- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Dreadnoughtus silhouette: PhyloPic — Scott Hartman · CC BY 3.0
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus schrani (Dreadnoughtus · Dreadnoughtus)
Known only from fossils. The IUCN Red List assesses only species extant since 1500 CE, so fossil taxa are not assigned a category.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 An estimated body length of about 26 m (representative value for the genus) is slightly longer than one lane of a 25 m swimming pool, and a weight of about 48 tons (2020 estimate) is about thirty-two passenger cars (about 1.5 tons each) (Comparison).
- 💡 The documentary "Prehistoric Planet" depicted it with inflatable air sacs on its neck, but the museum explains that there is no fossil evidence for external sacs.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
Dreadnoughtus schrani (genus Dreadnoughtus) was a giant herbivorous sauropod (titanosaurian) that lived in Argentina during the Late Cretaceous, and its name means "fears nothing." Because about half of its skeleton was found, it is better known than other giant dinosaurs.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It walked on four legs and had a long neck. No skull has been found to date, and even the larger of the two known specimens was not yet fully grown.
🔍 3. Fossil Record & Paleoecology
It would have had to feed on plants almost nonstop. Because of its enormous bulk, predators would have found it difficult to attack.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • Fossil taxon — the IUCN Red List assesses only species living or extinct since 1500
- • paleobiodb.org — basicTaxonInfo
- • wikidata.org — Q19832650
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Dreadnoughtus schrani Multiview Skeletal.png
- • nhm.ac.uk — dreadnoughtus.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Scott Hartman · CC BY 3.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.