We always have thought that Tyrannosaurus Rex was one of the largest dinosaurs to have roamed the planet.

It is how many films depict the animal anyway, although, in actual prehistoric time, there were many other giants much more massive than the famous predator.

T-Rex probably was among the most formidable carnivorous land-dwelling dinosaurs with its powerful body and reasonably fast speed.

Equipped with 60 serrated teeth six-inch-long each, terrifying grunts, 6 tons of bite force, and the body as long as a school bus, the T-Rex seemed to have been built with the stuff of nightmares.

ut it never stood the tallest, longest, nor the heaviest in the prehistoric animal kingdom.

At least for now, the credit to those traits is given to Patagotitan Mayorum, which in its prehistoric heyday stood at 122 feet long and 50 feet tall, weighing around 69 tons.

The enormous remains of the long-necked titanosaur were excavated in 2014 by a team from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio, under José Luis’s leadership Carballido and Diego Pol.

Its scientific name was inspired by the region where it was discovered in Argentina’s Patagonia (Papago), the size and strength (titan), and the Mayo family (Mayorum).

They own the ranch from which the remains were excavated. Here are some exciting facts about the exceptionally enormous dinosaur.





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10 /10 Sauropod Dinosaurs

Patagotitan Mayorum belonged to the Titanosaurus (meaning “titanic lizard”) group. Similar to another sauropod, it had a long neck, long tail, and small head.

The group comprised the most significant known terrestrial animals; some were even approaching the size of modern blue whales. 

The Titanosaurus, a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, lived during the Late Jurassic Epoch to the Cretaceous Period.

Their fossils have been found all around the world, in all continents except Antarctica. At least 40 species have been identified.

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9 /10 Eight-Feet Femur







The story of Patagotitan Mayorum started in 2012. Aurelio Hernandez, a worker at a ranch in Patagonia, found some fossils while managing the sheep.

He showed the exact location of the fossil to Oscar Mayo, one of the ranch owners. Mayo realized the fossil might have been the remains of a dinosaur.

Mayo invited paleontologists, and they spent 18 months excavating the bones.

One of the remains was a femur or thighbone measuring eight feet long. Further analysis revealed that the site contained at least six different dinosaur individuals.



8 /10 Young Giants

As exciting as it was to discover the world’s most giant land-dwelling dinosaur, researchers were even more thrilled about the sheer number of bones they excavated.

From at least six individuals confirmed, researchers uncovered more than 200 bones.

Furthermore, the bone analysis revealed that all six unearthed Patagotitan Mayorum specimens were not fully grown yet. They were young and still growing when they died.

Adult individuals would have been almost certainly more prominent. Fossils of fully grown Patagotitan Mayorum are still out there waiting to be found.

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7 /10 Great-Dinosaur Renaissance

From the 1970s through the 1990s, paleontological science underwent a phase now popularly known as the “great-dinosaur renaissance” when a rush of bone discoveries revealed the largest-ever dinosaurs.

Each specimen was given a befitting name such as Supersaurus, Ultrasaurus, and Seismosaurus, among others. Many were often dubbed the most massive giants of them all.

Patagotitan Mayorum can now settle the debate, yet it is impossible that larger specimens also existed, maybe from different dinosaurs.

At least for now, Patagotitan Mayorum is both the most giant dinosaur ever found and the largest known land-dwelling animal in history.

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6 /10 Largest Ever Discovered

The discovery of Patagotitan Mayorum was overwhelmingly exhilarating that a display cast of its skeleton had been put on display at the American Museum of National History before the giant was even given a name.

Patagotitan Mayorum is now the giant dinosaur displayed at the AMNH. At 122 feet long, the reconstructed individual is outstandingly huge. It couldn’t fit into one room.

The museum curators ended up positioning its small head and upper part of its neck out into the hallway as if it is there to welcome visitors.

5 /10 Fragile Skull

It took researchers six months – after excavating the fossils – to reconstruct the bones into fiberglass replicas.

The scientist had to fill in some missing gaps, including the skull, by studying related dinosaurs’ remains. The result is a complete 3D lightweight skeletal figure of Patagotitan Mayorum.

The skull of sauropod dinosaurs is indeed rare. They are small and fragile in comparison to other parts. It might not be what the head looked like when Patagotitan Mayorum was alive.

Still, researchers did their best by modeling it after well-preserved skulls of smaller animals related to Titanosaurus then scaling it up.

4 /10 Tallest, Not Heaviest

The skeletal figure reveals how massive the animal was. It also was quite tall at 50 feet high when the neck is pointing straight up. Once again, it is a replica of a young dinosaur, not an adult one.

Bear in mind, Patagotitan Mayorum is now the most significant animal by weight. The record holder for the heaviest animal is the blue whale.

A fully grown blue whale can weigh up to 150 tons. Even better, blue whales are still around yet listed as endangered species.

3 /10 Dwarfing The T-Rex

The legendary T-Rex and other big carnivores look like dwarfs in the presence of Patagotitan Mayorum. It is like putting a lion and an elephant side by side.

Scientists have known Titanosaurus for quite a while. That said, P. Mayorum appears to be a new species or perhaps even a new genus.

Previously a titanosaur called Argentinosaurus was considered the largest. These Titanosaurus were probably slow-moving. Fast movements were just physically impossible. Otherwise, their bones would have shattered.

2 /10 Died Of Thirst

The remains of six individuals were excavated from three different layers or periods. The first time a concept is known as “site fidelity” has ever been documented for Titanosaurus.

Scientists assume there was a lake in the region. Titanosaurus would often return to drink from its waters. When the lake was dry during drought, the six individuals died, in part, from thirst.

At this point, the assessment is still preliminary thought, however. They could die from other causes too.

1 /10 Almost Aliens

Another lingering question is how Patagotitan Mayorum grew so big to begin with. Let us not forget that these dinosaurs are somewhat strange all across the body. 

Researchers are still studying the matter, but they say the exponential growth was probably due to an explosion of flowering plants during the period.

The Earth for them was like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Since no modern animals are pretty like the sauropods, their research is akin to studying aliens.

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