#Saurophaganax maximus

[saritapaleo]

Patreon request for @/rome.and.stuff (Instagram handle) - Saurophaganax maximus

Saurophaganax maximus was an allosaurid from Late Jurassic Oklahoma, USA. Reaching 10.5 metres (34 ft) in length and weighing 2.7–3.8 metric tons (3.0–4.2 short tons), it was the largest terrestrial carnivore in North America during the Late Jurassic, bigger than both its contemporaries Torvosaurus tanneri and Allosaurus fragilis. Some scientists argue that it was in fact a species of Allosaurus (making it “Allosaurus maximus”), but possible Saurophaganax material found in New Mexico may shed light on the genus. With a name meaning "lord of lizard-eaters", it was likely the apex predator of its environment.

Found in the Brushy Basin member of the Morrison Formation, Saurophaganax would have had a multitude of prey species to choose from. These ranged from small ornithischians like Camptosaurus, Dryosaurus, and Fruitadens, armoured thyreophorans like Gargoyleosaurus, Mymoorapelta, Hesperosaurus, and Stegosaurus, to a diverse array of giant sauropods like Haplocanthosaurus, Amphicoelias, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Barosaurus, Diplodocus, Kaatedocus, Supersaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Camarasaurus. Small theropods included Coelurus, Hesperornithoides, Tanycolagreus, and Ornitholestes.

The Morrison didn’t only have a large diversity of dinosaurs. Many pseudosuchians lived alongside Saurophaganax, from the skittering, long-legged Hallopus to the more aquatic Amphicotylus. Pterosaurs were uncommon but widespread, and included rhamphorhynchids like Harpactognathus and ctenochasmatids like Kepodactylus. Other reptiles like rhynchocephalians, lizards, basal snakes, and turtles were common as well. Many cynodonts, mostly early mammals, also called the Morrison home.

The Morrison Formation was also rife with other large predators that could have been either competitors or prey to Saurophaganax themselves. These include the previously mentioned Allosaurus and Torvosaurus, as well as the smaller Ceratosaurus nasicornis and Marshosaurus bicentesimus. As Allosaurus seemed to be the most numerous predators in this formation, they may have been successful pack hunters while Saurophaganax was more of a “lone wolf.” Its remains are much rarer than that of its smaller, lither cousins, and it was likely an opportunistic scavenger and hunter, needing much more food to power its larger frame.

This art may be used for educational purposes, with credit, but please contact me first for permission before using my art. I would like to know where and how it is being used. If you don’t have something to add that was not already addressed in this caption, please do not repost this art. Thank you!

[shattersaurus]

Saurophaganax maximus king of the jurassic

[paleonativeart]

Saurophaganax lives in reaction. First the election and now heard about the recent studies about S. maximus lives.

[terry-the-insane]

Animal of the Day for November 10: Allosaurus

One of the most famous dinosaurs from the Jurassic period, Allosaurus was a large carnivore which was likely a rather aggressive animal, given that Allosaurus bite marks have been found on most large animals it shared its habitat with. There are multiple species of Allosaurus, with the largest, Allosaurus maximus, having been assigned to a separate (but closely related) species called Saurophaganax, which in more recent studies turns out to possibly not even be an theropod at all.

[tchiaroscuro]

"I love how people give the common nameS for dinoSaurS. OrnithologiStS are the funnieSt fucking people on earth. They can have badaSS Scientific nameS like Saurophaganax maximuS but then you talk to an ordinary perSon and you gotta call it the Green Kingeater. ParaSaurolophuS walkeri. Okay call a Spade a Spade. You can't dignify the Alberta Horny-duck. It'S not even a duck."

[not-terezi-pyrope]

Oh man that fucks

Saurophaganax Maximus that is so pleasing to say and think

They guy who named Tyrannosaurus Rex "Tyrant Lizard King" got it spot on right first try. Absolute pop-off moment, we need that energy more in scientific naming.

[kingoftieland]

The talented model makers at Rebor have added a replica of the Late Jurassic theropod dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus to their ranks, and now it’s a part of mine as well! Nicknamed “Notorious BIG,” this 1:35 scale figure measures 16 inches long and is painted in a Jungle Variant color scheme – similar to that of modern-day iguanas! 🦎

Saurophaganax (“lord of lizard-eaters”) is regarded by many paleontologists as the largest carnivorous dinosaur known from the Morrison Formation of the western United States. Size estimates vary, but it has been suggested that this huge predator could have reached lengths of up to 43 feet and weighed in excess of 3 tons. While the original fossil material used to describe this genus was found in 1931 in Oklahoma, the debate continues to this day as to whether these dinosaurs are a valid genus or just examples of exceptionally large Allosauruses.

[the-original-b]

Other cool dinosaurs

As a few of you know, I recently made a post about a statue of a T. Rex using the dimensions of Specimen FMNH PR 2081, known as SUE by the community, and it got more attention than I ever thought something like that would. And while I’m thrilled that so many of you share my passion for dinosaurs, I mentioned a few other creatures in that post that I feel were outshined by the T. Rex. And they deserve our respect and admiration too.

So this post is about them.

First, I want to introduce you to my friend Al.

...short for Allosaurus, regarded by many as the Jurassic’s alpha predator; measuring 32 feet (10 meters) from nose to tail, standing 10 feet (3 meters) tall, and weighing between two and three tons, it’s easy to see why.

The name Allosaurus is derived from Greek, meaning “Different Lizard,” for its vertebral structure which was different from everything else at the time of its discovery. Based on tiny fractures found in their bones, we know Allosaurus was an active predator, but its legs were comparatively short and not great for running long distances. So it’s believed that it preferred to use stealth to close the gap on its target then pounce when close enough, similar to a leopard. When it did, it shot out at speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour (32 - 48kph), and used its long arms tipped with large, clawed hands to hold its prey down while its mouth finished the job. 

And this mouth was nothing to sneeze at.

Its mouth, loaded with 4-inch (10cm) teeth, could open almost 80 degrees, wider than T. Rex and most other known predatory dinosaurs. However its bite was pretty modest for something its size--comparable to what a lion can deliver--so its widely believed that Allosaurus would swing its head downward with its mouth open like a battle axe to deliver more force in its killing blow.

There’s also the belief that Allosaurus hunted in packs to address larger prey like sauropods. In a behavior known as flesh-grazing, they would rip chunks out of large prey to get just enough food to get by, rather than risking life and limb trying to kill something several times its own size. We see similar behavior in cookie-cutter sharks when they attack whales.

But, as awesome as Allosaurus is, it still lives in the shadow of its bigger, nastier cousin: Saurophaganax Maximus, the “Lord of Lizard Eaters,” standing 13 feet (4 meters) tall and measuring 42 feet (13 meters) from snout to tail. Consider it the Jurassic’s T. Rex.

That’s it in dark red, compared to other Allosaurus specimens in bright red and green. You’ll notice its silhouette is virtually identical to the Allosaurus, and its bones are similar too, and some paleontologists would agree with you. In fact, there’s a lot of history surrounding the Saurophaganax genus as a whole.

For a while it was designated Allosaurus Maximus since the bones were so similar they could almost be classified under the same genus, like a lion and tiger (Panthera Leo and Panthera Tigris respectively). But experts were able to discern enough differences in comparable bones to make a strong enough case for Saurophaganax to stand as a unique genus, despite its similarity to Allosaurus. As of writing this, the greater scientific community recognizes them as two distinct genera; I personally hope they remain so, because Saurophaganax is such a cool name.

Now I want to shift gears and address another predator I mentioned. 

Charcarodontosaurus, the Great White Shark Lizard, a giant with enormous jaws loaded with combat knives. 

These beasts were among the largest terrestrial predators to ever walk the earth, measuring between 39 and 44 feet (12 - 13.3 meters) and weighing between 7 and 16 tons (approx. 6 - 15 metric tons). They belong to the same family as giants like Siats, and were widely agreed to be larger than T. Rex. However many paleontologists agree they weren’t quite as powerful as T. Rex, and theorize that they used different methods to kill their prey.

Here’s an image I found comparing the two which I hope better illustrates what I mean by that; on the left we have Carcharodontosaurus bones in gray, and on the right we have T. Rex in tan (with a human skeleton for funsies). Notice how much bulkier T. Rex’s bone structure is than Carcharodontosaurus’s, namely how much more massive its head is. T. Rex needs that gargantuan head to better deal with the ungodly forces its legendary bite subjects its jaws to. (unrelated, but I just read T. Rex holds the title for the longest teeth in the fossil record at twelve inches or 30cm, but that’s beside the point of this post)

Carcharodontosaurus’s jaws weren’t designed to deal with the stresses that struggling prey would subject them to, and if it bit its prey with the strength that T. Rex did, it would probably shatter its own skull. This is why paleontologists believe it adapted a bite-and-wait strategy when hunting; Carcharodontosaurus would sink its eight-inch (20cm) serrated teeth into its prey and carve out a huge chunk of meat, then stalk its victim as it bled out, eventually weakening to the point where Carcharodontosaurus could kill it without a struggle. 

This is actually similar to how sharks hunt, excising huge chunks out of prey so they bleed to death and can be eaten without a fuss. 

I didn’t write this to downplay how awesome T. Rex is, or to prove T. Rex’s  superiority over other giant dinosaurs. I merely wrote this hoping that I was able to show you guys something new, and share my undying admiration for these amazing creatures that deserve our respect.

[firealpha2004]

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL THANK YOU

*yeets this at you ( @firealpha2004 )* TAKE IT MY GOOD FRIEND. YOU’VE INSPIRED ME TO DRAW DINO’s

[smokeybrand]

Lord Lizard Eater

So i'm writing this soft fantasy light novel and i need to sprinkle it with monster battles or whatever. I decided to incorporate the requisite mythological monsters but with a natural history twist. Most of the fantastical creatures in my are extinct versions of actual animals like Dinosaurs or Sea Reptiles or Terror Birds. Nature is often the most creatively dynamic, and wildly terrifying, in body plans, especially a couple million years ago. I always thought it was a shame there weren't more Dunkleosteus or Eurypterids in Middle Earth or whatever, you know? I mean, just think about how our ancestors had to live side-by-side with Megalania; Basically Komodo Dragons the size of buses, or having to hide from a goddamn Kelenken; Basically a ten-foot-tall, terrestrial, Bird of Prey. THAT sh*t is more terrifying to me than some orc or goblin, not that i don’t respect the lore and creativity. Just, i mean, f*ck an ocean full of Mosasaur, you know?

So i'm doing research on cool ass body forms i can make into formidable challenges for my characters. Originally, i wanted to introduce the two main characters, the POV  and the character whose story we actually follow, with a battle against a massive, terrestrial, creature i call a titan. Titans are basically giant Therapods and the most famous of which is Tyrannosaurus Rex. Made sense. So, after i type this thing up, i’m reading it over and it feels... Okay. It feels adequate. It feels very Jurassic Park. I realized that this is too Rexy for my tastes. I thought about using a Baryonx, my second favorite dinosaur, but the Bary is too small. An Allosaurs feels right but it’s smaller than a Tyranno. I almost went with a Carcharodontosaurus but i figured i should do a little more research before committing. That’s wen i stumbled upon Saurophaganax Maximus. Holy sh*t, man, this thing is a nightmare! an Allosaur as big as a Rex? Are you serious? How can i not use this monstrosity?! Also, the f*cking name, tho!

I am really excited about this because i had no idea this thing existed and i f*cking love dinosaurs, man. I wanted to be a paleontologist before trauma and the world sh*t on my enthusiasm for things. Suffice it to say, i have fallen down a paleontological spiral and it feels like i am a kid again. I f*cking love dinosaurs, man.

[veronikazzv]

Roxy´s dinosaurs

                                                    INDIE

Species: Indominus Rex

Attribute: Secret

Owner: Roxy Ancient

Debut: Battle at the Pyramids

Appeared In (pet size): 2-79

Appeared In (full size): 28, 34, 36, 47-49, 72-75, 78, 79

Dinosaurs Defeated: Terry, Spiny, Tank, Black T-rex, Gigas (x3), Armatus (x3), Maximus (x2), Brontikens

Other: Indie have inside herself all 7 Cosmic stones. That's why she is so powerful and invincible. Also she can speak with Roxy and she understands and talks to her. She has 3 size: Chibi, T-rex and Black T-rex.

Move Cards

Cosmic Shield

Six-Dark wings

Wild Claws

Domination

Strengthening

                                                     MARY

Species: Mososaurus

Attribute: Water

Owner: Roxy Ancient

Debut: High Sea Chase

Dinosaurs Defeated: Jobaria

Move Cards

Wave Wall

Water Cyclone

VERA, CIRA AND SIDE

Species: Raptors (Jurassic world)

Attribute: Secret

Owner: Roxy Ancient

Debut: Duelling Dinos

Appeared In: 37, 49

Dinosaurs Defeated: Saurophaganax (x2), Black T-rex

Move Cards

Trio Swipe

Team Fury Rush

                                                TENEBRA

Species: Indoraptor

Attribute: Secret (Dark)

Owner: Seth (creator), Roxy Ancient

Debut: Desert Heat (card)

Appeared In (pet size): 72-79

Appeared In (full size): 72, 76-79

Dinosaurs Defeated: Gigas (x2), Armatus, Maximus

Others: She was Seth´s gift for Roxy in season 2.

Move Cards

Dark Sword

Dark Furry

[neovenatorgirlteeth]

So Palaeontology wasn't exactly ~new~ when Tyrannosaurus was discovered, and thanks to the Bone Wars in the 1870's ish, we already had an idea of some pretty big carnivores, notably Allosaurus and Dryptosaurus (and also Megalosaurus which was one of the first dinosaurs discovered in the 1840's). These large predators capped out at about 8m in length.

When Tyrannosaurus was named in 1905, it blew the others out of the water at about 12m long, and was very visually distinct from the others due to its massive blocky head and smaller arms. The more we've learned about T.rex since it was discovered, the more we've realised that this was indeed a fucking monster, with a booming call like an earthquake and jaws built to pulverise bone. And the name is perfect. However, I'm not gonna stand by the sides and let my gal Saurophaganax maximus lose out on the epic name spotlight.

Can we just stop and think about how perfect it is that T.rex got the name it did?

Like, paleontology was still a new field when it was discovered. There were probably like ten dinosaurs listed at the time, and they already gave T.rex the greatest dinosaur name ever. There were thousands of species waiting to be discovered that could’ve proved a better fit for the name.

Imagine if Herrerasaurus had been discovered first and they had decided to call it Tyrannosaurus rex because it was a big predator by their standards? It would’ve become a joke about how the great “tyrant lizard king” was actually a little runt compared to later theropod findings.

Or imagine if they gave T.rex a less impressive name, like some other dinosaurs. It could’ve been called Wyomingsaurus or kept the name Manospondylus gigas. What sort of name is “giant porous vertebrae”?

But thankfully it didn’t happen. The president of the American Natural History museum looked at this fossil that was just one of the first of an entire world of dinosaurs waiting to be discovered, and thought “You are the baddest dinosaur we’re ever going to find, so you’re getting the baddest name we can give.”

And it worked. It’s been like 119 years since T.rex was discovered and it’s still the most badass theropod we’ve ever found, with the strongest bite force of any land animal and so successful that wherever it appeared in the fossil record other predators disappeared. It was so badass that as juveniles they outcompeted small-to-medium adult predators.

The baddest dinosaur ever could’ve gotten a weaksauce name, or the baddest name ever could’ve gone to an undeserving dinosaur. But it didn’t, and now the greatest land predator to ever walk the earth has the equally greatest name Tyrannosaurus rex, the motherfucking Tyrant Lizard King.

[dragonthunders01]

Imaginary titans

For some time I had an idea to make a series of draw comparison related to the idea of doing a “before and after” of certain prehistoric animal reconstructions, something similar to what users here on deviantart has done with draws or silhouettes, however, instead of being just one animal comparison, these would be properly chart showing the changes of such animals over the years, based on a specific topic or a specific documentary.

Here, I chose a particular topic to begin with, the case of the oversized animals, creatures that once were considered to be beings of massive length or mass by the paleontological community or in most of the cases, in the popular media, and have been changed over the years with new discoveries or re-interpretations, some of the estimations are quite light in changes which some can still be considered as giant creatures even with the slight reduction, others are really marked such measures changes to the point it seems like a joke that once was considered to be giants at the first place, and some are in the brink to change with a new discovery in any moment.

I must say that I have tried to collect only estimations made in the scientific field both popular (e.g., documentary) and professional, so there will not be estimations made in common entertainment media such as movies (Jurassic Park), fictional books (Kronos Rising) or video games (Ark)

If anyone has any complain or critic about the information, size, species or anything else, and even some suggestions for others oversized prehistoric animals, you’re welcome to tell, especially if I’m wrong, all for the sake of accuracy.

1) Pachycephalosaurus It seems from many years since its discovery, this large Pachycephalosaur was considered to be 8 meters long, at least the original upright kangaroo posture interpretations which was common in many book illustrations, toys and old media that I guess was based on original ornithopod proportions looking that the head was smaller in comparison with the body. (If anybody knows a better reason you’re welcome to correct me)

Current estimates In recent years there was a reinterpretation of the proportions of Pachycephalosaurus this based on several more complete specimens of others species, giving it a change of look and also of size, now being a 5 meters long herbivore, still being the largest of its group.

2) Ornithocheirus (Tropeognathus) This very fragmentary genus of pterosaur first discovered in UK, was featured in the documentary walking with dinosaurs as a flying giant of around 12 meters in wingspan and weighting 100 kg, being one of the largest pterosaurs ever.

Current estimates To explain a little why I added two pterosaurs, the actual Ornithocheirus (a) which had a very problematic taxonomic history with many fragmentary remains classified to this genus, with around 28 species in total named, but at the end many of these were considered to belong to separate genus, some from the same family and some others from different affinity, with only now one type species, O. simus, being this one around 5 meters of wingspan, and never being 12 meters.

The actual pterosaur which the WWD refer as “Ornithocheirus mesembrinus” was actually Tropeognathus mesembrinus (b) from Santana formation, but this wasn’t estimated to be 12 meters in any point either, the largest specimens so far know in that time were about 6 meters, and the specimens which the documentary were suppose to be base on (MN 6594-1 specimen), is calculated to be about 8 meters of wingspan, being not a giant, but still a pretty large pterosaur, one of the biggest non-azhdarchid pterosaurs known.

3) Amphicoelias fragillimus This species was described in 1878 by Edward Drinker Cope, Being the holotype specimen a vertebra of 1.5 meters in length (AMNH 5777) and a femur, this get lost in some point to never to appear again for unknown reasons (probably due to poor care that destroyed the holotype) and only leaving as a record the existence of these notes and sketches.  Throughout the years, based on what has been left, attempts were made to make possible estimates of the size of this specimen, the majority being inferred that this species has the same proportions of more complete specimens of Diplodocids, giving a size estimation of 58 meters in length, with a weight of 120 tons, making it one of the largest dinosaurs that ever existed.

Current estimates There have been debates about the possible length of the specimen AMNH 5777 over the years, this mostly because the only thing left of the original are only notes which It has been suggested that could contain typographical errors in the measurements or even be completely wrong, and taking proportions of smaller species not always turn out to be accurate or even plausible, so make an length estimation of this species based on the original vertebra turns out to be a complicate challenge. Of course as the chart is about originally oversized animals and then were downsized, I had to see if someone had tried to make an Amphicoelias smaller version with a plausible interpretation to be part of this chart, good thing there is one.

In this case I used thus Amphicoelias reconstruction, being 48 meters long.

4) Leedsichthys problematicus The great Jurassic filter feeder ray-finned fish pachycormid discovered in the Oxford Clay Formation, was subject to many size changes, over the years it was difficult to give an accurate or plausible size estimation because of the poor remains found, at first estimated to have a measure of about 9 meters in proportion to the Hypsocormus genus , but around the 80 the discovery of a new pachycormid, this called Asthenocormus, led to new interpretations of the possible length from 13 meters to 27 meters, based on an extrapolation of the gill basket size, in some cases in popular scientific media mentioned to even be around the 30 to 35 meters long.

Current estimates Some years after the discovery of many new specimens, like “Ariston” (PETMG F174), Dr. Jeff Liston in his studies estimated that Leedsichthys wassmaller than what was thought, being about 9 to 10 meters in first estimations, and in later specimen comparison it give lengths between 7 and 12 meters, also pointing out that linear extrapolation of the gill basket would be flawed because gills grow disproportionally in size for the oxygen demand of a huge body. The most plausible estimations now are around the 16 meters.

5) Kaprosuchus The unusual “boar croc” was discovered and described in 2009 by Paul Sereno and Hans Larsson in the monograph "Cretaceous Crocodyliforms from the Sahara" together with other specimens of Saharan Crocodyliformes. Being the holotype a well preserved skull (MNN IGU12) of about 50 cm, Sereno give an estimated length of around 6 meters.

Current estimates As far I can found, there aren’t any background affirmation for the original Sereno estimations, even more there are been some counterarguments for such size estimations based on comparisons of actual crocodilians with a same head size, as well with more complete relatives like Mahajangasuchus, the most plausible estimations for the actual holotype put the length of Kaprosuchus in 3.3 meters.

6) Quetzalcoatlus After the first fossils were discovery in the Javelina formation at Big Bend National park, Texas, it was estimated 3 probable wingspan size extrapolated from the proportions of others pterosaurs, being 11, 15 and 21 meters, being the middle one choose, but very light in weight being estimated to be less than 100 kg.

Current estimates After subsequent discoveries of small specimens of Azhdarchid and a better known of the morphology of these ones, there were quite a few changes in their proportions, resulting in a more compact animal than previously believed; now it is estimated to have an 11 meters wingspan.

7) Allosaurus maximus (or Saurophaganax maximus depending on how valid still it is) This Allosaurid named by Daniel Chure in the middle 90s, has gone through an interesting history of genus validation based on several specimens since the early 30s for what belongs to it, and even now the legitimacy of this genus is in dispute and with consideration of most of the specimens belong to Allosaurus (As well Epanterias). Something remarkable about this theropod has been the estimates of its length, which would make this Jurassic theropod the largest of all from that period, being at the same level as the Cretaceous theropods in size, with a length of 14 meters in length.

Current estimates It seems that there is no evidence supporting such lengths as the original estimates is considered to being incorrect, the specimen which belongs is probably an 11 meters long animal. Based on Allosaurus reconstruction

8) Spinosaurus The enigmatic African spiny theropod, for many years this Spinosaurid had been one of several contenders to the title of the largest theropods in history thanks to several estimates made over the years, being first at least 15 meters long and with a weight of 6 tons, but by the end of the 20th century and in the beginning of the 21st century this creature get its highest estimations, being the largest based on Suchomimus body proportions in relation on their skull lengths, making it a great theropod of about 18 meters long and a weight of 7 to 9 tons, although some posterior mass estimations give it a body mass of about 11.7 to 16.7 tons. Spinosaurus in this form became a very iconic image for many years in popular culture.

Current estimates Over the years there were quite a few counterarguments about the methodology used to make a reasonable approximation of the length of Spinosaurus, even some making new size estimations giving to this theropod a body length between 12 to 14 meters and a body mass of 12 to 20 tons, although these were criticized too for the theropod choices.

In 2014 things took an unexpected turn with the announcement of a new specimen, the FSAC_KK 11888, a partial subadult skeleton from Kem Kem beds, North Africa, which presented quite different proportions from what was estimated or speculated, showing Spinosaurus as short legged theropod of semi-aquatic habits, However, in the following years the veracity and validation of the specimen as Spinosaurus has been doubted, althouth being asserted in several cases, but not described properly and in full format, even to complicate more the subject, with the confirmation a second spinosaur genus in the region, Sigilmassasaurus, is difficult to assign the neotype specimen to a specific genus.

From these actual proportions if are trully confirmed to belong to Spinosaurus, it is believed that some of the largest specimens could have reached 15 meters in length as was estimated early, and not being the tall creature as the Suchomimus original proportions suggested.

9) Rhamphosuchus This great Miocene Tomistominae (False Gharial) from India, only know by fragmentary tip jaw remains, was once considered to be one of the largest crocodiles ever, with a size estimation of about 15 to 18 meters for many decades.

Current estimates After a re-study in 2001, it was downsized to a length of about 8 to 11 meters.

10) Bruhathkayosaurus This supposed sauropod titanosaur was discovered in the region of Tamil Nadu, in the district of Tiruchirappalli, around 1989, being the remains a part of the pelvis and the tibia, these were referred to as belonging to a theropod by the shape of the Ilium, however, a later opinions determined it as a sauropod, probably a titanosaur around 1999. The measurements given at that time put it as a gigantic animal of around 35 to 40 meters in length, with an estimated weight of 175 to 220 tons, turning it into the heaviest terrestrial animal ever to have existed, aside of Amphicoelias.

Current estimates Did you ever hear the tragedy of Bruhathkayosaurus the giant? Seriously speaking, the history of the discovery of this "sauropod" could be said to be a tragedy since the only known remains discovered by Yadagiri and Ayyasami (those who were behind the discovery and identification of the supposed "stegosaurus" Dravidosaurus which is recognized now as a plesiosaur) were not properly recorded or conserved, these were described poorly, they took terrible pictures of such specimens, they made quite terrible sketches and to make it worse after the discovery they did not bother to collect those remains and the most terrible thing, they left them at the mercy of the Indian monsoons and erosion for the next 15 years after the discovery.

So there are 2 ways to see this in a speculative way given the situation: Option a, in the case that this genus has been what was suggested, a sauropod, the size of this would not have been the one that had been suggested years after its discovery, if an estimate can be made based on the measurements given of the remains, the length that could be obtained would be much less than the proposed 39 meters, being something approximately an animal of 28 meters in length or less, and probably with a much lower weight than previously estimated, probably being with a mass close or less than for example, Giraffatitan.

Or Option b, is just a 2 meter long tree trunk remain and a bunch of rocks with the shape of an eroded Ilium.

So pick one.

11) Kelmayisaurus This theropod carcharodontosaurid from the early cretaceous was discovered in the early 70s in the city of Karamay, Xinjiang, western china, is known from a very fragmentary holotype formed by a complete left dentary and a partial maxilla. The main peculiarity of this theropod came from another specimen mentioned in the book “The Dinosaur Project: The Story of the Greatest Dinosaur Expedition Ever Mounted”, being the species called “K. giganteus”, being referred from a fragmentary giant vertebra column, it was estimated to had a length of about 22 meters, making it one of the largest theropods known.

Current estimates The mentioned “K. giganteus” is considered to be a nomen nudum and the actual vertebrae column remains probably belongs to a sauropod. The original holotype specimen was estimated to be 9 to 11 meters of length making it a medium size carcharodontosaurid.

12) Mosasaurus hoffmanii At first I wanted to introduce estimations made to the Tylososaurus made by "WWD: Sea Monsters" because was emphasized that these reached a length of 18 meters in length, being quite exaggerated with the current estimates that said that they reached 14 meters at maximum, however, I saw that it was more appropriate to introduce a much more recent size estimation mentioned in a scientific article, in this case of the specimen  CCMGE 10/2469 discovered in Penza, Russia, being estimated to have a size of about 17 meters long based in a head-body radio of 1:10 by Russell (1967), making it the largest Mosasaur ever.

Current estimates Giving the point that for such proportions make people draw Mosasaurus with Tylosaur bodies, one person (mention below) took the time to do their research, and as a result, his detailed research revealed that Mosasaurus was quite robust and bulkier in comparison to its relative, giving it a different body ratio and making the 1:10 body-head radio inaccurate. The current estimates make the Penza specimen around 12 to 13 meters in length. Based on M. hoffmanii reconstruction 

13) Megalosaurus It would seem strange to put a very outdated reconstruction in this place, however, at the time it had been considered as real by early paleontology. So, Megalosaurus could earn the title of not only being one of the first dinosaurs identified, but also for being the first oversized dinosaur ever, in their first reconstructions created by William Buckland considering him as a massive quadruped lizard with an upright posture of amphibious habits, based in estimations given by Cuvier, this was calculated to be a 12 meters long creature with a weight of an 7 ft tall elephant.

Current estimates After the lizard model was abandoned, the original size estimations were considered to be quite exaggerated with new reconstructions, so most of the later estimations calculated Megalosaurus to be about 9 meters in the beginning and being in recently decades calculated to be 6, 7 or 8 meters long, with a weight less than a ton.   Based on Megalosaurus skeletal reconstruction

14) Iguanodon Like with Megalosaurus, at first Iguanodon was estimated to be a massive lizard like animal being extrapolated the proportions at first from an iguana because the resembles of the Iguanodon teeth with these ones, giving a size estimations of about 18 meters long.

Current estimates Again, like Megalosaurus, the lizard model disappeared and over the time this animals has gone through several alterations in their body shape interpretations, varying in designs over the years until they reach their final form (?) being a semi-quadruped herbivore with disproportionately huge hands, with a length around 10 meters and a weight of 3.4 tons, with inferred specimens that can reach 13 meters long. Based on Iguanodon skeletal reconstruction 

15) Megalodon Formally Carcharocles megalodon, It has been a shark with problematic size estimations thanks to its many fragmentary fossils being thousands of teeth and some vertebrae, which has given several measures, from the original 30 meters long Bashford Dean estimation in 1909 based on a jaw reconstruction, being downsized to 13 meters to a time later being estimated with a size of 24 to 25 meters long as maximum length.

Current estimates Actual estimations give a length of about 16 meters to a maximum of 18 meters.

16) Liopleurodon The biggest size estimation given to a pliosaur ever, the genus Liopleurodon had been described as a giant 25 meters long and weighing around 150 tons in the WWD series being based to fragmentary fossil teeth remain, it becomes one of the documentary's most iconic animal as well one of the most iconic pliosaurs next to with Pliosaurus or Kronosaurus.

Current estimates The history of the Liopleurodon oversize case is already one the most known around the paleontological community both amateur and professional, that has caused wars of discussions and lots of defenders as well as opposites, and at the end letting a legacy and the perpetual idea of super pliosaurs, but as far is know, there hasn’t been any super pliosaurs and less super Liopleurodon discovered so far, although there has been wild estimations of 15 meters long specimens of others species, which at the end these became very dubious for how fragmentary the evidence has been.

The estimations made by the documentary were not in some points supported by some scientific article or any authority in the matter like with "Ornithocheirus", just made to get the attention of the public, as well, such measure was doubted even for being a maximum size, and most of the estimations made after based on the original remains in comparisons with others Pliosaur suggested that the actual Liopleurodon was 10 meters long, at least at first, and from here Liopleurodon gets smaller and smaller. Studies of other specimens such as Kronosaurus and the discovery of a complete specimen of L. ferox which shown that the skull was 1/5 of the body size gave an approximate length of 6.9 meters, based on the largest specimen found.

[irradiatedsnakes]

settled on allosaurus/saurophaganax maximus ford! figuring out colors/patterns atm

[sergeantrooper]

Was so ecstatic to actually getting 50 followers, that I decided to express my gratitude in a little doodle. x3 

So here have a cutesy Saurophaganax maximus. 

And yes, that’s a philosopher’s stone on his neck. Why? because I’ve apparently gained a nickname from a few of my friends. “The Paleo Alchemist” because of my Fullmetal Alchemist obsession and the fact I can talk your ear off about dinosaurs and other related topics. XD

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Saurophaganax maximus

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

Name: Saurophaganax maximus 

Name Meaning: Largest Lizard-Eating Master 

First Described: 1995

Described By: Chure 

Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Carnosauria, Allosauridae

Saurophaganax was a large allosaurid from the Morrison Formation of Oklahoma, from the Kimmeridgian stage of the the Late Jurassic, 151 million years ago. This makes it a contemporary of Allosaurus, and it is considered widely in the paleontological community to be a species of Allosaurus. It was a huge theropod, about 13 meters long. New material of the species from New Mexico has been uncovered, which might allow for its taxonomic relationship with Allosaurus to be cleared up. It was one of the largest carnivores of the area, bigger than both Allosaurus and Torvosaurus, making it a formidable foe and a potential apex predator. It was so large that if it had lived in the Cretaceous it would have rivaled both Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus. However, this means it was much more rare than Allosaurus, given its need for more prey, as evidenced by the small amount of fossil material for it. It might have also been slower due to its size, forced to scavange rather than hunt, which is plausible given the prevalence of Allosaurus in the area. However the most likely idea is that it both hunted and scavanged, opportunistic in its need to gather as much food as possible. Given the numerous large herbivorous dinosaurs at the time - especially sauropods - this probably wouldn't have been much of a problem.

Sources:

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/s/saurophaganax.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurophaganax

Shout out goes to rknickme!