The largest animal by mass. The largest animals in the world (25 photos)
Purussaurus, a giant prehistoric relative of the caimans, has not yet become widely known. Meanwhile, he possessed an incredible weapon, perfect for breaking through heavy armor. The Latin name Purussaurus comes from the ancient Greek word " dgm="" purussaurus="" brasiliensis="">" id="main_image_B6yCJ">
Purussaurus
The giant prehistoric relative of the caimans has not yet become widely known. Meanwhile, he possessed an incredible weapon, perfect for breaking through heavy armor. The Latin name Purussaurus comes from the ancient Greek word for "lizard" and the name "Purus". This is a long river (and at the same time a microregion) located in Brazil, its habitat.
The body length of Purussaurus reached 10.28 meters (the longest specimen is DGM 527-R, belonging to the species Purussaurus brasiliensis). The height is up to 1.4 meters. It weighed up to 5.158 tons. It is the largest representative of the caiman subfamily, the largest member of the alligator family along with Deinosuchus, and one of the largest crocodiles in the entire history of the planet in general.
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Giant sea turtle from the Cretaceous period. The largest known turtle. Total length up to 4.6 meters, weight more than 2.2 tons. The front flippers are huge, wing-shaped, and served as the main organ of movement. The span of the flippers reached 5 meters. Skull length up to 70 cm (exceeds width). The beak is huge, curved (resembles the beak of a bird of prey). The alveolar surface of the beak does not extend back further than the choanae. The lateral process of the humerus is weak.
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The largest plesiosaur that was found in New Zealand. The total length of the animal reached 15 meters. It should be noted that Mauisaurus had 68 cervical vertebrae.
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Pliosaur
Representatives of this genus probably differed little in appearance from Liopleurodon: the main difference is the structure of the skull and a larger number of teeth, which had triangular rather than conical sections. Length up to 10-12 meters, skull length more than 2 meters.
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An underwater sea monster whose length could be 21 meters. This makes it one of the largest predators to ever live on the planet.
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Deinohus
Although Deinosuchus was much larger than any modern crocodile or alligator - the largest individuals reached more than 15 meters in length and weighed over 12 tons - it was similar in appearance to its smaller relatives. It had large, strong teeth designed for capturing and killing large prey and crushing hard food, and its back was covered with a thick layer of hemispherical osteoderms. One study suggests that Deinosuchus may have lived for more than 50 years, growing at the same rate as modern crocodiles but maintaining the ability to grow for a much longer period of time.
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Sarcohuz
The body length of Sarcosuchus reached 11.65 meters. The height is up to 1.5 meters. It weighed up to 7.96 tons. A true giant is not only more than 2 times larger than the largest modern saltwater crocodile (up to 6 m), but is also one of the largest representatives of the order in the entire history of its existence.
Like all crocodiles, Sarcosuchus moved on four curved legs. Therefore, it was quite mobile in water, but moved relatively slowly on land. Here he could make rapid dashes only over short distances.
The long, elongated skull of the animal reached an impressive length of 1.6 m. Most of it (75%) is made up of the jaws themselves, which, as you can see in the reconstructions, were quite narrow. In terms of relative width, they occupy an intermediate position between the jaws of the gharial and the classic crocodile. These are perfect for catching and biting nimble fish of different sizes. And the younger Sarcosuchus was, the narrower the jaws were.
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Allosaurus
Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator with a large skull equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. Representatives of the type species - A. fragilis (lat. A. fragilis) reached an average of 8.5 meters in length, 3.5 meters in height and weighed about a ton, although, based on fragmentary remains of a larger size, it can be assumed that large individuals could reach up to 11 meters in length, about 4 meters in height and weigh about 2 tons. Allosaurus walked on large and powerful hind legs, while its forelimbs were relatively small and had three large, curved claws. The massive skull was balanced by a long, heavy tail.
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Titanoboa
An extinct species of snake. Judging by the structure of the skeleton, it was a close relative of the boa constrictor (Latin Boa). Lived in Colombia about 58-60 million years ago. Fossil remains of a snake were discovered in a coal mine near the town of Cerrejon. The snake was discovered by an international team of scientists led by Jonathan Bloch (paleontologist, University of Florida) and Carlos Jaramillo (paleobotanist at Smithsonian Tropical Research University, Panama).
Canadian and American zoologists, having carried out a comparative analysis of the skeleton, came to the conclusion that the snake could reach 13 meters in length and weigh more than a ton. The largest snake that has survived to this day, the reticulated python, reliably reaches 7.5 meters in length. The smallest snake, Leptotyphlops carlae, is only 10 centimeters long.
Mosasaurus
It was distinguished by a powerful skull with lost mobility between the bones. The teeth are massive, faceted, capable of both cutting and pressing. Binocular vision is practically absent - the eyes are directed rather to the side. The sense of smell is also poorly developed. All these signs suggest living in shallow (up to 40-50 m) coastal waters. The bones often show signs of healed fractures - the result of fights with their own kind. There are also known finds of sea turtle shells (Allopleuron hofmanni) with traces of mosasaurus teeth. He probably attacked any prey he could handle. Nevertheless, the poorly developed kineticism of the skull did not allow swallowing large pieces. This genus has approximately 45-46 presacral vertebrae, 8 sacral vertebrae, 21 intermediate caudal vertebrae with “chevrons,” and more than 54 terminal caudal vertebrae.
Instructions
The extinct dinosaur Amphicelia is described from a fragment of one single dilapidated vertebra, so its size and the very existence of this dinosaur are in doubt. According to calculations, its length ranged from 40 to 62 meters, and its weight was up to 155 tons. Scientific: kingdom - animals, phylum - chordates, - reptiles, - lizards, infraorder - sauropods, family - diplopoids, genus - amphicoelias.
The blue whale is a modern marine animal whose length reaches 33 meters and its weight can exceed 150 tons. Scientific classification: domain - eukaryotes, kingdom - animals, phylum - chordates, class - mammals, order - , family - minke whales, genus - minke whales, species - blue whale. It feeds on plankton, filtered through the lamellar whalebone: the basis of nutrition is krill, less often larger crustaceans, small fish, etc. There are four subspecies of the blue whale - northern, southern, dwarf and Indian. They differ slightly in size and range of habitat. The blue whale is found throughout the world's oceans. Whales rarely gather in small groups; single individuals are more common. By 1960, thanks to whaling, the blue whale was on the verge of extinction. Today, their total number does not exceed 10,000 individuals. In blue whales, females are much larger than males; there is an opinion that whales (puking whales) were previously larger than modern individuals. Their vision and sense of smell are poor. Hearing and touch are well developed. The weight of the tongue is 4 tons, and the size of the pharynx is only 10 cm in diameter. Lung volume exceeds 3 thousand liters. Large individuals have a blood volume of over 8 thousand liters. The blue whale's heart is the largest in the entire animal kingdom and its weight is about one ton, and its pulse is 5 - 10 beats per minute. Females give birth once every 2 years, and pregnancy lasts 11 months. However, population growth cannot compensate for its decline. A born baby weighs about 2-3 tons and reaches 6-8 meters in length. The cub feeds on mother's milk for 7 months and grows up to 16 meters during this period. Whales reach physical maturity at 15 years of age and live up to 80–90 years.
The largest animal on Earth. The length of its body can reach 33 meters with a weight of almost 150 tons. Of course, you can say that a whale is a fish and you would be wrong. In fact, it belongs to the class of mammals.
The blue whale was first described by Scottish naturalist Robert Sibbald in 1964. The animal has a slender and elongated body, with the head making up a third of its entire length. If you look at the head from above, it has a U-shaped outline, and in profile it is slightly flattened. The lower jaw is elongated and wide, much wider than the upper.
The blowhole is formed by two nostrils and is located at the back of the head. When the animal exhales air, a vertical fountain appears from a narrow hole, the height of which can reach 10 meters. The animal also has longitudinal stripes that begin at the bottom of the head and continue throughout almost the entire body. They, firstly, improve the hydrodynamic properties of the body, and secondly, they help the pharynx to stretch more strongly when swallowing water with food.
The largest specimen ever captured was a female blue whale, which was killed by whalers in 1926 near the South Shetland Islands. The length of her body was 33 meters, but her weight is unknown - they simply did not weigh her. Although, as experts say, it probably weighed no less than 150 tons. By the way, there are larger specimens, for example, fishermen once saw a 37-meter whale, but due to the lack of necessary equipment they could not catch it.
White rhinoceros
In third place is the white rhinoceros - the weight of old males can reach more than 5 tons (average - 2-2.5 tons), and body length - more than 4 meters. However, in nature such specimens are relatively rare. By the way, it is still unclear where the word “white” came from in the name, since there is nothing white in the animal. In fact, its body color is dark gray. There are always two horns growing on the head, the first of which is always longer than the second (the officially registered record is 158 centimeters).
There have always been two areas where these animals lived - South Africa and one of its northern sides, near South Sudan and the Republic of Congo. However, the northern subspecies was completely exterminated by poachers - if in the 60s of the last century there were about two thousand heads here, then by 2008 the last of them were killed. In total there are now about 11 thousand copies, which is slightly more than 20 years ago, but all of them are in South Africa. In general, at the end of the 19th century this species was considered almost extinct, but taken into care in time, it is now out of danger of extinction.
Typically, rhinoceroses stay in small groups, and in them you can most often find females with cubs. Sometimes they are ready to accept a male, but only if he does not attempt to mate. Otherwise, he is expelled from the group, and in some cases may even be killed. Males show strong aggression towards other males, so they periodically kill each other in fights. If the group senses danger, it takes a defensive position: adults stand in a circle with their heads outward, covering their defenseless cubs.
As for reproduction, this issue has been little studied. It is believed that sexual maturity in rhinoceroses occurs at approximately 7-8 years. Pregnancy lasts about 17-18 months, after which one baby is born. On the second day, he can not only walk, but also accompanies his mother everywhere. After a week, it can begin to eat grass, although for many months it continues to feed on mother’s milk.
Animals graze only at moderate temperatures. They try not to go out into the scorching sun and take refuge in the shade of trees. It also seeks protection in rainy weather. Rhinoceroses often swim in swamps, where turtles await them - they devour the ticks that accumulate on the skin of these giants.
It is worth noting that rhinoceroses have been killed for several centuries - the reason for this is the horn, which, as many still believe, has incredible healing properties. However, at the moment hunting for them is allowed, but in extremely meager quotas. The production license is very expensive - from 100 thousand dollars.
Southern elephant seal
It is impossible not to note this unusual animal, which is a huge seal. Currently, it is the largest pinniped creature on our planet. An elephant can be up to 6 meters long and weigh more than 5 tons!
What is unusual is that males are very different from females in appearance - they have a pouch on their nose, which swells very much in individuals older than three years. The limbs are small, but they have long nails - up to 5 cm. It is noteworthy that as of today there are at least 600 thousand individuals all over the world, and this despite the fact that in the last century this animal was the object of intensive hunting.
Chinese giant salamander
The giant salamander is a very strange creature in terms of appearance and often causes unpleasant feelings. The average body length of an individual is about 170-180 cm, weight - up to 80 kg. The abdomen is grayish in color, the upper side is brownish-gray, the skin is lumpy.
The animal lives exclusively in the eastern regions of China and prefers cold and clean mountain reservoirs. It consumes small fish and some invertebrates as food. Unfortunately, recently the number of this species of salamander has been declining, as its natural habitats are polluted, and in addition, it is destroyed by humans. Scientists and the government are trying to find a way out of the situation.
Giraffe
The giraffe is one of the tallest mammals on our planet. In this regard, the animal has no equal.
The height of especially large males reaches more than 6 meters, and their weight is more than one ton. Females are slightly smaller in size. If you look at the neck of this giant, you simply cannot believe your eyes - how can he have only seven cervical vertebrae?! However, this is exactly the case.
It is worth noting that the giraffe also differs in other features. For example, he has a very strong heart, which is capable of passing more than 60 liters of blood through itself in just one minute. Not surprisingly, it weighs more than 12 kg. This creature also has denser and therefore thicker blood. Finally, the giraffe has a 45-centimeter tongue that helps grasp branches.
Kodiak
This is one of the species of brown bears that lives on Kodiak Island, located off the coast of Alaska. Currently, this is one of the largest predators on our planet.
The male can reach 3.5 m in length and 1.5 m in height. This is approximately the size of a small car. Weight is about half a ton, females weigh about half as much.
The body is strong and muscular, the limbs are very strong, the head is massive, and the tail is small. If we talk about the lifestyle, it is exactly similar to that of a brown bear. Kodiaks feed not only on plants, berries or nuts, but also on other animals, sometimes carrion. In winter they hibernate, although not always.
Alas, the total number of Kodiaks is no more than three thousand individuals, and more than a hundred bears are still allowed to be shot per year.
Capybara
And this is the largest of the rodents. The height of an adult individual is about 0.6 m, and the body length is up to one and a half meters. The average weight is from 40 to 60 kg, with females being larger than males, although not by much.
From the side, the capybara very much resembles an enlarged guinea pig, which is clearly visible in the photo. Found in South and Central America. Loves water - in the wild it rarely moves more than one kilometer from the water. During drought, it can travel considerable distances in search of a reservoir. The greatest activity is observed during the daytime, but often switches to a nocturnal lifestyle if predators appear in the area.
Some Americans keep capybaras as pets, and the latter don't seem to mind at all.
Ostrich
Among birds there is no equal to the ostrich. True, it should be noted that this bird is flightless and is the only representative of its family. The weight of some individuals can be up to one and a half centners, and the height - up to 2.5 m. Ostriches are distinguished by their small head and fairly long neck.
Since these birds are flightless, their wings are underdeveloped, but they rely on very powerful legs, on which a pair of big toes can be found. Males and females differ: the color of the plumage of the former is black with old spots on the wings and tail, while the females are grayish.
The latter, by the way, lay huge eggs - their length can reach 23 cm and weight - more than 2 kg. They are also distinguished by their thick shell.
Saltwater crocodile
Closing our list is the combed crocodile, which has an incredible size. Some males can reach a length of seven meters and weigh more than one ton. However, such specimens in the wild, as you might guess, are quite rare.
Most often, these animals are found on some coasts of Australia, as well as in Indonesia. However, significantly smaller populations are also found in the Philippines and even the Seychelles.
The saltwater crocodile also attacks people. The reason is simple - the creature loves to be near the shore. Here the person’s vigilance sharply decreases and the crocodile begins to attack. It is clear that it is difficult to oppose him with anything. Therefore, almost all victims die from the attack.
The largest animals on earth are record-breaking animals that have reached the maximum parameters among their species in terms of mass, height or length. In this list you will find the names of the largest animals and learn a lot of interesting things about the largest animals on earth.
10. Capybara
Capybara (other name: capybara) is the largest representative of the Rodent order. The word capybara in the Indian language means “lord of the grass.” An adult capybara reaches a length of up to 135 cm, with a height at the withers of up to 60 cm. A capybara weighs up to 65 kg, females are larger than males.
9. Tiger
The tiger is the largest predator of the cat family. The largest tigers are the Bengal and Amur tigers. These big cats can reach up to 3 meters in length, excluding the length of the tail. The weight of a tiger can reach up to 300 kg. The height at the withers is up to 115 cm.
Weight records are known for these tiger species. The Bengal tiger's maximum weight was 388 kg, and the Amur tiger's maximum weight was 384 kg. The word tiger means "sharp" and "fast".
8. Polar bear
The polar bear (other names: polar bear, northern bear, umka) is a large predator from the Bear family. The only one of the largest land predators on the planet that is prone to tracking and hunting humans, considering them as equal prey. A polar bear can reach a body length of 3 meters and weigh 1 ton. Height at the withers is up to 150 cm. Females are smaller than males.
7. Big red kangaroo
The big red kangaroo (another name: the giant red kangaroo) is the largest kangaroo. Adult males reach a length of 1.5 meters and a body weight of 85 kg. The length of the tail is about 1 meter. Sometimes the height of especially large males is up to 2 meters. Females are smaller than males.
6. Gorilla
Gorillas are a genus of the largest apes, representatives of the order Primates. In adult males, the height can reach up to 2 meters, and the shoulder width can be 1 meter. The weight of males reaches 250 kg or more. Females are almost 2 times smaller than males.
5. Giraffe
The giraffe is a mammal from the order Artiodactyla, which is the tallest animal on the planet. The length of the neck of these animals is 1/3 of the length of the entire body. The male grows up to 6 meters in height and weighs about 1000 kg. Females are slightly smaller than males in size.
4. Hippopotamus
The common hippopotamus, or hippopotamus, is a large land mammal from the order Artiodactyls. A weight of 3 tons is not uncommon for this animal, because its weight can reach 4.5 tons. The height of the hippopotamus is up to 165 cm. The body length of an adult usually reaches 3 meters, but can reach up to 5 meters.
3. White rhinoceros
The white rhinoceros is a huge mammal, a member of the Rhinoceros family. Old males reach a body weight of 5 tons. Rhinoceroses usually weigh 2-2.5 tons. Their body length is 4 meters and height is 2 meters.
2. Savannah elephant
The savannah elephant is an animal from the African elephant genus. The savanna elephant is the largest animal and the largest land mammal. The body length of these elephants reaches 7 meters, and the height is 3.5 meters. The average body weight of a word is 7 tons, but can reach up to 12 tons. Males are slightly larger than females.
1. Blue whale
The blue whale, or blue whale, is the largest animal on Earth in terms of mass and length that has ever lived. The blue whale is also the largest whale of all Cetaceans and the largest mammal.
The size of the blue whale is quite impressive. It’s not for nothing that the blue whale is currently the largest animal on Earth. These giants reach a length of 30 meters and weigh more than 150 tons. And despite its size, the blue whale easily turns over on its back, as you can see in the photo below.
Females are slightly larger than males. The largest female blue whale was 33 meters long and weighed 190 tons, and the largest male weighed 180 tons and had a body length of 31 meters.
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The fauna of the planet is full of a variety of representatives that amaze the human imagination with their size. There are both the tiniest individuals and surprisingly huge specimens that feel quite comfortable in their natural habitat. It is the latter that especially attract a person’s attention and force one to only guess what causes such an impressive weight and height. What is the largest animal on Earth?
The blue whale is the largest animal on the planet that humans have had the opportunity to measure and weigh. The weight of a newborn whale is 2-3 tons, and the average weight of adults is 100-120 tons with a body length of up to 30 meters. But history also knows larger animals:
- in 1926, whalers encountered a female weighing 150 tons;
- in 1947, a whale weighing 190 tons was killed.
Due to its incredible size, it is not possible to weigh a whole animal on a whaling ship, so a special method of weighing in parts has been developed.
On a note! The blue whale's tongue alone weighs about 2.7 tons - this is exactly the body weight of the average Indian elephant. The heart of a mammal weighs at least 600 kg, which can be compared in weight and size with the dimensions of a Mini Cooper car.
You can meet this record holder in the waters of many countries: Russia, Japan, China, Malaysia, India, USA, Norway, Iceland, Chile, Colombia, etc. They usually live alone, very rarely in groups of 2-3 individuals. A whale spends up to 1 million calories per day, to replenish which it needs to eat 1 ton of krill or other small shellfish.
Other giants of the planet
In addition to the blue whale, other large animals that belong to different categories live on our planet. Thus, among birds, rodents, reptiles and other representatives of the animal world there are their own record holders who attract attention with their abnormally large dimensions.
The largest animal living on land. The average weight of males is 7-8 tons, the body length is 6-7.5 m with a height of 3-3.5 m, and the weight of their tusks can reach 100 kg. They have virtually no enemies in the wild; sometimes only cubs suffer from attacks by lions or crocodiles. But these elephants are often destroyed by humans (elephant tusks are a valuable hunting item), and therefore are listed in the Red Book.
Interesting! African elephants sleep standing up and are still able to mourn the dead, in which they can be compared to humans
The largest predator alive today, since the weight of adult males reaches 4 tons, and the length is 2.6-3 m. They spend most of their lives in the aquatic environment, and very rarely come to land (mainly during the breeding season). A unique feature of these animals is that males are usually 5-6 times heavier than females.
It is considered the largest bird: an adult can weigh up to 150 kg and grow up to 3 m in height. Birds of enormous size live in the lowlands of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and are also the holders of the title of the fastest bipedal animal. In addition, they lay eggs weighing up to 2 kg, which are considered one of the world's delicacies.
Capybara
The largest representative of rodents on the planet. Adult animals can grow up to 150 cm in height and weigh up to 100 kg. They live near water in temperate and tropical latitudes of South America. Capybaras adapt well to life with humans, so they are sometimes used by local residents as pets.
It is the largest reptile. It lives in Southeast Asia, off the eastern coast of India and northern Australia. The body length of adult crocodiles can exceed 6 m, and their weight is 1 ton. This is a very dangerous predator that is capable of attacking any living object in sight, regardless of whether it is on land or in water.
A giant among snakes, whose weight can reach 200 kg. The maximum recorded length of the snake is 11.43 m. But scientists believe that individuals with larger parameters can be found in the wild forests of South America. The anaconda wraps itself around its victim until it is completely suffocated and then swallows it whole, after which it can go without food for up to 1 month.
The largest arthropod, since its weight reaches 19 kg, and its body length including paws is 3.9 m. This giant lives in the waters of the Japanese islands, feeds on small mollusks and can live up to 100 years.
Modern large animals of the Earth are by no means inferior in size to their prehistoric predecessors. But if people do not treat them with respect and continue to destroy their habitat, they risk disappearing from the face of our planet, like dinosaurs millions of years ago.