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In general the largest dinosaurs were about 10 times the mass of the largest living animal - the African Elephant. Known collectively as Sauropods, these four-legged giants are the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Seismosaurus is estimated to have weighted 80 - 100 tonnes, with Supersaurus, Antarctosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Ultrasaurus coming close to this mass. The Sauropods had long necks and tails with four elephant-like legs. Many measured from 20 to 25 metres long, and stood 10 to 15 metres tall. They appear to have been gigantic giraffe-like animals browsing the tops of trees for their food. In the skies flew the largest flying animals the world has ever known - the Pterosaurs. One Pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, had an enormous wingspan estimated at 10 to 13 metres. It was larger than some private aircraft. The Pterosaurs had small legs and used a stretched piece of skin as a wing.
At the top of the food chain where the carnivorous dinosaurs. Perhaps the best known of these is Tyrannosaur Rex. This was a bipedal animal with a mass similar to an elephant. Its forelimbs had reduced down in size until they were almost useless. Other similar carnivores were Allosaurus and the recently discovered Giganotosaurus which is even larger than Tyrannosaur Rex. |
Dinosaurs and the Expanding Earth ebook from www.oneoffpublishing.com |
