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Dreadnoughtus schrani: complete skeleton found.

Olowkow

Philosopher
Olowkow
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A 65 ton dinosaur species that roamed what is now southern Patagonia in Argentina has been excavated. The 77 million year old skeleton of a sauropod weighing more than a Boeing 737, or 12 bull elephants, sported a 30 foot weaponized tail. Dreadnoughtus schrani lived 10 million years before Tyrannosaurus Rex, which would look like a puppy next to it. Former record holder for weight was Elaltitan.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/dreadnoughtous-schrani-new-dinosaur_n_5753058.html
"It is by far the best example we have of any of the most giant creatures to ever walk the planet," Dr. Kenneth Lacovara, a paleontologist at Drexel University's College of Arts and Sciences and the scientist who discovered the skeleton, said in a written statement. "With a body the size of a house, the weight of a herd of elephants, and a weaponized tail, Dreadnoughtus would have feared nothing."
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The article says this thing was not full grown! I have trouble picturing how much veggies and water this thing must have needed every day. How much waste output? How fast could they move? How much territory did they claim? Who were their enemies? How did their digestive and circulatory systems work? How smart were they?

Was it the higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere that allowed animals to evolve to this size?
 
Well, it should have feared something; it's not around anymore.
 
I always heard the claim it was because they feared it getting into their trunk.
 
Olowkow said:
I have trouble picturing how much veggies and water this thing must have needed every day.
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Lots and lots.

How much waste output?
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A ****-ton. (The joke would work better without the auto-censor, but I think you can figure it out)

How fast could they move?
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Probably not very.

How much territory did they claim?
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Lots, I'm sure, but I suspect they didn't claim it on an individual basis.

Who were their enemies?
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Probably nothing as adults. But they were certainly born small enough to be prey to large predators.

How did their digestive and circulatory systems work?
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Quickly, in the former case.

Like a combination of a whale and a giraffe in the latter case would be my guess. Note that while 65 tons is mind-bogglingly massive for a land animal, this is actually still well below the weight of a blue whale, which can get up to 170 tons.

How smart were they?
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Probably not very. Their heads were remarkably small for their body size.

Was it the higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere that allowed animals to evolve to this size?
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I don't think so.
 
Ziggurat said:
Lots and lots.
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Is that in metric units?
A ****-ton. (The joke would work better without the auto-censor, but I think you can figure it out)
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Right.

Probably nothing as adults. But they were certainly born small enough to be prey to large predators.
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With a mommy who had a very nice tail to wield.


Quickly, in the former case.
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Well, I'd like to know more about the process without having to look it up. Would they need several stomachs? Grinding stones? etc.
Like a combination of a whale and a giraffe in the latter case would be my guess. Note that while 65 tons is mind-bogglingly massive for a land animal, this is actually still well below the weight of a blue whale, which can get up to 170 tons.
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Buoyancy helps a lot. Did they have the same laryngeal artery arrangement up the neck I wonder, that a giraffe wound up with?

Probably not very. Their heads were remarkably small for their body size.
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I seem to remember that some of these big ones had another brain to control the tail. I don't recall if that was disproved or not.
I don't think so.
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Really? I thought that was an accepted hypothesis. Do you have more info? If not elevated oxygen levels, then what?

How could this thing approach a water hole without getting stuck in the mud? OK, long neck. :D It's mind boggling to me how they ever made it as long as they did. I wonder how old these things lived to be. Lots of questions that likely don't have answers.
 
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I don't have anything to add other than that I love these paleontological discoveries that push the boundaries of what we thought we knew!
 
Looking at rough figures for an elephant diet, 500 lbs of food and 50 gallons of water a day, the elephant eats 5% of his body weight and drinks 1 gallon per 200 lb. If this beast's metabolism is anywhere close, he would need over 3 tons of food (about 100 small 80 lb. bales of hay) and 650 gallons of water per day.
 
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