Post by dinosauria101 on Mar 12, 2019 15:38:20 GMT 5
Asian Straight-tusked Elephant - Palaeoloxodon namadicus
Palaeoloxodon namadicus or the Asian straight-tusked elephant, was a species of prehistoric elephant that ranged throughout Pleistocene Asia, from India (where it was first discovered) to Japan, where the indigenous Neolithic cultures hunted that particular subspecies for food. It is a descendant of the Straight-tusked Elephant. Some authorities regard it to be a subspecies of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, the Straight-tusked Elephant, due to extreme similarities of the tusks. Their skull structure was also different from that of a modern elephant. Several studies have attempted to estimate the size of the Asian straight-tusked elephants, as well as other prehistoric proboscideans, usually using comparisons of thigh bone length and knowledge of relative growth rates to estimate the size of incomplete skeletons. One partial skeleton found in India in 1905 had thigh bones that likely measured 160 centimetres (5.2 ft) when complete, suggesting a total shoulder height of 4.3 metres (14 ft) and weight of 14 tonnes (14 long tons; 15 short tons) for this individual elephant. Two partial thigh bones were found in the 19th century and would have measured 155 cm (5.1 ft) when complete. A fragment from the same locality was said to be almost a quarter larger; volumetric analysis then yields a size estimate of 5 metres (16 ft) tall at the shoulder and 22 tonnes (24 short tons) in weight. This makes P. namadicus the largest land mammal of all time, surpassing the largest indricotheres and up to twice the size of the well-known dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii.
Daspletosaurus torosus (pack of 8)
While very large by the standard of modern predators, Daspletosaurus was not the largest tyrannosaurid. Adults could reach a length of 8–9 meters (26–30 ft) from snout to tail. Mass estimates have centered on 2.5 t (2.5 long tons; 2.8 short tons), but have ranged between 1.8 and 3.8 t (1.8 and 3.7 long tons; 2.0 and 4.2 short tons). Daspletosaurus had a massive skull that could reach more than 1 meter (3.3 ft) in length. The bones were heavily constructed and some, including the nasal bones on top of the snout, were fused for strength. Large fenestrae (openings) in the skull reduced its weight. An adult Daspletosaurus was armed with about six dozen teeth that were very long but oval in cross section rather than blade-like. Unlike its other teeth, those in the premaxilla at the end of the upper jaw had a D-shaped cross section, an example of heterodonty always seen in tyrannosaurids. Unique skull features included the rough outer surface of the maxilla (upper jaw bone) and the pronounced crests around the eyes on the lacrimal, postorbital, and jugal bones. The orbit (eye socket) was a tall oval, somewhere in between the circular shape seen in Gorgosaurus and the 'keyhole' shape of Tyrannosaurus.
Credit to Wikipedia
Palaeoloxodon namadicus or the Asian straight-tusked elephant, was a species of prehistoric elephant that ranged throughout Pleistocene Asia, from India (where it was first discovered) to Japan, where the indigenous Neolithic cultures hunted that particular subspecies for food. It is a descendant of the Straight-tusked Elephant. Some authorities regard it to be a subspecies of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, the Straight-tusked Elephant, due to extreme similarities of the tusks. Their skull structure was also different from that of a modern elephant. Several studies have attempted to estimate the size of the Asian straight-tusked elephants, as well as other prehistoric proboscideans, usually using comparisons of thigh bone length and knowledge of relative growth rates to estimate the size of incomplete skeletons. One partial skeleton found in India in 1905 had thigh bones that likely measured 160 centimetres (5.2 ft) when complete, suggesting a total shoulder height of 4.3 metres (14 ft) and weight of 14 tonnes (14 long tons; 15 short tons) for this individual elephant. Two partial thigh bones were found in the 19th century and would have measured 155 cm (5.1 ft) when complete. A fragment from the same locality was said to be almost a quarter larger; volumetric analysis then yields a size estimate of 5 metres (16 ft) tall at the shoulder and 22 tonnes (24 short tons) in weight. This makes P. namadicus the largest land mammal of all time, surpassing the largest indricotheres and up to twice the size of the well-known dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii.
Daspletosaurus torosus (pack of 8)
While very large by the standard of modern predators, Daspletosaurus was not the largest tyrannosaurid. Adults could reach a length of 8–9 meters (26–30 ft) from snout to tail. Mass estimates have centered on 2.5 t (2.5 long tons; 2.8 short tons), but have ranged between 1.8 and 3.8 t (1.8 and 3.7 long tons; 2.0 and 4.2 short tons). Daspletosaurus had a massive skull that could reach more than 1 meter (3.3 ft) in length. The bones were heavily constructed and some, including the nasal bones on top of the snout, were fused for strength. Large fenestrae (openings) in the skull reduced its weight. An adult Daspletosaurus was armed with about six dozen teeth that were very long but oval in cross section rather than blade-like. Unlike its other teeth, those in the premaxilla at the end of the upper jaw had a D-shaped cross section, an example of heterodonty always seen in tyrannosaurids. Unique skull features included the rough outer surface of the maxilla (upper jaw bone) and the pronounced crests around the eyes on the lacrimal, postorbital, and jugal bones. The orbit (eye socket) was a tall oval, somewhere in between the circular shape seen in Gorgosaurus and the 'keyhole' shape of Tyrannosaurus.
Credit to Wikipedia