehistoric animal is interpreted as “little runner.” Currently, only one incomplete skeleton has survived, which made it possible to determine the size of the parvikur. Thus, the excavated remains indicate a 39 cm length and 162 grams of body weight of the dinosaur.

The smallest predatory dinosaur was 40 cm in length, and the mass of Cosmognathus reached 3 kg. This is, in fact, a bloodthirsty killer, despite its miniature size. The main trump card of a small predator is gluttony and speed. Not only insects and lizards, but even small animals became the food of the lightning-fast dinosaur.

The inhabitant of the seas reached 60 cm. The maximum weight did not exceed 9 kg. The ancestor of plesiosaurs is considered the smallest reptile. Externally, the lasiosaur resembles a modern otter, only half the size - with a serpentine shape, but with front and hind legs, the clawed fingers of which were connected by membranes. There is evidence that lariosaurs lived mainly in shallow water, where they hunted fish. And they rested on the shore.

A relative of the Psittacosaurus moved on two legs, and quite quickly. The established dimensions of the microceratus are 25 cm height and 60 cm length. The weight of a ceratopsian representative is 7 kg. Lived 130 million years ago in the territory of modern China and Mongolia.

Thanks to cinematic films, myths were born about the size and lifestyle of the fantastic animals that lived on the planet. For example, many consider the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex to be the largest and strongest. But the gigantosaurus is considered the largest of the carnivorous predators. With a body length of 15 meters and a mass of 7 - 8 tons, the giant did not need to develop rapid speed. Gigantosaurus fed on large saurpods, which were not distinguished by their ability to move quickly.

But among marine predators, the pliosaur evokes animal horror. With a mass of 25 tons and with deadly jaws, the pliosaur had no rivals in the sea. The predator led a solitary lifestyle, killing not only sea animals, but also its relatives.

Finally

It’s a pity that not a single person on earth will be able to see unusual animals with their own eyes. Recreating a copy of extinct dinosaurs requires careful research and excavation, subsequent study of materials, design and installation. Therefore, the maximum that is available to a person is to see mystical animals in photographs or in science fiction films.

Video on topic

Dinosaurs belonged to the vertebrates, they dominated for over 160 million years in all terrestrial ecosystems - on land, in water and air until the end of the Cretaceous period. The history of dinosaur research is approaching its 200th anniversary, as the first dinosaur remains were discovered in 1822. During this time, paleontologists have done impressive work: they were able to restore the appearance of many lizards, make assumptions about their behavior and establish their diet. Next, the top 11 largest dinosaurs in the world, based on their established or estimated length.

Hundreds of thousands of species of animals of various sizes live on earth, among which there are real giants, the size of which, although inferior to prehistoric...

1. Amphicelia

It was this monster that topped the list of TOP 10 largest dinosaurs in the world. This herbivorous giant was one of the first to be discovered - in 1878 thanks to the efforts of archaeologist E. Cope. He had to make a sketch of the vertebra he found, since it fell apart during cleaning. Traces of amphicelia have also been found in Zimbabwe and the USA. This supergiant had a body length of 40-65 meters and weighed up to 155 tons! Thanks to its light cervical vertebrae, it could support its long neck, at the end of which was a disproportionately small head.
The gigantic size did not bring big dividends to the amphicelia - their young, clumsy offspring became easy prey for predatory dinosaur species. To grow, they had to literally destroy all surrounding vegetation, so their habitat was constantly shrinking. Its gigantic size hardly allowed the herbivorous monster to run - it could only walk sedately. It was not difficult for adult individuals to defend themselves from enemies, since their very size kept most predators from attacking. Paleontologists currently believe that two species of these sauropods existed 165-140 million years ago.

2. Argentinosaurus

This monster was attributed to Argentina, since at one time its remains were discovered in this country. Perhaps the largest dinosaur that lived in South America over 98 million years ago. Unfortunately, few remains of this species were found, so its size can only be speculated. But even a single vertebra measuring 1.6 meters in height already shows how large this sauropod was. In the Argentinean Carmen Funes Museum there is a reconstruction of the Argentinosaurus skeleton, which is almost 40 meters long. Scientists suggest that this is not too much of an exaggeration, since they themselves estimate the possible size of the Argentinosaurus at 23-35 meters and weight at 60-180 tons.
This typical sauropod with a long neck rested on 4 legs, and its diet consisted of the crowns of tall trees, where its head could easily reach. To make food grind better in the stomach, Argentinosaurs swallowed stones. These sauropods lived in groups of 20-25 individuals.

3. Futalognkosaurus

This is a neighbor of the Argentinosaurus, which lived in the Upper Cretaceous period (94-85 million years ago) in South American territory. His remains were found in the Argentine province of Neuquén as recently as 2000. The name was given to it in the language of the local peoples, and it can be translated as “main giant”. With a body length of 32-33 meters, this lizard weighed about 80 tons, and could raise its head to a height of 15 meters.
Scientists who carried out excavations at the beginning of this century were very lucky - they found an almost complete skeleton of this monster, only a few vertebrae from the tail were missing. In the entire 200-year history of hunting for dinosaur bones, this discovery was the most complete. Scientists took a closer look at the fossils around the skeleton, and realized that at that time there was a wooded area in which various types of bushes and trees grew. Nowadays there is almost a bare desert here - have dinosaurs really eaten everything?

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4. Diplodocus

Huge diplodocus lived during the Jurassic period (150-138 million years ago). They belong to the lizard-hipped dinosaurs. Its name can be translated as "double ray", as the bones of its tail had the characteristic double-rayed processes that distinguish the species. With a body length of 28-33 meters, diplodocus reached 10 meters in height and weighed 20-30 tons. He used four powerful legs to move, and he kept his balance by balancing with his tail. The tail of the diplodocus, according to paleontologists, also served him as a means of communication in a flock of relatives, and with it he skillfully defended himself from attacks by predators.
In order to consume the amount of calories necessary to maintain such a mass, diplodocus had to eat not only low-calorie vegetation and algae, but also mollusks. Their teeth were poorly developed, so diplodocus did not chew plants, but ground them. At the end of the Jurassic period, 135-130 million years ago, this type of giant dinosaur came to an end.

5. Sauroposeidon

This lizard was named after the ancient Greek god of the seas, Poseidon. This is another giant sauropod that lived 125-100 million years ago in the mid-Cretaceous period. His bones were discovered in the yard of an Oklahoma prison in 1994. Based on these finds, the appearance of Sauroposeidon was reconstructed: with a height of 18 meters, the body length was 31 meters, and the herbivorous giant weighed up to 60 tons.
In terms of height, this lizard is second only to one species of dinosaur - Breviparopus. The females of these giants could lay up to hundreds of eggs. The young animals were forced to live separately and constantly eat in order to grow faster and be accepted on equal terms into the common flock. But out of hundreds of those who started, only 3-4 sauroposeidon individuals reached adulthood. In addition to changing the types of vegetation on the planet, it was this factor that most likely was fatal for this type of dinosaur.

Among other fauna, birds stand apart. Many of them are very beautiful, with bright plumage, seeming weightless when they float in the air. But wed...

6. Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus also belongs to the genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs; it lived at the end of the Jurassic period 161.2 - 145.5 million years ago. The habitats of brachiosaurs were North America, Europe and Africa.
Based on the results of studies of the found remains, it was revealed that the adult individual reached an average of 26 meters in length and weighed about 56 tons.
Despite the fact that Brachiosaurus is only sixth on our list, it is considered one of the tallest dinosaurs.

7. Mamenchisaurus

This sauropod, which lived in East Asia, had the longest neck, reaching 15 meters. Of course, he was also a herbivore. It differs from other similar dinosaurs in its cervical vertebrae, of which scientists counted 19. The length of adult individuals could reach up to 25 meters, and weight - up to 60-120 tons. Being a sauropod, Mamenchisaurus had a typical small head in comparison with the impressive dimensions of the body. He walked on 4 legs and may even have frightened other lizards with his size. However, the mamenchisaurs that lived 145 million years ago posed a danger only to the flora.

8. Shantungosaurus

In 1973, the remains of another giant dinosaur were found in the Chinese province of Shandong. This one of the largest species of ornithischian lizards trampled the earth with its heavy tread at the end of the Cretaceous period. The length of this herbivorous creature reached 15 meters, and its weight was 15 tons. Its massive jaws were armed with 1,500 small teeth, suitable only for grinding fiber. There was a special membrane in his nostrils, thanks to which he was able to make sounds.

9. Sarcosuchus

Sarcosuchus belongs to crocodylomorphs, but not to the order of crocodiles, although it significantly resembles them in appearance, except for size. They lived about 110 million years ago in Africa. During the Cretaceous period, it was the largest crocodile-like reptile, and its diet consisted of fish and not the largest dinosaurs. As for size, the largest modern crocodile would be two times smaller than Sarcosuchus.
Its length was 12-15 meters, and its weight could reach 14 tons. Its huge skull was 1.6 meters long, and it could squeeze its powerful jaws with a force of up to 20 tons, which was quite enough to bite a comparable dinosaur in half. However, it did not have the death-spinning skill with captured prey that modern crocodiles possess. The bones of this monster were repeatedly discovered (1966, 1997, 2000) in various geological deposits.

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10. Liopleurodon

Liopleurodon, along with other pliosaurs, ruled the seas during the Jurassic period (approximately 227-205 million years ago). Very few remains of this waterfowl reptile were found - a few teeth in England, France, and fragments in Mexico and Russia. It was difficult for scientists who had so little material to guess the parameters of this aquatic predator. It is possible that adult individuals grew up to 14 meters in length, while they had a one and a half meter narrow head, and weighed 25-45 tons. Although in the BBC popular science film the size of Liopleurodon is indicated as 29 meters, scientists consider this to be a gross exaggeration.
Moving its four muscular flippers, this underwater creature could quite quickly ambush its prey. Their diet consisted of large fish and mollusks (ammonites), and they did not disdain attacking other marine reptiles. Scientists suggest that Liopleurodon had a highly developed sense of smell in an aquatic environment. These marine predators disappeared from the historical arena approximately 80 million years ago.

11. Shonisaurus

Shonisaurus was the largest ichthyosaur currently known to scientists, living in the Late Triassic era (250-90 million years ago) in the ocean depths. The dimensions of this fish lizard were approximately 14 meters, and it weighed 30-40 tons. He had a huge skull with narrow, elongated jaws, reaching 2 meters in length. The largest burial of these prehistoric monsters was found in Nevada. Miners extracting gold and silver unexpectedly unearthed huge skeletons, which were immediately preserved pending further study. But the bones of one of the monsters were transported to a Los Angeles museum, where a skeleton was reconstructed from them.
It is not entirely clear what these rulers of the ancient seas ate - perhaps they hunted for large fish, attacking them from ambush and tearing them with sharp teeth. In total, the remains of 37 shonisaurs were discovered in Nevada; for this reason, they were even recognized in 1977 as the official fossil of this state.

Here's what: » The largest and smallest dinosaurs. Otherwise, you can get confused in this topic. It is advisable to consider sauropods and theropods (carnosaurs) separately. Well, if anyone else interesting comes along)"

Let's understand this issue of the long-standing history of our mother Earth.

But the task turns out to be not an easy one! Firstly, how to evaluate the largest dinosaur? By height? By weight? By lenght? And there are so many reservations that this or that type has not been particularly proven. And by the way, many discovered dinosaurs have almost the same estimated sizes. Well, okay, let me offer several versions on this topic, and then you decide for yourself who can be considered the largest or the smallest.

“Terrible lizard” is how the word “Dinosaur” is translated from ancient Greek. These land vertebrates inhabited the Earth during the Mesozoic era for more than 160 million years. The first dinosaurs appeared in the late Triassic period (251 million years ago - 199 million years ago), approximately 230 million years ago, and their extinction began at the end of the Cretaceous period (145 million years ago - 65 million years ago), about 65 million years ago.

The remains of a dinosaur, found back in 1877 in Colorado, are still considered to be the bones of the largest dinosaur - Amphicelia. Amphicelia(lat. Amphicoelias from Greek amphi"on both sides" and coelos"empty, concave") - a genus of herbivorous dinosaurs from the group of sauropods.

Paleontologist Edward Cope, who back in 1878 published an article on amphicelia, drew his conclusions from a single fragment of a vertebra (destroyed shortly after cleaning and not preserved to this day - only a drawing has survived), so the size and even the very existence of this dinosaur is in doubt. If Amphicelias is nevertheless described correctly, then its length, according to calculations, was from 40 to 62 meters, and weight - up to 155 tons . Then it seems that this is not only the largest dinosaur of all time of their existence, but also the largest known animal. Amphicelias is almost twice as long as the blue whale and 10 meters longer than Seismosaurus, which is in second place. Then the maximum size of animals will be at the level of amphicelias - 62 m in length. However, it has been suggested that more massive dinosaurs existed (for example, Bruchatkaiosaurus, which lived in the Cretaceous period.

Bruhathkayosaurus (lat. Bruhathkayosaurus) is one of the largest sauropods. According to different versions, weighed 180 or 220 tons (according to other hypotheses - 240 tons) . Apparently, Bruchatkaiosaurus is the heaviest animal that has ever lived (in second place is the 200-ton blue whale, in third place is the 155-ton Amphicelias). The genus contains a single species found in southern India (Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu). Age - about 70 million years (Cretaceous period). There is no single estimate of the length of this dinosaur; different scientists determine its length from 28-34 meters to 40-44 meters.

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However, do not rush to believe the assumptions just yet. Due to the small number of bones, this has not yet been proven. Only scientists' guesses and a wide range of estimates. We will wait for new excavations - after all, we rely only on facts. And if you rely only on the facts, then this is what they say.

Although paleontologists claim they have found a larger Saurus, the size of Argentinosaurus is supported by compelling evidence. Argentinosaurus's vertebrae alone are over four feet thick! It had a hind limb length of about 4.5 m, and a length from shoulder to hip. 7 m. If we add to the obtained results the length of the neck and tail, corresponding to the proportions of previously known titanosaurs, then the total length of the Argentinosaurus will be 30 m. However, this does not make it the longest dinosaur. The longest is considered to be Seismosaurus, whose length from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail is estimated at 40 m, and its mass is from 40 to 80 tons, but, according to all calculations, Argentinosaurus is the heaviest. Its weight could reach 100 tons!

In addition, Argentinosaurus is undeniably . the largest lizard about which good paleontological material has been collected. This giant was dug up in 1980 by two paleontologists, Rodolfo Coria and Jose Bonaparte from the Natural History Museum in Buenos Aires. According to these researchers, Argentinosaurus belongs to the titanosaurs (a suborder of sauropods of the saurischian dinosaur order), which were widespread in the south of the American continent in the Cretaceous period.

Argentinosaurus bone

Comparing the found bones with the already known remains of sauropods, scientists calculated that the unearthed monster had a hind limb length of about 4.5 m, and a length from shoulder to hip. 7 m. If we add to the obtained results the length of the neck and tail, corresponding to the proportions of previously known titanosaurs, then the total length of Argentinosaurus will be 30 m. This is not the longest dinosaur (the longest is Seismosaurus, whose length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail is estimated at 40 m , and weight - from 40 to 80 tons), but, according to all calculations, the heaviest. Its weight could reach 100 tons.

Sauroposeidon ( Sauroposeidon ) named after Poseidon, the Greek god of the ocean. In size, it competed with Argentinosaurus, and perhaps could have surpassed it, but its weight was much less, according to paleontologists, it weighed no more than 65 tons, while Argentinosaurus could weigh up to one hundred tons. But, Sauroposeidon could have been the tallest dinosaur that ever roamed the earth, and what’s more, the tallest creature on the planet in general! Its height could reach almost 18-20 meters

His physique meant that he had to consume about a ton of vegetation every day, an almost endless job. To accomplish this feat, the dinosaur had 52 chisel-shaped teeth that cut down plants in one fell swoop. He didn’t even bother chewing his food, swallowing tasty vegetation, which immediately ended up in a 1-ton stomach the size of a swimming pool. Then his gastric juice, which had incredible power and could even dissolve iron, did the rest of the work. The dinosaur also ingested rocks, which helped it digest fiber.

It’s good that the dinosaur’s digestive system worked so well, because with a lifespan of 100 years (one of the longest in the dinosaur kingdom) and in the absence of such a metabolism, it would have aged very quickly.

We all discussed the so-called sauropods (sauropods), but which of the predators is the largest dinosaur?

You probably thought that Tyrannosaurus Rex would be in this category. However, it is now believed that Spinosaurus was the largest predatory dinosaur. Its mouth looked like the mouth of a crocodile, and the growth on its back resembled a huge sail. The sail made the appearance of this theropod even more majestic. The leathery “sail” reached a height of 2 meters. The predator itself was more than 17 meters long and weighed 4 tons. It walked on its hind limbs like other therapods. It could be over 20 feet tall. Read more about the dinosaur

Spinosaurus had a leathery “sail” stretched over the axial processes of the vertebrae, reaching a height of 2 meters. The predator itself was more than 17 meters long and weighed 4 tons. It walked on its hind limbs like other therapods.

Spinosaurus hunted alone, lying in wait for its prey. In doing so, he relied on his gigantic size and the strength of his jaws, elongated like a pliosaur and armed with sharp conical teeth. This predator fed mainly on large fish, but it could easily attack even a sauropod dinosaur of its own size. By sinking its teeth into the neck of the sauropod, the spinosaurus would bite the throat, which led to the rapid death of the victim. It could also attack crocodiles, pterosaurs and freshwater sharks.

In the middle of the day, Spinosaurus could turn its back to the sun. In this position, the “sail” was facing the direct sunlight with its edge and did not absorb heat, so the Spinosaurus, which, like all reptiles, was cold-blooded, avoided the risk of overheating. If he suddenly became too hot, he could dive into the nearest lake or river and dip his “sail” in the water to cool it down. Early morning temperatures, even in the warm climate of the Cretaceous period, were probably not as high as during the day. It is possible that at dawn the Spinosaurus was even chilly. Then he could stand so that the sun’s rays fell on the “sail” plane, as shown in the illustration. There is another theory according to which it is believed that the “sail” during the mating season could serve as a means of attracting females.

Apparently, Spinosaurus was one of the most ferocious predators of the Late Cretaceous period. The length of its body from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail was about 15 m - more than the length of a modern bus. In the illustration you can see a row of spines on the spine, the longest of which reached 1.8 m. These spines served as the basis for the “sail” of Spinosaurus. The longest spines were located in the center; each spine in the middle was thinner than at the upper end. The massive body of the Spinosaurus was supported by two powerful column-like legs, and its feet ended in three sharp claws. In addition, there was an additional weak toe on each foot. The huge claws on the feet of the Spinosaurus could have been useful for holding down prey trying to escape. The upper limbs of Spinosaurus were short, but also very strong. The skull structure of Spinosaurus was similar to that of other carnivorous dinosaurs; Its characteristic feature was straight teeth, sharp as meat knives, which could easily pierce even the thickest skin. The tail of the Spinosaurus was long, wide and very strong. Scientists suggest that in some cases, Spinosaurus could knock down prey by striking it with a series of powerful blows with its tail.

Here are some other predators that can be mentioned that could compete with the largest dinosaur. And again this is not a Tyrannosaurus rex :-)

Tarbosaurus, a genus of extinct giant predatory dinosaurs (superfamily Carnosaurus). Large terrestrial predators - body length is usually over 10 m, height in a bipedal pose is about 3.5 m. The skull is huge (more than 1 m), massive, powerful dagger-shaped teeth, designed for attacking very large animals (mainly herbivorous dinosaurs). The forelimbs of T. are reduced and have only 2 full fingers, the hind limbs are highly developed, forming, together with the powerful tail, a supporting tripod for the body. Skeletons of T. were found in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of the South Gobi (MPR).

Lit.: Maleev E. A., Giant carnosaurs of the family Tyrannosauridae, in the book: Fauna and biostratigraphy of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Mongolia, M., 1974, p. 132-91

The Asian Tarbosaurus (Tarbosaurus bataar) was a close relative of the North American carnivorous dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous period. Tarbosaurus is a robber lizard. From the tip of the muzzle to the tip of the tail - about ten meters. The largest of them is more than 14 m long and 6 m high. The head size is more than a meter in length. The teeth were sharp, dagger-shaped. All this allowed the Tarbosaurus to cope even with those opponents whose bodies were protected by bone armor.

With its height and appearance, it strongly resembled tyrannosaurs. It also walked on strong hind legs, using its tail to maintain balance. The forelimbs were greatly reduced, two-fingered, and apparently served only for holding food.

Among the first dinosaur finds in England was a fragment of a lower jaw with several teeth. Apparently, it belonged to a huge predatory lizard, which was later dubbed

Megalosaurus (giant lizard). Since no other parts of the body could be found, it was impossible to get an accurate idea of ​​the body shape and size of the animal. It was believed that the lizard walked on four legs. Over the years, many other fossilized remains have been excavated, but a complete skeleton has never been discovered. Only after making a comparison with other predatory dinosaurs (carnosaurs), the researchers came to the conclusion that Megalosaurus also ran on its hind legs, its length reached 9 meters and it weighed a ton. It was possible to reconstruct the Allosaurus (another lizard) with greater accuracy. Over 60 of his skeletons of various sizes have been found in America. The largest allosaurs reached a length of 11-12 meters and weighed from 1 to 2 tons. Their prey, of course, included giant herbivorous dinosaurs, which is confirmed by the found piece of an Apatosaurus tail with deep bite marks and knocked out Allosaurus teeth.

Even larger, in all likelihood, were two species that lived 80 million years later in the Cretaceous period, namely the tyrannosaurus (tyrant lizard) from North America and the tarbosaurus (terrifying lizard) from Mongolia. Although the skeletons are not completely preserved (most often the tail is missing), it is assumed that their length reached 14-15 meters, height 6 meters, and body weight reached 5-6 tons. The heads were also impressive: the Tarbosaurus skull was 1.45 meters long, and the largest Tyrannosaurus skull was 1.37 meters long. The dagger-shaped teeth, protruding 15 cm, were so powerful that they could hold an actively resisting animal. But it is still unknown whether these giants could really pursue prey or were too massive for this. Perhaps they ate carrion or the remains of the prey of smaller predators, which they had no trouble driving away. The dinosaur's forelimbs were surprisingly short and weak, with only two fingers. And a huge finger with a claw 80 cm long was discovered in a Tercinosaurus (sickle-shaped lizard). But whether this finger was the only one and what size the entire animal reached is unknown. The 12-meter Spinosaurus (spiny lizard) also looked impressive. Along his back, his skin was stretched in the form of a sail 1.8 meters high. Perhaps this served him to scare away rivals and competitors, or perhaps it served as a heat exchanger between the body and the environment.

Who was the giant "terrible hand"? Until now, we are not able to imagine what a giant predatory dinosaur looked like, from which, unfortunately, only the bones of the front and hind limbs have been found during excavations in Mongolia. But the length of the forelimbs alone was two and a half meters, that is, approximately equal to the length of the entire Deinonychus or four times the length of its forelimbs. Each hand had three huge claws, with which it was possible to stab and tear even very large prey. Amazed by this discovery, Polish researchers gave this dinosaur the name Deinocheirus, which means “terrible hand.”

If we take for comparison the size of the ostrich dinosaur, which has a similar structure of the forelimbs, but is four times smaller in length, then we can assume that Deinocheirus was one and a half times larger than the tyrannosaurus! Dinosaur lovers and researchers around the world are eagerly awaiting new discoveries of bones and clarification of the mystery of the giant “terrible hand.”

Tarbosaurs, the remains of which were found in the southern part of the Gobi Desert, are large predatory dinosaurs. The total length of their body reached 10 and height - 3.5 meters. They hunted large herbivorous dinosaurs. Tarbosaurs were distinguished by the impressive size of the skull - in adult individuals it exceeded 1 meter.

According to experts, the dinosaur, whose skull the detained man wanted to sell, lived on our planet 50-60 million years ago.

Every year, Mongolian paleontologists and international expeditions find new remains of tarbosaurs in the South Gobi.

Since the early 1990s, such unique exhibits began to actively fall into private hands. According to Mongolian law enforcement agencies, a network of smugglers engaged in such fishing operates illegally. In recent years, customs officers and police have stopped several attempts to export fossilized eggs and parts of dinosaur skeletons abroad.

So, which of the record holders do we have in the rank of sea dinosaurs?

The crown of weight and size in the pliosaur family belongs to Lioplevodon. It had four powerful flippers (up to 3 m long) and a short, laterally compressed tail. The teeth are huge, up to 30 cm long (possibly up to 47 cm!), round in cross section. It reached a length of 15 to 18 meters. The length of these reptiles reached 15 meters. Liopleurodons ate large fish, ammonites, and also attacked other marine reptiles. They were the dominant predators of the Late Jurassic seas. Read more about the dinosaur

Described by G. Savage in 1873 from a single tooth from the Late Jurassic layers of the Boulogne-sur-Mer region (Northern France). The skeleton was discovered at the end of the 19th century in Peterborough, England. At one time, the genus Liopleurodon was combined with the genus Pliosaurus. Liopleurodon has a shorter lower jaw symphysis and fewer teeth than Pliosaurus. Both genera form the family Pliosauridae.

Liopleurodon ferox is the type species. The total length reached 25 meters. The length of the skull is 4 meters. Lived in water bodies of northern Europe (England, France) and South America (Mexico). Liopleurodon pachydeirus (Callovey of Europe), distinguished by the shape of the cervical vertebrae. Liopleurodon rossicus (aka Pliosaurus rossicus). Described from an almost complete skull from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian era) of the Volga region. The length of the skull is about 1 - 1.2 m. A fragment of the rostrum of a giant pliosaur from the same deposits may belong to the same species. In this case, the Russian Liopleurodon was not inferior to the European species. The remains are on display at the Paleontological Museum in Moscow. Liopleurodon macromerus (aka Pliosaurus macromerus, Stretosaurus macromerus). Kimmeridge - Tithonium of Europe and South America. A very large species, the length of the skull reached 3 meters, the total length should be from 15 to 20 meters.

Liopleurodon was a typical pliosaur - with a large narrow head (at least 1/4 - 1/5 of the total length), four powerful flippers (up to 3 m long) and a short, laterally compressed tail. The teeth are huge, up to 30 cm long (possibly up to 47 cm!), round in cross section. At the tips of the jaws, the teeth form a kind of “rosette”. The external nostrils were not used for breathing - when swimming, water entered the internal nostrils (located in front of the external ones) and exited through the external nostrils. The flow of water passed through Jacobson's organ and thus Liopleurodon “sniffed” the water. This creature breathed through its mouth when it surfaced. Liopleurodons could dive deeply and for a long time. They swam with the help of huge flippers, which they flapped like birds' wings. Liopleurodons had good protection - they had strong bone plates under their skin. Like all pliosaurs, Liopleurodons were viviparous.

In 2003, remains of the species Liopleurodon ferox were discovered in Late Jurassic marine sediments in Mexico. It reached a length of 15 to 18 meters. It was a young individual. Its bones bore the teeth marks of another Liopleurodon. Judging by these injuries, the attacker could have been more than 20 meters in length, as his teeth were 7 cm in diameter and more than 40 cm in length. In 2007, the remains of very large pliosaurs of an unknown species were discovered in the Jurassic sediments of the polar archipelago of Spitsbergen. The length of these reptiles reached 15 meters. Liopleurodons ate large fish, ammonites, and also attacked other marine reptiles. They were the dominant predators of the Late Jurassic seas.

Well, that’s probably all with the biggest ones, choose which one you like best for the pedestal :-) And now about the smallest ones...

In 2008, Scientists discovered the skull of one of the smallest dinosaurs that lived on Earth. This find may help answer the question of why some dinosaurs once became herbivores.

The skull, less than 2 inches long, belonged to a baby Heterodontosaurus that lived about 190 million years ago and measured 6 inches tall and 18 inches from the head. to the tip of the tail.

But it was not the size of the animal that intrigued scientists, but its teeth. Experts are divided on whether the heterodontosaurus ate meat or plants. The mini-dinosaur, which The Telegraph says weighs as much as a mobile phone, has both front fangs and teeth typical of herbivores for grinding plant food. There was an assumption that adult males had fangs, who used them to fight competitors for territory, but the presence of them in the cub disproved this theory. Most likely, such fangs were required for protection from predators.

Now the scientists who discovered the animal have a theory that the heterodontosaurus was in the process of an evolutionary transition from a carnivore to a herbivore. It was probably an omnivore, eating mainly plants, but varied its diet with insects, small mammals or reptiles.

Laura Porro, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago (USA), suggested that all dinosaurs were originally carnivores: “Because Heterodontosaurus is one of the earliest dinosaurs to adapt to plants, it may represent a phase of transition from carnivorous ancestors to fully herbivorous descendants. Its skull indicates that all dinosaurs of this species survived such a transition."

Fossils of Heterodontosaurus are incredibly rare, with only two known records from South Africa of adult specimens until now.

Laura Porro found part of a fossilized baby skull with two adult fossils during excavations in Cape Town in the 60s. Dr Richard Butler, a specialist at the Natural History Museum in London, described the find as extremely important as it provides insight into how the animal changed as it grew. Interestingly, most reptiles change their teeth throughout their lives, while Heterodontosaurus only did this during maturation, like mammals.

Another small one:

But in 2011, the discovery of a new fossil could indicate the existence of the world's smallest species of all known dinosaurs. The feathered bird-like creature, which lived more than 100 million years ago, measured no more than 15.7 inches (40 centimeters) in length.

The fossil, a small neck bone discovered in southern Britain, measured just a quarter of an inch (7.1 millimeters) in length. It belonged to an adult dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period 145-100 million years ago, University of Portsmouth paleozoologist Darren Naish reports in the current issue of the journal Cretaceous Research.

The discovery should place another bird-like dinosaur, so far named Anchiornis, among the world's smallest dinosaurs, which lived in what is now China 160-155 million years ago. The newly found bone belongs to a member of the maniraptoran, a group of theropod dinosaurs believed to be the ancient ancestors of modern birds.

With a fossil of only one vertebra, it's hard to know exactly what the little dinosaur ate or even how big it actually was.

The vertebra lacks a neurocentral suture, a rough, open line of bone that does not close until the dinosaur is an adult, Naish and his University of Portsmouth colleague Steven Sweetmen reported. This means that the dinosaur died as an adult animal.

But calculating the estimated length of a dinosaur from one bone was a rather tricky task. The researchers used two methods to determine how big maniraptoran was. The first method involved building a digital model of the dinosaur's neck, and then scientists superimposed that neck onto the silhouette of a typical maniraptoran.

The technique is more art than science, Naish wrote on his blog, Tetrapod Zoology, predicting that it was bound to infuriate some researchers. A slightly more mathematical method, used to calculate the neck and torso ratios of other related dinosaurs, was applied to determine the new length of maniraptoran. Both methods resulted in the following figures - about 13-15.7 inches (33-50 centimeters), Naish noted.

The new dinosaur does not yet have an official name and is nicknamed Ashdown maniraptorian in honor of the area where it was discovered. If Ashdown dino turns out to be the smallest dinosaur on record, it will break the record for the smallest known dinosaur in North America at about 6 inches (15 cm). This dinosaur, Hesperonychus elizabethae, was a velociraptor predator with a hideous, twisted toe claw. He was about a foot and a half (50 cm) tall and weighed about 4 pounds (2 kilograms).

In the 1970s In the Upper Triassic sediments of Newfoundland (Canada), a small footprint was discovered left by someone, no larger in size than a thrush. The structure of the fingers is typical of carnivorous dinosaurs of that time. This print belongs to the smallest dinosaur ever found on Earth. However, it is still not known what age the individual that left the mark could have been - an adult or a cub.

Animals of the Mesozoic

What did the Earth look like during the Mesozoic period? Reptiles of huge and small sizes walked everywhere. Dinosaurs reigned for more than 165 million years, but mysteriously began to disappear. To gain knowledge about species, paleontologists study their fossils remaining on Earth. The remains of the smallest dinosaur have been found in North America. Fossils were discovered back in the 1970s. thanks to Elizabeth Nichols at the University of Alberta in Canada.

Bones of unknown species

It is unclear how these small bones were stored in cabinets until they were found by Nick Longrich. So they were identified quite recently. The new species was given the name Hesperonychus elizabethae. Scientists studied the shape of the skeleton's pelvis and were able to prove that the ancient lizard was an adult representative of these individuals, just small by nature.

The bones of such a small dinosaur were the hardest to find, as they decomposed faster and fell into pieces. However, scientists were able to detect it in North America, in the Canadian province of Alberta. This previously unknown species of dinosaur weighed no more than 1 kg and was about 70 cm long. It was proven that the creature lived about 150 million years ago.

Dinosaur the size of a cat

Canadian paleontologists have announced that miniature dinosaurs occupied an important link in the food chain. The smallest dinosaur was the size of a domestic cat, although it was a dangerous predator. Its main sources of food were insects and small mammals. In addition, when hunting in a pack, they could attack the young of other dinosaurs.

Such a miniature lizard ran briskly on its feet and defended itself with very sharp teeth and sickle-shaped claws. Nick Longrich, who proved the existence of the species and named it in honor of Elizabeth Nichols, believes that they lived in large numbers in the forests of the Cretaceous period.

Anatomical structure

The anatomical structure makes Hesperonychus elizabethae similar to velociraptors found in Asia - two-legged predators, well known from the film “Jurassic Park” by Steven Spielberg. The small lizards were even more similar to the ancient four-winged microraptors. Paleontologists speculate that these populations may have shared a common land route between Alaska and Siberia.

By the way, quite recently Longrich found and described a second very small predator living in what is now North America. Albertonykus borealis did not exceed 60 cm in height and fed on small insects: ants and termites.

Yulia Domakhina, Samogo.Net

Any person imagines a dinosaur in the form of a ferocious lizard of terrifying size, grinning a huge mouth and destroying everything in its path. Indeed, most ancient reptiles had gigantic sizes that boggle the imagination. This is evidenced by numerous finds of individual fragments and even entire skeletons of fossil lizards. However, not all dinosaurs were giants; among them there were certain species that nature, as if in mockery, endowed with the height of a chicken. These tiny creatures darted in numerous flocks among the thickets of relict ferns, trying not to get under the feet of their huge relatives and looking for even smaller prey.

Why did scientists know so little about these amazing little creatures until recently? It was their short stature that played a cruel joke on them. The bones of these dinosaurs were so light and fragile that they did not stand the test of time and have practically not survived to the present day. Only isolated finds allowed these small reptiles to make themselves known.

This lizard gained fame as the smallest predator of the Jurassic period. Its length did not exceed a meter, and its weight reached only two kilograms. It walked on fast hind legs, had a long tail and a movable head. The nimble dinosaur hunted insects and lizards. A total of three Compsognathus skeletons were found. Two of them were discovered in Europe in the mid-nineteenth and late twentieth centuries, and one skeleton was preserved in Russia and was found as recently as 2010. Thanks to these finds, scientists were able to restore the appearance and habits of the fossil dinosaur.

Nquebasaurus
The only fragment of the skeleton of this lizard was found in 2000 in Africa, near the Sahara Desert. Most likely the remains belonged to a cub. The structural features of these lizards include the presence of long fingers, which made it possible to capture prey. The so-called stomach stones, which are usually intended for grinding plant foods, are preserved in the intestines. This allowed scientists to conclude that Nkwebasaurs were omnivorous. The dinosaur did not exceed a meter in length and was a contemporary of Compsognathus.

Scipionyx
The perfectly preserved skeleton of this lizard was found in Italy at the end of the twentieth century. The skeleton, which belonged to a baby dinosaur, pleased scientists with an extensive base for research, because the fossilized remains preserved the structure of not only the soft tissues of the animal, but also its internal organs. Most likely, the lizard's body was covered with primitive feathers. It walked on its hind legs, supporting its body with its tail. The size of adult individuals, according to scientists, reached two meters. The dinosaur lived in the Cretaceous period and was a predator. In any case, among the undigested food remains, scientists found lizards and fish.