Wednesday 15 September 2010

Daily Dino Fact!

Today’s Daily Dino fact comes courtesy of a question by Optimas, “Out of all Dinos, who was the biggest to ever live?” While the definition of “biggest” is up to a certain amount of interpretation, it is generally safe to say that a Sauropod was the biggest. Argentinosaurus (translated to Argetina Lizard, named after the country in which it was found), is generally thought to be the heaviest dino, weighing over 100 tons. Another Sauropod, Sauroposeidon, was most certainly the tallest, but enough about Sauropod’s, today’s Daily Dino Fact is going to focus on a couple other, less-celebrated, dinos that could be considered the BIGGEST for other reasons.

That's no small Pterry!

The biggest Pterosaur was called Quetzalcoatlus and it had a wingspan of up to 45 feet, that’s more than 5 times bigger than a Bald Eagle! Check it out next to that sedan, I think I’d just take the bus if that guy was hanging out by my car. Seriously, that is one freaky, giant prehistoric bird! There is still some debate as to whether this bad-boy flew or walked around on two legs, but if it did get airborne it was by far the largest animal ever to take to the skies. Just remember if you see a giant flying shadow when you’re outside today, it’s probably just an airplane and not a Quetzalcoatlus sneak attack!

Giant Cow-Frog?

One of my all-time favorites won’t win any beauty contests, but the biggest Therapsid ever was called Moschops. Therapsid literally means, “mammal-like reptile,” and that’s exactly what the Moschops were, they mostly grazed on short vegetation like cows… but then had outward sprawling front limbs, like lizards or frogs. Weird. These guys did get a little feisty and are thought to have butted heads like mountain goats, so never stand between two Moschops!


What do you think?


LD

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