On August 9, 2017, paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City unveiled the largest animal ever to walk the earth. Dubbed Patagotitan mayorum, the reconstructed skeleton of the 100-million-year-old dinosaur was so huge that it didn’t even fit wholly inside the room in which it stood. The dinosaur’s long neck, bulging body and long tail stretched about 120 feet long, with the living animal estimated to weigh in at more than 70 tons. But now it’s shrunk.
In a new study of the available Patagotitan fossils, representing several individuals of differing ages, paleontologist Alejandro Otero and his colleagues have slimmed down Patagotitan to around 57 tons. The full length of the dinosaur is in question, too, especially as no complete skeleton is known. What was heralded as the largest dinosaur of all in 2014 has wound up in a neck-and-neck tie with several other dinosaurian giants such as Argentinosaurus. The shrinkage comes as part of a long history of supersized dinosaurs that have been downsized after their initial discovery. Incomplete fossils, evolving techniques, and the paleontological preoccupation with enormous dinosaurs have all played into the constant quest to find the biggest creature to walk the planet.
Although many dinosaurs lived large—the famous T. rex was 40 feet long and weighed nine tons—all of the very largest dinosaurs belonged to a group called sauropods. These quadrupedal herbivores are immediately recognizable by their tiny heads, long necks, hefty bodies and tapering tails. Dinosaurs such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus conveyed the standard image of these plant eaters to museum-goers for more than a century. But even these enormous animals weren’t the largest of all.
Why the World’s Biggest Dinosaurs Keep Getting Cut Down to Size
In a new study of the available Patagotitan fossils, representing several individuals of differing ages, paleontologist Alejandro Otero and his colleagues have slimmed down Patagotitan to around 57 tons. The full length of the dinosaur is in question, too, especially as no complete skeleton is known. What was heralded as the largest dinosaur of all in 2014 has wound up in a neck-and-neck tie with several other dinosaurian giants such as Argentinosaurus. The shrinkage comes as part of a long history of supersized dinosaurs that have been downsized after their initial discovery. Incomplete fossils, evolving techniques, and the paleontological preoccupation with enormous dinosaurs have all played into the constant quest to find the biggest creature to walk the planet.
Although many dinosaurs lived large—the famous T. rex was 40 feet long and weighed nine tons—all of the very largest dinosaurs belonged to a group called sauropods. These quadrupedal herbivores are immediately recognizable by their tiny heads, long necks, hefty bodies and tapering tails. Dinosaurs such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus conveyed the standard image of these plant eaters to museum-goers for more than a century. But even these enormous animals weren’t the largest of all.
Why the World’s Biggest Dinosaurs Keep Getting Cut Down to Size