Meet Dreadnoughtus: The Supermassive Dinosaur that Stretched 85 Feet and Weighed 65 Tons

Dinosaurs come in all shapes and sizes. One, though, stands tall above the rest. Scientists have uncovered a supermassive dinosaur that stretches 85 feet and weighted about 65 tons during its lifetimes, making it the largest land animal for which a body mass can be accurately calculated.

The new dinosaur species is called Dreadnoughtus schrani, and has a skeleton that is exceptionally complete with over 70 percent of its bones represented.

"Dreadnoughtus schrani was astoundingly huge," said Kenneth Lacovara, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It weighed as much as a dozen African elephants or more than seven T. rex. Shockingly, skeletal evidence shows that when this 65-ton specimen died, it was not yet full grown. It is by far the best example we have of any of the most giant creatures to ever walk the planet."

The new dinosaur belonged to a group of large plant eaters known as titanosaurs. In order to calculate the mass of this dinosaur, the researchers relied on the femur and the humerus. After its weight was discovered, Dreadnoughtus schrani jumped to number one on the list of largest dinosaurs. Previously, Elaltitan held the title with a staggering 47 tons.

"Titanosaurs are a remarkable group of dinosaurs, with species ranging from the weight of a crow to the weight of a sperm whale or more," said Matthew Lamanna, one of the researchers. "But the biggest titanosaurs have remained a mystery, because, in almost all cases, their fossils are very incomplete."

Yet this latest specimen had most of its pieces intact. The researchers actually digitally scanned all of the bones of Dreadnoughtus schrani in order to better visualize the skeletal structure of the creature. In the end, they were able to get a full picture of what this dinosaur might have looked like.

"With a body the size of a house, the weight of a herd of elephants, and a weaponized tail, Dreadnoughtus would have feared nothing," said Lacovara. "That evokes to me a class of turn-of-the-last century battleships called the dreadnoughts, which were huge, thickly clad and virtually impervious."

While an adult Dreadnoughtus would have been likely too large to fear any predators, it still would have been a target for scavengers after dying from natural causes or environmental disasters. In fact, the researchers found a few teeth from theropods among the new fossils.

The findings reveal a bit more about these massive dinosaurs and show that dinosaurs species grew far larger than expected. This, in turn, reveals a bit more about the environment that existed in Earth's ancient past.

The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.