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Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

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Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#31

Post by klyrs »

bpodgursky wrote: post #7
frankbreetz wrote: post #2

To put this in context an American football field is 160 ft x 300 ft. If one of these were in a football stadium it would be somewhat cramped.

That's probably not a great visualization, since the actual football green is a tiny fraction of the stadium, and not even all of the actual pitch. The dinosaur is 40% of the length of the playable field, ignoring endzones and other buffer. (don't get me wrong, it's still Very Large, but we're not talking Godzilla v Kong here)

Comparison to the field is like a dog in a kennel. I'd call that cramped. A stadium would be like a human in a studio apartment. I'd call that somewhat cramped

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#32

Post by srpm »

scarmig wrote: post #19
danans wrote: post #15

> long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur, potentially the largest ever unearthed. I know the sauropods were mostly vegetarian but I can't help but figure that an animal of that size must have inadvertently swallowed a fair number of smaller animals.

Even sheep eat small animals (insects) on accident all the time.

A lot of herbivores are 'opportunistic carnivores'.

Deer and cows sometimes eat small birds or rodents if they can catch them. Seems they're just not really equipped to hunt. But they aren't actually vegetarian as we like to think they are.

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#33

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

ta1234567890 wrote: post #28
bigmattystyles wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus isn't accurate that oxygen in air was much higher in the era this new found dinosaur was found? (edit) seems that this new find would be in the middle of the cretaceous period and according to some quick googling, it is thought the 02 levels were ~30% versus ~20% today.

Could this also explain why people in the Netherlands got so tall so quickly? Maybe by being below the level of the ocean they get more oxygen? Edit: there’s no mention about oxygen or seal level in this article about Dutch people’s quick increase in height over the last 150 years https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/08/scientists-try...

Some of the world’s tallest folks are from East Africa, and most of Africa is fairly high above sea level.

Peruvians of Incan descent tend to be short, and I have heard that it is because of the elevated areas in which they live, so it’s likely to be a product of multiple coefficients.

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#34

Post by bigmattystyles »

Autodidactyles wrote: post #27
bigmattystyles wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus isn't accurate that oxygen in air was much higher in the era this new found dinosaur was found? (edit) seems that this new find would be in the middle of the cretaceous period and according to some quick googling, it is thought the 02 levels were ~30% versus ~20% today.

Yes, up to 35% during the Carboniferous period, which allowed a whole host of creatures to get much bigger than they are today. I'm not sure when it dropped to the modern 21%, though. https://forces.si.edu/atmosphere/02_02_06.html

Kinda ruins Jurassic park, the brachiosaurus should have been out of breath the whole time I bet...

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#35

Post by everybodyknows »

ta1234567890 wrote: post #28
bigmattystyles wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus isn't accurate that oxygen in air was much higher in the era this new found dinosaur was found? (edit) seems that this new find would be in the middle of the cretaceous period and according to some quick googling, it is thought the 02 levels were ~30% versus ~20% today.

Could this also explain why people in the Netherlands got so tall so quickly? Maybe by being below the level of the ocean they get more oxygen? Edit: there’s no mention about oxygen or seal level in this article about Dutch people’s quick increase in height over the last 150 years https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/08/scientists-try...

Long legs are more efficient on flat terrain; short legs, in the mountains.

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#36

Post by loofatoofa »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #30

My thoughts go the the paelontologist first finding this - they start with a little paint brush, carefully uncovering a tail, then more tail, then a month later they are still on the freaking tail , worn down the bristles on two brushes and thinking "yeah yeah career making discovery but jesus a velociraptor would be done by now." Edit: This is amazingly cool however - and honestly I cannot wait for Covid to end, dec…

lol

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#37

Post by albertgoeswoof »

Evenjos wrote: post #25
danans wrote: post #15

> long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur, potentially the largest ever unearthed. I know the sauropods were mostly vegetarian but I can't help but figure that an animal of that size must have inadvertently swallowed a fair number of smaller animals.

Did scientists ever figure out how sauropods ate enough to support their mass, with their tiny mouths?

Nibbling

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#38

Post by rangibaby »

bigmattystyles wrote: post #34
Autodidactyles wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, up to 35% during the Carboniferous period, which allowed a whole host of creatures to get much bigger than they are today. I'm not sure when it dropped to the modern 21%, though. https://forces.si.edu/atmosphere/02_02_06.html

Kinda ruins Jurassic park, the brachiosaurus should have been out of breath the whole time I bet...

I still enjoy Jurassic Park, but can't unsee a mental image of plucked, frozen supermarket chicken every time I look at the dinosaurs

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#39

Post by skinner927 »

ta1234567890 wrote: post #28
bigmattystyles wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus isn't accurate that oxygen in air was much higher in the era this new found dinosaur was found? (edit) seems that this new find would be in the middle of the cretaceous period and according to some quick googling, it is thought the 02 levels were ~30% versus ~20% today.

Could this also explain why people in the Netherlands got so tall so quickly? Maybe by being below the level of the ocean they get more oxygen? Edit: there’s no mention about oxygen or seal level in this article about Dutch people’s quick increase in height over the last 150 years https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/08/scientists-try...

All the short ones perished before the canals. Sorry, dark humor, I’ll see myself out.

Re: Dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be largest land animal ever

#40

Post by jonnycomputer »

roenxi wrote: post #22
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #8

It could step over an elephant: https://paleontology.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/David-Att... from: https://paleontology.us/titanosaurus/

Interestingly in the 2nd link that they have this creature towering over the local flora. The long neck makes more sense if there are trees that size and the neck is to get to the leaves. Otherwise what use is it?

Two at least.

1. You can graze a wide radius without actually moving, which seems pretty energetically efficient.

2. Cooling. The neck is a lot of surface area to dissipate heat. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3812985/#!po=50...

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