#<- except i kind of also describe the images but theres no proper description or alt text

[enchantingruinscandy]

also the fact that large predators didnt prey on sauropods often because they were so big and hard to take down definitely helped them survive. theres a reason they dominated the jurassic until larger predators could evolve to be large enough to kill them

also! argentinosaurus is THE largest creature ever discovered. heres a couple pictures i grabbed from online.

not many fossils have been discovered, but paleontologists are skilled at determining the size of a creature based on a few fossils. the first image shows us in white what weve actually discovered of them. iirc its only 13 bone fragments, most of which are vertebrae, some of which are fragmented pieces of the leg bones (mostly the femur, tibia, and fibula). the femur, being the largest bone in many creatures, is actually fantastic to have because thats what paleontologists use to determine how much an animal might have weighed when it was alive.

the second image is purely a reconstruction of the parts we did find and what has been speculated to be the build of the dinosaur. it's not only possible, but very likely that we're completely wrong about things like the shape and size of the skull for example. only time and a lot of luck will tell us for sure. hopefully we're lucky enough that another specimen will be found that was buried soon enough for a more complete fossil to have formed and we can learn more about this amazing beast.

similar to oversized sauropods, the mesozoic era also gave us small sauropods. one of my favorite little sauropods is rinconsaurus

look at them! classic sauropod configuration, but small enough that its essentially a giraffe. the mere fact that this is a small sauropod and its still the height of a person at its hips is so awesome.

part of the coolest things about sauropods and other herbivorous creatures from the jurassic is that they all had the ecosystem nicely split up. no one was stepping on each others toes. there were a lot of dinosaurs in one area and they all had plenty to eat despite the popularity density. not only did the long necks of the suropods allow them to grow big by moving less, but it also gave them access to a whole new area of food that they had little competition for because no one else could reach it

everyone give it up for evolution. it comes up with some really awesome shit

y'all ever think about how insane the sauropods were