Advertisement

Giant Dreadnoughtus dinosaur gets downsized

This undated artist rendering shows the Dreadnoughtus.
This undated artist rendering shows the Dreadnoughtus. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Mark A. Klingler

TORONTO – Don’t worry Dreadnoughtus. Size doesn’t really matter.

In 2014, the most complete giant sauropod dinosaur, the Dreadnoughtus, was discovered by paleontologists in South American. Because the fossil was in such great condition, scientists were able to calculate its size: about 26 metres long.

READ MORE: Massive ‘fearless’ dinosaur from Argentina reveals secrets of behemoths

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Using a method based on the size of thigh and arm bones to determine how massive this animal likely was, the scientists figured on average the Dreadnoughtus weighed about 60 tonnes.

However, scientists from the University of Liverpool, together with Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Manchester and Imperial College, re-evaluated the initial findings. They made the decision to re-evaluate after other sauropod dinosaurs that were marginally smaller than the Dreadnoughtus weighed a lot less than 60 tonnes.

Story continues below advertisement

They concluded that it’s more likely that the Dreadnoughtus weighed between 30 to 40 tonnes.

The new findings were reached after scientists used a new three-dimensional modelling technique. The study appeared in the journal Biology Letters.

Sponsored content

AdChoices