What Was the Biggest Dinosaur? - Part 1

[@boreopithecus]

There's actually a country called Argentina that was named after Argentinosaurus, and two US states named after Dakotaraptor.

[@ChrisB01]

They had some dedication to paleontology

[@nestormentoso]

I'm from Argentina, and can confirm that my country was named after the dinosaur. Also have in mind that argentum means silver, so I'm 100% sure that this dinosaur was the result of an enormous werewolf population Thank me later

[@MarkVrem]

@@nestormentoso hmmm, werewolf dinosaur is cool,, I would also settle for a Silverback Dinosaur as well.

[@rileyernst9086]

I believe the silver sauropods were intended to slay the werewolves. Although weredinosaurs would be terrific.

[@kwaziness]

rumour has it that albertaceratops and albertosaurus both share a Canadian province

[@ThisIsMark8]

Growing up as a kid in Argentina was such a delight with all its rich history concerning dinosaurs

[@winter2716]

Same here in Colorado.

[@mikesnyder1788]

In Ohio USA there have been no fossilized remains of dinosaurs discovered as yet... sigh! We do have loads of trilobite fossils and the terrifying Dunkleosteus swam our nearby ancient seas but not so much as a coprolite of any dinosaur or flying or swimming reptile! Again, sigh.

[@brettwood1351]

@@mikesnyder1788 I'm in New York, and we aren't too good on Dinos either.

[@mikesnyder1788]

@@brettwood1351 Bummer! It would be so neat to visit a site with, say, fossilized Dino footprints or the like. At least you have some lovely mountains and lakes in New York. A beautiful state, for sure. Regards...

[@FlyingFocs]

True Story: In my Spanish class in college, we had to do a current events report in Spanish for recent news from a Spanish speaking country. I panicked, not knowing what to do... And then I remembered Bajadasaurus was announced that February in Argentina. I got a 95. Thank you Argentina for the highest grade I had in that class.

[@juliomartinez3429]

I love when educational youtubers apologize to us about their videos running long. No. Please. Stop. Don't continue to explain INCREDIBLY INTERESTING scientific shit to me for an additional 10 minutes that I am likely to spend literally watching another one of your videos anyways. I like to learn Ben, please take the hour; I'll be here the whole time.

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

Mainline *KNOLAGE*

[@zahramaulana3560]

Yg fgtdcffy

[@zahramaulana3560]

Fffrrrrz

[@zahramaulana3560]

@@VincentGonzalezVeg t

[@zahramaulana3560]

@@VincentGonzalezVeg t

[@patrick_j_lee]

Are you going to discuss the various mega-sauropods known only from footprints? That's one of my favourite parts of the giant sauropod debate.

[@etplaysworld]

Wait what 🤯 could you send me a link to an article or a video so I can see what you're talking about? I've never heard of these as they sound super interesting!

[@lucasb9285]

I neee to know more, pls reply

[@Zero8880]

And one state was named after Utahraptor

[@mammadingo9165]

​@@lucasb9285 guess we're on our own .. gonna have to look it up ourselves

[@garypfeiffer3489]

I love Argentinosaurus being the biggest but in all honesty, my favorite 1 out of ALL of these is Supersaurus

[@mousaey]

gotta love that name

[@kinglyzard]

My all time fave is Xi Chi, a small Therapod with its own design on flight. An actual dragon, with dragonlike bat wings, feathers and everything!

[@brettwood1351]

@@mousaey Ultrasaurus was cool too. I still have the Definitly Dinosaurs toy of it. And Dreadnautus gets points for it's awesome name.

[@Vegeta8300]

I remember as a kid fighting with friends about which dino was the biggest, supersaurus or ultrasaurus. Not even knowing of the other bigger ones soon to be found. But with names like those what would be next? Super-dupersaurus, superultrasaurus? Lol

[@garypfeiffer3489]

@@Vegeta8300 lol... That's actually a good combination

[@mariskaajoy3899]

You dont know how happy that 'part 1' makes me😂Cant wait for the rest!😍

[@nicotineupnext]

Did the part 2 ever come out? If so I sadly cant find it.

[@Akislav1990]

​@@nicotineupnext I am asking myself the same

[@beastmaster0934]

It seems fitting that the sauropod group that Argentinosaurus, and so many other massive sauropods belongs to, is called “titanosaurs”

[@winter2716]

Named after the now-dubious Titanosaurus, which wasn’t even all that big.

[@vjbele]

My favorite paleontology topic. Ben G Thomas, you have sincerely made my evening today

[@eacalvert]

Dinosaurs are famous the world over for being big and being dead Love the deadpan delivery

[@AngelEmfrbl]

Yeah but the current only surviving dinosaur line is famous for being feathered, loud and small

[@paranoiia8]

They could use heavily modified idea of software used in mechanical simulation where they make whole model with every part down to smaller screw and see how it behave under gravity, heavy load and moving. It's damn time consuming method but with some group work of modelers and engineers i think it would be possible to create model of dinosaur with all bones, muscles tendons and even circulating blood, expansion of body during breathing or even temperature and see if animal could actually move and live having such mass or size, even limiting simulation to just gravity would help to see if dinosaur could withstand mass

[@Blank-rc2lg]

I think they do that slready

[@NitronNeutron]

Pretty difficult if you only have partial remains

[@eronpowell6008]

Hope the series does really well. Y’all deserve it!!

[@AntoniusTyas]

It would be hilarious if _Argentinosaurus_ turned out to have relatively short neck like _Dicraeosaurus_ or _Brachytrachelopan_

[@winter2716]

Italicizing scientific names? I see you’re a man of culture. I should probably do that myself in KZbin comments, but I’m too lazy.

[@Ozraptor4]

Argie has been reconstructed with a short neck before. At 12:47, F, G & H are _Argentinosaurus, Paralititan_ and _"Antarctosaurus" giganteus_ from Carpenter, 2006.

[@FlyingFocs]

@@winter2716 I don't know how to.

[@winter2716]

@@FlyingFocs Put underscores around what you want to italicize, like _ this _ (but without the spaces). It doesn’t always seem to work, though. _test_

[@dj_nyx8903]

@@winter2716 _Dinosaurs are cool._

[@samtuberyt7579]

I would never miss your videos ben

[@TMK411]

I read this comment wrong when I first saw it lmao

[@luciusfucius]

Nice to see an actual in depth video on this topic that doesn't leave anything out for once. Looking forward for part 2!

[@S-T-E-V-E]

These huge Sauropods must have been a food source for weeks (once dead) for the surrounding scavenger community!

[@greggougeon4422]

Like whale falls on land

[@efrainoctavio3506]

Ew crypto monkey pfp

[@kanjiwooowooo3202]

NFT pop

[@mathewritchie]

Only if the climate was realy cold ,elephants tend to putrify faster than smaller animals.

[@ieatmice751]

Screenshotted your pfp :)

[@EveryoneElseIsWeirdImNormal]

I have a friend in iraq who I like to send pictures of extremely large and extremely well "scary" looking ancient animals because he doesn't really know about this stuff and it's entertainig

[@siegel947]

This friend future is certain for greatness as a Anthropologist...

[@Scrinwaipwr]

Has he seen gorgonops or inostrancevia? Those are scary and ancient.

[@williamsapong81]

@@Scrinwaipwr Just wait till he sees Estemmenosuchus

[@kinglyzard]

I showed a kid from Iowa a manatee in the flesh and he thought he was on the set of a George Lucas film! Never had he seen nor heard of Sirenians.

[@brettwood1351]

@@williamsapong81 Daaww, it's like a Warthog and a hippo had a baby. No, wait that would be terrifying.

[@jonathanthomas8736]

Fascinating, Mr. Thomas! Well thought out, well explained, and nicely illustrated. Really looking forward to following your career.

[@atilabaezapalerosi980]

Excellent work, but... where is part 2? We are waiting for the conclusion! Thank you very much

[@elihuguzman9417]

I didn't know I needed you guys to touch this subject!

[@merrickmoriel8878]

At dinosaur ridge in Colorado, we have a replica of the Maraapunisauras vertibrae, everybody is in awe of the size of one spinal column on these creatures.

[@davidbailey6350]

Great video. I enjoy the longer version of information. Thanks.

[@das123undabc]

Your entire content is so interesting. Just great

[@winter2716]

For anyone wondering what to expect in part 2, here you go: Mamenchisaurus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus, Diplodocus hallorum, Supersaurus, Brachiosaurus, Giraffatitan, Sauroposeidon, Alamosaurus, “Antarctosaurus” giganteus, “Bruhathkayosaurus,” Futalognkosaurus, Notocolossus, Paralititan, and Ruyangosaurus. I’m sure I even missed a few. Poor Ben.

[@leem5226]

One you missed: ur mom

[@zJoriz]

Professor: "What's the biggest dinosaur?" Ben: "Hold my beer, part 1" Also: dazzle camo @18.16 - looks awesome and may have even worked much better than its WWI equivalent from the look of it. Thanks for the great explanantion (part 1).

[@CarnoTauroSaurus]

Thanks Ben I have the same university assignment and your video is a great place to start, especially as its one of the first results on KZbin.

[@laurachapple6795]

Having grown up in the 90s, I always find something incredibly satisfying about really CHONKY depictions of dinosaurs. Yes, please, let them eat, it's what they evolved for.

[@KagurabachiDubs]

USA: We have a Trex and a Triceratops. Africa: We have a Spinosaurus and Carcharadontosaurus Argentina: *chuckles*

[@iridiumSerpent]

Australia: *maniacal cackling*

[@Ozraptor4]

USA: We have a Brachiosaurus, Supersaurus, Maraapunissurus, Sauroposeidon, Alamosaurus etc etc

[@brettwood1351]

@@Ozraptor4 Alamosaurus is just begging for a "Everything is bigger in Texas" joke.

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

Please make a video about the marsupial tapir Palorchestes. It's one of the weirdest animals even among marsupials

[@puppyfoxgirliepop]

I just looked it up and i don't know why but I'm disturbed

[@kinglyzard]

Another weirdo among ancient animals are the Calicotheres, Perissadactyls that resemble a chimera between a Gorilla, a giant sloth and a horse. Real Star Wars material.

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

@@kinglyzard or the homalodotheres

[@dynamoterror18]

I read a recent article that claims the diplodocid sauropod, Supersaurus, is possibly the longest dinosaur to have ever existed. Up to 39 meters (128 feet) to 42 meters (137 feet). 🦕

[@martymillions4270]

Yes the Longest but not close to the biggest in terms of mass and size

[@ayaankhan-eh1xy-g3e]

Its 33-34 metres

[@heythereradit]

some say that Barosaurus is also being another contender for the longest dinosaur ever lived. but because its remains are so fragmentary, it's still being the object of debates about the size of them.

[@dynamoterror18]

@@heythereradit True.

[@stefanalexanderlungu1503]

@@ayaankhan-eh1xy-g3e Source?

[@chiaroscuroamore]

Brilliant intro! “Famous the world over for being big, and dead”🤣🤣🤣

[@sassa82]

Great video! Always a good day with a new video!

[@naarmalaide]

"But life as a palaeontology student is a busy one." Me: Understandable. Also me: But why? It's not like they're going anywhere...

[@TheEmperorYTP]

South America: exists Big-ass titanosaurs: *it's free real estate*

[@gunnertlc7728]

Hell yeah. Videos like this are why I am subscribed to ya. May I just say they are "straight bussin'"

[@kawawangkowboy9566]

I didn't realize how quickly I would click on a notification from this channel until about 3.4 minutes ago!

[@marksheppard4475]

"Huge organism" yeah, I swear the OG script said, "proper massive unit of a sauropod"

[@majungasaurusaaaa]

Remember the days when girafatitan was estimated to be 70 t? Sauropods had many weight saving measures that resulted in them weighing far less than what people could at first estimate.

[@loganjames8449]

oh dear sweet ben, another delicious video

[@theotheseaeagle]

WTH is your pfp lol

[@makmak151515]

Excellent job. I was glued the whole way thru. Luca

[@coopernoble6139]

19:30 awesome background art

[@PrehistoricMagazine]

This channel is a big inspiration as I work on producing similar type of prehistoric type content

[@musicbyoakly]

Finally, I've been waiting for a new vid thats not 7DOS

[@dba750]

This was perfect, in length and the wealth of knowledge, thanks

[@shawncharton9416]

I have never once thought your videos were too long. I could watch you talk for hours.

[@garchompy_1561]

height video? time to hear about brachiosaurus with that fantastic reveal from walking with dinosaurs

[@fennoqueven]

No worries about the upload schedule - stay safe and chill :)

[@husky6732]

Still waiting for the second part, my dude

[@clasqm]

When you name a species based on a single (incomplete) remains, there is always the possibility that it was still a teenager. We've seen several species being combined recently as growth stages in dinos have become better understood. One question remains, though: what was in the water in Argentina and where can we get some? ;-)

[@Dragrath1]

It may have just been a preservation bias as in recent years there have been some similarly sized late cretaceous Titanosaurs found specifically in Australia which probably was to some degree connected at least at times with South America and was the connected to Antarctica suggesting giant Sauropods could have been more widely distributed. Then of course there is the curious case of Alamosaurus which despite closely resembling the giant south American titanosaurs suddenly appears in the fossil record of North America alongside major floral shifts 67 Mya with young Alamosaurus apparently becoming the most abundant vertebrate fossils found just below the KPg boundary in Mexico and the southwestern US. This is particularly interesting since sauropods had vanished from the fossil record for most of the Cretaceous. This occurs at around the same time as other dinosaurs that anatomically are quite distinct from North American species found at earlier times the most iconic of these being of course Tyrannosaurus rex which has been shown to anatomically feature the characteristic hallmarks of Asian Tyrannosaurs in both anatomy and inferred behavior from fossils. Given the major tectonic shifts occurring in the Northern pacific seeming conducive towards the potential reconnection of Asia and North America during the late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene it seems probable that Alamosaurus ancestors likely entered North America as part of this faunal interchange but while Titanosaurs are known to have existed in Asia to my knowledge no comparably giant Titanosaurs have been found there. One possible resolution to this apparent "paradox" is that there are anatomical features that only appear in fully mature sauropods of the giant class as prior to the huge adult skeleton discovered at Big Bend National park of all places no one had considered that Alamosaurus could potentially rival the south American giants.

[@DustyHoney]

There’s also the possibility for it to be an unusually small or large individual when you make estimates based off of a few parts or one specimen.

[@prashantsinghsisodia6709]

It can be known by looking at the bone in a microscope, whether the individual was a juvenile at the time of death or not .

[@johnhanover2229]

Thermopolis, Wy. found a juvenile Diplodocaus and built a two story building as a museum for it. Dinosaur National Park straddling Co and Ut allows you to see the bones being excavated. There is a Camargosaurus skull that is the size of a small electric car and that was the smallest feature of that sauropod. Saurpods, I can’t even imagine not hearing or feeling them walk miles away.

[@Ciech_mate]

Thanks for the longer video

[@FernandoMazzo175]

Absolutely Massive Sauropods: (exist) Argentina: *I'LL TAKE YOUR ENTIRE STOCK* also, out of curiosity, what's the modern state of _Amphicoelias altus_ ?

[@NickLavic]

Looking forward to part 2. I assume mamenchisaurus, sauroposeidon, alamosaurus, and supersaurus will be discussed.

[@martymillions4270]

Supersaurus is the longest sauropod but it’s definitely not a contender for the biggest. There’s also ruyangosaurus, daxiatitan. There’s also one named Nurosaurus which looks huge buts there’s no studies done on it which is confusing cause it’s been around for a while now

[@SpaceLover-he9fj]

We must not make absolutes when talking about dinosaurs, because we know not much about them.

[@TheMagnaknight]

Regards from the University of Bonn, one of the places in which Sauropod gigantism was researched alot!

[@ericf112]

I would say that the dinosaurs would have grown to be able to reach the tops of certain trees. Given the shear amount of oxygen available at the time, I wouldn't put it past them to be able to grow as tall, if not taller, than the trees existing at the time. They apparently didn't last very long due to the lack of available fossil evidence.

[@meraislam121]

Keep doing such contents ❤️

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@semaj_5022]

Ooh, I'm looking forward to this.

[@hallamhal]

I thought we knew how much Argentinosaurus weighed from when Nigel Marven weighed one?

[@winter2716]

Yeah, it was 92 tons iirc 🤣

[@basilbrushbooshieboosh5302]

Hope you name the likely winners in the categories. Great vid. Thanks. I'm watching every one of your vids now.

[@kitsune2858]

You guys do an awesome job, one of my fave channels! You definitey do your research! I have a comment and then a question .... Please add 'years old' for us noobs when talking about age, cause idk plasticean from triasstic heh :) And now my question, Do you subscribe to the 'Standard Model' of the Earth, with the plate tectonics and the mass of the Earth has remained the same? Or do you favor the 'Expanding Earth' model?

[@snoopydog3328]

I feel humbled listening to you speak, you're obviously a genius!

[@Fede_99]

This video in a nutshell: titanosaurs from Argentina

[@sankarbhattacharyya9172]

wow, great, ! you are actually doing a lot to add to set and ready mind to change perspective? grat going man!

[@queercowboah8574]

Very interesting video, always love watching your videos 🙂

[@mbvoelker8448]

Fascinating. I can't wait for part 2!

[@Circe-nx5zs]

Great video on how sauropod mass estimates are calculated. Have you heard about Barosaururs specimen BYU 9024? It is so much larger than other Barosaurus specimens that I wonder if all previous specimens were juveniles and BYU 9024 is the only adult specimen.

[@Ozraptor4]

Newly prepped material from this year's SVP meeting indicate that all the Dry Mesa diplodocid material (Supersaurus, Dystylosaurus, "Ultrasaurus" and BYU 9024) belong to a single Supersaurus vivianae.

[@SpaceLover-he9fj]

Possible, but don’t be quick to swallow hypotheses.

[@YosiFrancos]

I just love your videos!

[@jeronimomod156]

In all likelihood nobody has found the largest dinosaur and probably won't. So those estimates of size will probably match some dinosaur that actually lived.

[@CorruptedKilljoy]

"Hopefully it won't be too long until the next part comes out" **six months later and still no part two**

[@AgroAcro]

It's been 2 years now and there still isn't one

[@John.0z]

The range of sizes and the physical forms of the known sauropods have changed to an amazing amount since I was first interested in them, when at school. The Argentine species look little like the ones known at that time. Thank you for keeping me somewhat up to date on the finds.

[@brunobucciaratiswife]

I have to cuddle my dinosaur plush in order to watch these videos. It’s the law.

[@ayaankhan-eh1xy-g3e]

Diplodocus: 25-30 meters Supersaurus: 33-34 meters Mamenchisaurus: 34-35 meters Argentinosaurus: 30-35 meters Patagotitan: 32-37 meters Marapunnisaurus: 35-40 meters ( 58 meters Possibly )

[@augustlandmesser1520]

We also should have in mind that find specimens most likely wasn't largest examples of their kind.

[@MyTv-]

Find great comfort in that there’s no consensus about dinosaur sizes, means that the science is sound and there’s a lot of wonderful things to be discovered! :)

[@dinomation]

Im happy that argentinosaurus is still one of the biggest as it's my favorite dinosaur!

[@kinglyzard]

Question: Why didn't any of the smaller non avian Dinosaurs survive? Could another mass extinction event wipe out all Mammals except bats??

[@theangryholmesian4556]

That's a good question!

[@hayvenforpeace]

It probably could, although it would have to be something pretty swift and cataclysmic to wipe out all the cosmopolitan mammal species like humans, dogs, rats, pigs, cattle, etc. Bats could survive because they are small, and are able to fly long distances in search of food and safety (very important during a mass extinction!). Many of them also eat insects, or have flexible diets, meaning they’re less likely to be without a food source than most other mammals.

[@Alberad08]

Indeed, I really enjoyed it - thanks a lot!

[@calvingrondahl1011]

A very large sauropod was found by my old friend Jim Jenson at Dry Mesa quarry in Colorado. Biggest? What matters most is who has the biggest budget for paleontology.

[@leafybotanist8985]

I love a lot of the paleoart images in this video. You should list them in the description my dude!

[@katbairwell]

Is there any way to know, from the bone fragments that have been recovered, what the relative ages of the animals might have been? I cannot help but think we get far too hung up on what was biggest heaviest, etc, rather than simply discovering all that a find can acceptably tell us, but if we must have these discussions, would not age and gender of finds be significant in comparing between them? Ben, thank you for taking the time amidst University study to enlighten and entertain old fogeys like me!!

[@johncollins1255]

They just count the rings

[@katbairwell]

@@johncollins1255 As one can with shark cartilage? Would one be able to know what the average life span was for creatures for which we have so few examples? Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge, most appreciated!

[@hspg]

It’s Argentinosaurus by reliable remains, maybe Barosaurus or Marrapunisaurus by controversial remains

[@DanielNeedham2500]

My favourite dinosaur is Diplodocus being so long and slender. It wasn't the biggest but definitely one of the longest

[@everett8948]

What's good bro, definitely enjoying the videos, please keep making them. Would you please start including the measurements in feet as well as meters though? You have a lot of people following this channel in the states, and a lot of us are watching it first thing in the morning when our brains are not ready to make conversion from meters into feet do to pre coffee circumstances 🤘😁👍

[@nobletarabas1]

Where is part 2???

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Hello everyone watching this amazing video,and I thought this video was really good and fanastic.

[@LolUGotBusted]

Is there a sauropod fossilization bias towards the legs?

[@a_m5115]

The leg bones are the strongest, so definitely yes

[@ceppoc]

Patagotitan and Giraffatitan are my favorite sauropods :) Thanks for this informative and incredibly interesting Video!

[@Katiethewizard]

I can't wait for the day in the future when I'm gone and my loved ones remember me most for "being big and being dead" ❤

[@arcadedelprof]

great vid!

[@dilaton1]

Very well done video! Other paleontologists had better watch out when you graduate!

[@wakam8809]

"For being big and for being dead" LMAO!

[@jonathan7369]

20 minutes long and part ONE?? pog

[@noahbeck3712]

I love this video so much!!!!!

[@persianking44]

I imagine what might also make the issue more problematic is the possibility that the individual specimens found may either be exceptionally small or large individuals, and the possibility of sexual dimorphism (which as of yet seems extremely unlikely but without definitive evidence it remains a possibility).

[@PATRICKJLM]

*The biggest known yet.

[@xgomenx]

Loved the video, and the fact it's a part one 😁 Just one question (and I don't mean it to sound like a nag, just eager curiosity) but when will part 2 of the horse evolution be out? Keep up the great work!!

[@Aethuviel]

19:20 Isn't that pretty much the Dreadnoughtus we got in Prehistoric Planet? 😅

[@highfive7689]

Dreadnoughtus skeletal drawings seem different from the other Titanosaurus forms. Does this change or effect how paleontologists perceive the structural form of the more incomplete skeletons? Great report by the way! I can't wait for the rest on this series of vid articles.

[@jacekkkkk1740]

The Dreadnoughtus skeletal shown in the video is actually wrong, H. Paes's one is much better

[@TheDragon-v7d]

😅the problem with saying what is the biggest dinosaur, is 1. There are probably gigantic sauropods in the fossil record that we don’t have 2. Our fossil record on sauropod estimates is very limited 3. Some sauropod remains can sometimes be just younger or older individuals of already discovered species

[@theunforgiven2885]

Dinosaurs were mesmerizing. If I could go back in time for just an hour I would definitely go back to the Cretaceous or something like that truly would be something to see with my own eyes 👀😔