Meet Dreadnoughtus, a newly-discovered dinosaur so massive its name translates to "fears nothing."
At 85 feet long, 30 feet tall, and a staggering 65 tons, the dinosaur is one of the largest land animals ever to have lived. For comparison's sake, T. Rex weighed about eight tons; an empty Boeing 737 weighs a comparatively light 50 tons.
(PhyloPic/Lacovara et. al/Boeing/Campione/Evans/Benson et. al, via The Washington Post)
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Discovered in 2005 in the Patagonia region of Argentina, and announced Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, the fossil is the most complete specimen of a titanosaur yet. The dino was so huge researchers say it may have had to eat on a near-constant basis to maintain its size. And given its enormous tail and clawed feet, it probably wouldn't have had any trouble thwarting foolish would-be predators, according to Drexel University professor and lead author Kenneth Lacovara.
"I can't imagine that it was a good idea to attack a full-grown, healthy Dreadnoughtus," he told Discovery News.
That sounds like sage advice, even if it spoils my time-traveling plans for the weekend.
-
The rise in unregulated pregnancy scansUnder The Radar Industry body says some private scan clinics offer dangerously misleading advice
-
Democrats seek 2026 inspiration from special election routsIN THE SPOTLIGHT High-profile wins are helping a party demoralized by Trump’s reelection regain momentum
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind,’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
