How Big Dinosaurs REALLY Were

How big were dinosaurs, really? Here’s the answer compared to us and modern day animals...
If you like optimistic science and tech stories, follow for more! This video is part of our show Huge If True.
#dinosaur #animation #size #big #sciencefacts

[@TastyChubz]

This makes me realize that African elephants are larger than i thought 😅

[@umhi9778]

Kinda disappointing for a T Rex though. I always imagined them as being near the size an appartment complex. (Though without any thought if that'd be realistic)

[@SIimyGoblin]

That's godzilla​@@umhi9778

[@chanmarr8118]

African animals in general are HUGE! I didn’t know this until someone I know recently went and had pictures of these animals side by side with humans.

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

Me too! I had to process that one for a moment!

[@WayneKitching]

I'm a South African and I can confirm that an African elephant is HUGE. In game parks they don't look that big, because they are further away, but I saw a life-sizes statue at a zoo and it looks like a small building.

[@_anushka_draws]

Fun fact: T-Rex is closer to humans in the timeline than it is to Stegosaurus

[@umhi9778]

The "Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the smartphone than the building of the pyramids" for dinosaurs.

[@i3_13]

That's a horror fact

[@bentownsend4017]

Idk why this shocks anyone

[@pear7777]

The dino's were on earth for 5-21 millions of years🤯🤯

[@_anushka_draws]

@@pear7777 umm they lived for like more than 160 million years. Meanwhile modern humans (since cave art and agriculture) have been living for like only 12,000 years Edit: 12,000 years was when agriculture mainly started I got things mixed up 😭

[@GameDesignerJDG]

Yeah, the "velociraptor" in the movies was just a script thing. They were modelled more so after the deinonychus or Utah raptor. Which were closer to the size in the movies.

[@LlewellynZheng]

As far as I know it was based off of deinonychus, for if it was a Utahraptor it would have been significantly larger and it would have been in the wrong location.

[@LeftPhilip]

At the time the book was written, the deinonychus was being considered a member of the velociraptor family. So it wasn't completely out of nowhere

[@inrevenant]

​@@LeftPhilip now THAT explains a whole lot. Didn't even occur to me that "velociraptor" might have been considered some kind of family or something in the past

[@AwesomeTingle]

the argument presented in this video feels a bit disingenuous because of this

[@garretthopkins6840]

I've seen somewhere that they only called them velociraptors because it "sounded cooler"

[@kdazmtv]

🦖: Too soon, we haven’t met you humans. 🐓: Humans? *Runs*

[@soaringstars314]

Thats what you get for being cocky. Look what you have become 😂 which fun fact, Chickens are the closest thing alive today to a T-Rex

[@bobcharlie2337]

That T-Rex in the picture doesn't look as big as an elephant. It looks way bigger. 😂

[@johnc2438]

And... and... and... it has a wayyy bigger BITE! CHOMP!!! 😱

[@deepmalyadas6585]

it is a bit bigger than African elephants

[@Cain353]

She said the biggest Elephant. An African Bull Elephant can absolutely become that big. Just look up video's of one chasing a pick up truck. The T-Rex' that have been discovered are of course a small sample size compared to the African Elephant that we can observe and study in real life. There's still debate on how big T-Rex really was. The T-Rex is being estimated at anything between 6 and 8 tons with a length of up to 14 Meters. The largest ever recorded African Elephant was almost 4 meters tall at the shoulders and weighed 11 tons.

[@mehditayshun5595]

It was way bigger

[@mehditayshun5595]

The T-Rexes are still considerably bigger than the largest elephants

[@scottythetrex5197]

The average size T Rex was 20,000 pounds. A big African elephant is about 14,000. PS - that's considered the average size for T Rex because the only two fully grown specimens we have were about that size, and since the vast majority of animals don't fossilize, we assume they are average in size.

[@jedahn]

I don't understand how they didn't break their own ribs if they fell over

[@doomslang]

20000 pounds is not a size. Elephants are shaped wildly differently.

[@scottythetrex5197]

@@doomslang It is. Mass is what animal size is measured by.

[@bennogb5069]

​@@doomslangsize is mass. Length is not an accurate measure of size as there are worms that cane 60 meters long, twice the length of blue whales yet they dont weigh a few hundred tons.

[@Sesuaki19]

​@@doomslangLiterally the only reliable way to mesure size

[@mattieguilliams129]

You should know that the "velociraptors" in Jurassic Park were in fact Deinonychus. And that, at the time, Deinonychus was classified under the Raptor family. The, relative to the size of a turkey, ones that you're thinking of for "velociraptor" are Velociraptor Mongoliensis. The disparageance between the two raptor types was pointed out in the book. They thought that they were Velociraptor Mongoliensis because the samples they got were labeled coming from Mongolia. Even though they were clearly the size of Deinonychus.

[@midnightgamingwithmysticni947]

The Velociraptors in Jurassic park were based off of Utahraptors not Deinonychus. Deinonychus was smaller than the raptors in the novel as well as the movie.

[@rakeshsuthanthirakumar2613]

@@midnightgamingwithmysticni947 also the DNA they extracted from ambers and other source were incomplete and we could not get the correct gene to place there , Hence they used some modern relatives of them fill the gap , maybe this explains their wierd apperence

[@midnightgamingwithmysticni947]

@@rakeshsuthanthirakumar2613 You're talking about the fantasy story line in the movie and book. We are talking about the inspiration for the dinos in the movie and book based off of REAL dinos.

[@christopherbedford9897]

OK but "disparageance" isn't a word. Disparity maybe?

[@MrWhateverfits]

you should of started with "Um actually," not being mean I genuinely think it would have been funny.

[@Locust13]

For fans of the movie style velociraptors, you might try looking up utahraptor.

[@l_poci_]

Actually its based on the deinonychus. Back when michael Crichton wrote the book, deinonychus was also known as velociraptor antirrhopus. Crichton used this animal and the shorter velociraptor name. Later on this animal was officially named deinonychus, however when Spielberg made the movie, he kept the velociraptor name because it sounded better. The confusion then comes from the other velociraptor species, velociraptor mongoliensis which is the smaller animal shown in the video.

[@viper_nfsgaming2813]

Taller Chicken 💀

[@Bennie32831]

A Tiger isn't that bigbut it will still eat your face off volosaraptor probably was deadly af

[@t-mac1236]

I always thought velociraptors were as tall as humans. Besides that every dino you listed their size has been quite accurately depicted in media.

[@parasharkchari]

The total body length -- head-to-tail -- is roughly in the same size range as a human being's height. The length can be anywhere from about 4'10" to 6'9". The 3m figure for Triceratops or 6 m for T-Rex are also height figures, though that figure isn't actually accurate -- it's the estimated height for a T-Rex standing upright, which they rarely ever would. Most of the time, they're in that horizontal posture, so the height of T-Rex would actually be closer to 4 meters. In either case, though, the length is far greater -- at least 3x.

[@connorcameron-jones8745]

In Jurassic park, the model they used for the raptors was based off of the utahraptor, which actually was that size. I don't understand why they couldn't just call them Utahraptors especially as at the start of the film you can see them digging up a skeleton in the desert. So essentially now whenever I see a veloceraptor in popular media I just correct myself to utahraptor.

[@parasharkchari]

I presume it was a case of the name "Velociraptor" sounding that much cooler. It evokes imagery of something fearsome not only for its sharp talons, but also its swiftness. "Utahraptor" evokes images of Mormons with sharp claws and feathers. Instead of the raptors figuring out doorknobs, they'll knock on the doors while wearing white shirts and ties and keeping their feathers cleanly trimmed and combed hoping to share with you all the wonders of one of the world's greatest books.

[@CbrF4i600cc]

​@connorcameron-jones8745 you really can't figure out why they changed the name? Obviously veloceraptor sounds better

[@ZombieWilfred]

She reminds me of that joke something like "People don't even ask what my favorite dinosaur is anymore. Being an adult is stupid..." 😂

[@zielonaent7705]

Remember the acid spitting dino in Jurassic Park? The dilophosaur? In the film they're depicted as small as a dog. Irl they're almost as big as a horse. Also they dont spit acid.

[@mattieguilliams129]

Explained in the book, those Dilophosaurus had been spliced with Spitting Cobra DNA. Because in the book they were just mixing and matching with all different kinds of animals. And that's why that dinosaur had the spitting ability.

[@chanbricks4461]

They don't spit acid in the film or books either, just venom

[@_blank-_]

​@@mattieguilliams129 Basically a retelling of Frankenstein

[@ElysiaWhitemoonOmega]

but that maybe a juvenile

[@dineshkrishnan4029]

The dilo in the book was so much more scarier, I think the movie really missed an opportunity with them.

[@Gogetaover90000]

"Which was about as big as the largest African Elephant" Excuse me? The largest African elephant ever recorded was only 3.96 meters tall not 6 meters

[@grabbity]

That's a Trex standing upright on its hind legs, where they measured 4-6.6 meters/12-20ft, not standing/walking like it normally would. When walking, they were roughly 1.56-2.06M tall/5.1-6.8ft

[@night.panther4870]

​theyre taller when walking normally , i dont have an actual estimate but 2 meters just doesnt make sense considering trex is a bulky 10 ton 12 meter ambush predator with a 1.5 meters head ...

[@X64813]

The scariest part of T-rex's is learning that they had feathers and were ambush hunters with incredible vision. Abslolutely terrifying.

[@gadhviviraj9172]

I have yet to meet a person who doesn't love dinosaurs, amazing creatures.

[@Clemdauphin]

There is people that beleve they didn't existed... yes they are dumb

[@bm1588]

So the moral of the story is.. Don’t fall off your dinosaur. 🦕 🦖

[@jamiehamilton6887]

dont lie to her about how big

[@ShadowCatGambit]

We dont see a lot of fully grown elephants in the proper perspective. One of the best examples ive found on youtube made an elephant look like 3 to 4 stories tall.

[@uncletrashero]

its also bullshit

[@chaseschallen1508]

@@uncletrashero “look”

[@theeverydaymataray]

Funny how she just cut their length in half😂😂

[@matthewhaynes509]

A 6m height for T. rex is based on old “Godzilla” poses; hip height is more like 3.5-4m and height height maybe 4.5-5m

Check your facts, Cleo. Wikipedia about African elephants states: "The tallest recorded individual stood 4.21 m (13.8 ft) at the shoulder and weighed 8,000 kg (18,000 lb)."

[@SingYuLam]

Yup, I fact checked this too and couldn’t find any records for a 6m tall elephant, which would be utterly enormous. Apparently giraffes are about 6m tall though, so even if they don’t match in volume they’re at least the right height.

[@sebastianjost]

Maybe an elephant standing on their back legs and/or holding up their trunk could reach leaves at 6m

[@luizeduardom.]

I guess she meant that t-rex weighted 8 tons

[@Dynotop1a]

They broadly overlap in mass. Hip/Shoulder height is actually similar, but Tyrannosurus would have held its head higher.

[@97sexyluv]

She said "about as big".

[@DevanshAgrawal-lf2wg]

Hollywood would do anything to hype up their movies

[@daMillenialTrucker]

They're pure trash these days.

[@Wildman-zh8lg]

So

[@natmarelnam4871]

Smarter take - Hollywood doesn't make Dinosaur movies - Jurassic Park was about frog monsters LARPing as dinosaurs. They weren't accurate because they weren't dinosaurs... Read a book (or just listen to the words in the movie).

[@moringsdaughter]

Yes, it's called advertising and marketing. Convincing people to see movies is how that industry makes money.

[@night.panther4870]

I agree but the sizes in this video are bad , i mean an elephant isnt 6 meters , its 3.2 meters and for an average 5.5 tons ( for the largest males 7 tons the smaller ones would be 2 tons ) , t rex isnt 6 meters and 8 tons for average ( for the largest 10 to 12 tons ) , triceratops is 7 meters ( 9 meters for bigger ones ) and 12 tons , stegosaurus is based on the species between 7 to 10 meters long and weighs 5 tons , velociraptor is the only actual victim here ... with 1.5 to 2 meters length , half a meter tall and weighing below 20 kg

[@elmohead]

Why not include hadrosaurs? They're severely undersized in media

[@jesse_cole]

I don't know what kind of elephants this woman has seen, but that T-Rex looks like it could swallow an elephant whole.

[@kiraslife329]

Fun fact The velociraptors in Jurassic Park aren’t velociraptors they are Utah raptors because they are massive

[@comicsansisagoodfont2634]

Actually, they were based on deinonychus. Utahraptor was discovered the year the movie came out. They didn’t name it deinonychus because velociraptor was cooler and easier to say lol

[@midnightgamingwithmysticni947]

@@comicsansisagoodfont2634 Actually, in the book they were based off of the Deinonychus, however in the movie they were based off the Utahraptor. The Utahraptor was discovered in 1975 originally and was the inspiration for Stephen Spielberg because a full skeleton was found when the movie was being filmed.

[@oyuyuy]

No, we haven't been lied to. The T-rex in Jurassic Park has accurate size, it's just too upright. A fair bit heavier than African Elephants, a bit taller and twice as long.

[@Gogetaover90000]

Not a bit taller but twice

[@oyuyuy]

@@Gogetaover90000 No, a bit taller. T.Rex were about 3.5m at the hip and African Bush Elephants are about 3.0m at the shoulder.

[@MrKieras666]

You're contagiously enthusiastic, I need more people like that in my life. Liked and subscribed.

[@kumarmanik1699]

"That's actually smaller than I thought" Noo wayyyyyy 😂😂😂😂

[@travistdogg3759]

Chickens are awesome!

[@chanakya6735]

To eat ?

[@travistdogg3759]

Well that too. Kinda funny how they probably started out as dinos and now we make Dino shaped chicken nuggets out of chickens.

[@umhi9778]

Chicken for scale

[@eddymuigai3909]

I honestly thought T-Rex s were huuge

[@meganmart-kirven1604]

The taller chicken one is definitely an ancestor of the cassowary

[@sameemasudaisa4605]

When i hear “i love dinosaurs “ ROSS pops in my head😂

[@KiraTheFoolOfTheFools]

Im currently trying to get into uni to learn paleontology although none of the universities in my country HAVE paleontology, I'm planning on going to geology since that is the closest I can get to potentially digging up dirt and MAYBE finding fossils of any kind

[@trishasurangana2278]

Yeah even India has no univ teaching paleo straight up, it's all geology. I think once you get a masters you can branch out and get your doctorate on paleo

[@ABC_Master]

i've tried the same thing, and honestly. just get a job that earns well and take paleontology + sedimentology for fun, as a spare time activity.

[@KiraTheFoolOfTheFools]

@@ABC_Master i honestly cant see myself working in any "normal" way i dont think i could be able to do anything if im not at least mildly interested in it and right now, being a paleontologist is the only thing that seems achievable that i actually care about i kinda know how to draw so max i go and become a peleo artist somehow

[@ABC_Master]

@@KiraTheFoolOfTheFools it depends a lot where you’re from. It’s impossible to become a paleontologist here,so the only option is moving. The job is also strenuous with long hours. Very fun but difficult to get hired + payed a decent wage. If you manage then that’s awesome.

[@KiraTheFoolOfTheFools]

@@ABC_Master i live in hungary so i dont know how difficult would it be all i know that there are only a few dig sites where they found fossils so far and im not sure there are if there would be a lot of fossils here anyways so ye,, but i wont know until i try lol tho first i need to not fail my matura exams to even have a chance,,

[@cat_in_a_fish_bowl]

The raptors in Jurassic park were based of deinonychus which at the time was know as velociraptors

[@Rogue_Satellite]

Well before the 90s both Velociraptor and deinonychus were known to be separate species.

[@cat_in_a_fish_bowl]

@@Rogue_SatelliteYes, in the late 1980s, the dinosaur Deinonychus was often referred to as Velociraptor antirrhopus. This was due to a misclassification by paleontologist John Ostrom, who originally named Deinonychus as a species of Velociraptor. This misclassification influenced Michael Crichton's novel "Jurassic Park," where the name Velociraptor was used for the larger and more well-known Deinonychus, as it was thought to be more recognizable to the general public. This decision also involved an explanation in the novel to address the discrepancy between the real Velociraptor and the fictional portrayal.

[@pratronald]

Did dinosaurs really look like that because even a rabbit skeleton looks like a dinosaur???

[@craigpbill]

I love your stuff

[@leemiller29]

Turns out they’re all just giant chickens lol - this is not a joke, but it is funny

[@davidm4566]

I mean not really. Chickens is just for scale

[@leemiller29]

@@davidm4566 The current theory is that chickens descended from dinosaurs. This is why it's not a joke.

[@eggwithketchup1238]

​@leemiller29 oh thats outdated, lol. Anyways, chickens are dinosaurs, not just a descendant, and yes they are closely related to the trex, but! Not actually a trex themselves but another kind of species, i hope you understand.

[@AI.Overlord.X]

I remember seeing the largest T-Rex ever found (at the time) in a Chicago museum. The size was underwhelming. It was about the size of an elephant.

[@ABC_Master]

nah

[@elvishmallard10]

This makes more sense because one of my biggest issues of dinosaurs has always been that, they were too large to be practical.

[@Al_i8]

Stiggasorous looks like an elephant sized retriever

[@davidgrech4574]

I hope you know how much I appreciate your videos and I hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙏

[@ruudkeijzer9106]

"Like this species[...]that looks like a taller chicken" Cassowary.... CASSOWARY!!!

[@user-du5qb7kp2o]

Keep up the good work!

[@DoctorNOS]

I love your videos

[@jhubeJELLO]

that last dinosaur looks like a cassowary

[@Don-ol8ze]

You're right about the size of velociraptors... technically. But cousins of the velociraptor such as deinonychus and utahraptor were pretty much the size shown in the movies. They just transferred the cooler name to the dinos they wanted to portray.

[@smay745]

Perfect timing! I’ve just been rereading Jurassic Park and Lost World!

[@kkiimm009]

Given how scared many people are of dogs I think we would stil feel terror around them if we met them in real life without a fence between us.

[@DESIBOY-fe7nm]

Now i know where girraffes evolved from.

[@halfblood_drag0n]

just wait till we find the land megladon that essentially just ate everything

[@richardryan7062]

Thank you for the dinosaur class. 💯

[@chaotictyrant9850]

I aways find it awesome when a science or educational channels covers palaeontology or zoology! 😃

[@martinvho]

First time I saw a fully built dino skeleton I was disappointed.

[@yesme5470]

Every day i grieve over not having a giant dinosaur pet

[@aladinmovies]

I love you, interesting to hear your voice

[@MrBrew4321]

Okay but play ark and get mobbed in the brush by some smaller dinos while you're still naked and afraid on the beach lol. Scary.

[@valonoddity7868]

This video made me feel all warm and squishy. I love learning about dinos.

[@TitularHeroine]

To be fair the largest dinos would make people *actually* squishy too :)

[@isthisBetelgeuse]

I'm sure they all had great personalities.

[@jadevanzanden1336]

The last Dino you mentioned reminded me of a cassowary.

[@coolspider295]

A lot of these dinosaurs are small enough to mate with.

[@jeremyklein9679]

I'd heard that Michael Creighton based his dinosaur on the deinonychus, but liked the name velociraptor better, so he used that name instead.

[@roquemocan]

But even if the velociraptor was "only this big", I think I would be toast too

[@XZIGLERX]

"Thats actually smaller than i thought". Ya, I've heard that before.

[@graymcgoldrick8388]

I enjoy your energy and deftness with sharing and your happiness. Please keep it the way for those younger generations to get involved and be amazed. 🎉🎉

[@Andreas-rs1cj]

Everyone loves dinosaurs. Why else would it be the first thing we obsess over as toddlers

[@doomslang]

These are all exactly the size that everyone always thought they were.

[@arthurbraden4102]

I learn a lot by listening to Cleo. Thank You! :)

[@zaidtariq8804]

Ever since I was a kid,I was ADDICTED to stegosaurus so this makes my obsession WORSE IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE

[@itsblu4735]

Wow imagined seeing the ones at the chicken size around thats kinda cool

[@debracampbell-xg5rm]

Amazing! I’m sure there is more! Probably underwater under the sea! So interesting!!! ❤😂😅

[@garrettsorensen631]

I hate it when people bring up that velociraptors were small, because the ones from the movie were ment to be one of the varieties that werent. such as utah raptor.

[@joriusmagnus6425]

I've seen the patagotitan in person. It was incredible.

[@LukeNukem90]

Makes you realize that paleantology is really just people finding bones and guessing what the skeletons looked like most of the time

[@JPage-fj7mb]

Now I need "taller chicken" details, please.

[@Dynotop1a]

I think it would be neat if Cleo visited a museum and worked with the paleontologists there for a video!

[@hjaltesrensen8214]

that is interesting, there is an exhibit at my local zoo with live-scale dinosaurs, and there has been taken a lot of care into that project. You almost need to see the sense to grasp it.

[@KingDoomfist]

Perspective is super relative, though... like, okay, it's only chicken-sized, so "not scary" ... but what if it was a chicken-sized spider-form? Run!

[@ALT3REDB3AST]

Only eats plants does not mean it wasn't aggressive and wouldn't stomp a mud hole through you!

[@curtismatsune3147]

I wouldn't necessarily characterize Hollywood entertainment as "lies". They make no bones about being in the business of fantasy and every sentient person knows it.

[@shibinjacob1095]

That chicken looks like the one from ice age

[@johnysharki5694]

That can't be right, no elephant has ever been 6 metres tall...

[@chad9017]

Have to admit I loved that one Cleo.❤

[@Dan_Boston]

I love dinosaurs 🦖🦕

[@smartkrafter2853]

What do you mean optimistic?! You just shattered my childhood dreams 😢

[@fearziel8622]

they are somehow... bigger than I expect and smaller that i expect

[@carl_anderson9315]

To sum up: - Were dinosaurs smaller than people think or bigger than people think? - Yes.

[@TheCarbunkleofTruth]

I feel bad for the rendering standing behind the stegosaurus.

[@polycrystallinecandy]

"looks kind of like a taller chicken" What kind of mutant ahh chickens you got

[@JayJay-ye7ic]

"We've all been lied to", referring to one slight exaggeration in a 90's movie

[@tritone11]

Damn! Triceratops was much larger than I thought.

[@cynthiablackthorn]

Got to love genetic engineering for a THEME park

[@ericgraham2781]

I love that you can swim with another mammal bigger than most, or maybe all, dinosaurs.

[@Strickalator]

Actually I think that last dinosaur looks more like a cassowary. 💙

[@mymo_in_Bb]

I'm so glad that as a child, i learnt about dinosaurs from kids' books with accurate scientific information instead of sci-fi films

[@AdamOBrien-ke8tg]

The velociraptor is getting front kicked irl

[@youtubersdigest]

Imagine having one of those little blue guys in your back yard🥹

[@thegodseeker6035]

You love everything science-related so I don’t know why dinosaurs surprised me

[@wlockuz4467]

I am sure the Compsognathus had a great personality.

[@macflod]

Saw the fossil skeletons of them in museum recently. They are snaller than i thought but still they are big! The little velociraptor would still be really scary to meet- im thinking like a casowary meets comodo dragon type thing

[@kaminznanna]

So apart from the velociraptor, all others were accurate? Good job 👍