Daily Dino Fact: Could this mystery dino be the biggest ever?
Sunday, December 20th, 2009
See the dino in red? Yeah, that's Amphicoelias fragillimus
Q: How big was Amphicoelias fragillimus? -Regisaurus
A: Great question Regisaurus. This is a graph that we used before when we were talking about the biggest Sauropods. I told you all that Argentinosaurus was probably the biggest of them all, and it may yet be. Measuring up to about 30-35 meters in length (98-110 ft) and weighing about 80-100 tonnes (88-110 short tons), Argentinosaurus was no joke.
However, A. fragillimus may be the biggest dinosaur ever found – possibly the biggest animal that ever lived. The species was found by the famed paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1877. His description of the dinosaur was based off of only one fossil that has since been lost. All evidence of this dinosaur is based on his remaining drawings and field observations.
A. fragillimus may beat out Mamenchisaurus for the longest vertebrate ever with its spinal column reaching 131-196ft (40-60m) in length. Cope’s estimates put its mass up to 135 short tons (122 metric tons). If true, this would have been the most gargantuan creature to ever roam the Earth. Still though, the observations were only made off one fossil which is not the best way to determine anything solid about a dino. What do you think?
-Rex
