Humanity has always been tormented by the eternal question - what are the largest animals on Earth? Before the era of the Greats geographical discoveries, when people began to go out into the open sea with enviable regularity, either an elephant or a hippopotamus were considered such.
When an old man began to actively explore the ocean - he met cetaceans, which were clearly superior to any land animal. And, in the end, when paleontology began to develop, people learned that in ancient times there were animals on Earth of such a size that they could easily “put in their belts” both a whale and a hippopotamus.
The largest animal in the world
The largest animal in the history of the Earth
Amphicelia is a herbivorous dinosaur that lived in Africa 145-160 million years ago. It moved on four legs, had a height of up to 8 meters, and a length from head to tail of up to 45 meters. Approximate weight – 180 tons. It fed on deciduous treetops during the Jurassic period.
The largest animal of our time
The largest sea animal
Largest animal weight
All three positions are occupied by the Blue Whale. As you can see, it is the whale that is the very, very, very... It is the largest animal and mammal over the last 90 million years. Lives in all known oceans except the northern ones. It got its name from the characteristic blue tint on its back. It can weigh up to 170 tons and reach a length of 30 meters. It feeds on plankton and tiny marine organisms.
The largest land animal and the animal with the largest ears
The African elephant is a large land herbivore of modern times. The largest specimen was registered in Angola in 1990 - height was 2 meters, weight - 13 tons. Typically, elephants of this species have a uniform gray color and live in the African savannah, where they feed on the local bushes.
As you probably already understood, the African elephant is also the animal with the largest ears. If we take the ears as a circle, the radius will be approximately 40 cm.
The biggest dangerous animal
The giant anaconda lives in the jungles of South America and can reach a weight of 300 kg and a length of 7 meters. It feeds on a wide variety of jungle “residents” - from monkeys to jaguars. The color varies from dark gray to mottled green.
Largest pet
Asian elephant - used in agriculture, V tourism business on the Indian Peninsula and South Asia. He's a little smaller in size its African counterpart is about 1.5 meters tall and weighs up to 5 tons. It feeds on reed plants.
The largest cat animal
African lion - lives on the African continent. Lives in “prides”: one male plus several females. Lions can reach up to 2.5 meters in length (including tail), and weigh up to 250 kg. It feeds exclusively on other mammals, mainly artiodactyls (antelope). It has a thick mane of yellow-brown color.
Largest flying animal
African great bustard - males reach a length of up to 1.2 m, weight can be 20 kg. It feeds on snakes and small rodents. The body is gray in color and the wings are brown.
The biggest small animals
The capybara is the largest living rodent. The body has a length of up to 1.35 m, and the weight reaches more than 60 kg. It feeds on grain crops. Lives in the northern part South America.
The highest speed of an animal
Cheetah - lives on the African continent. It has a long elongated body and a long tail, which helps to “steer” when running. The highest recorded speed is 60 km/h. However, such a race lasts relatively short, no more than a minute. The color has yellow color, with small black spots. An exceptional predator, hunts small artiodactyls (roe deer).
Animals not included in the Top 10 that we can’t help but talk about:
The animal with the biggest eyes
The Philippine tarsier is the animal with the largest eyes in terms of the ratio of eyeballs to total body weight. Body length reaches 10 cm, weight - 134 grams. The eyes can rotate 360 degrees. Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. It has a dark brown color and feeds on insects. Lives in the Philippine Islands.
Animal with the biggest brain
Sperm whale - its brain weighs about 8 kg. Body length - up to 20 m, weight - 39 tons. Lives in everyone warm oceans, feeds on cephalopods ( giant squid- main enemy). The skin of the sperm whale is the color of prunes.
Animal with the biggest teeth
Narwhal is an amazing inhabitant of the northern seas. The only representative of its species. Their large horn is a strongly grown incisor tooth from the upper jaw row. The length of the horn-tooth reaches up to 3 m. The body has a length of 4.5 m, weight can reach 900 kg. It feeds on fish and crustaceans.
The longest living animals
Greenland shark - can live up to 400 years. Reaches a length of up to 3 m, weight can be up to 1000 kg. Feeds on fish. The skin has a characteristic dark blue tint. Lives in the exceptionally cold waters around the island of Greenland.
The animal with the biggest horns
Watussi bull - the length of its horns can reach 2.5 meters. Lives on the African continent. Body length - 170 cm, weight - 800 kg. It feeds mainly on rough food, for example, unrefined cereals. The color is dark brown.
Largest animal statue
Statue of the Cat of Raval - installed in Barcelona, Spain. It has no special connection to historical events; it is the exclusive fantasy of the sculptor Fernando Botero. Dimensions: height - 2.5 m, length - 7 m, weight - 2 tons. This cat monument is made of metal, painted brown with a golden tint.
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There were times when the kings of nature were creatures much larger than us - real prehistoric giants! And one of them still lives on Earth, can you imagine?
We are in website We can’t choose what we would like more - ride a Paraceratherium or fly a Quetzalcoatlus.
Amphicelia
Amphicelia is the largest animal that has ever existed on Earth. These herbivorous dinosaurs lived 145–161 million years ago. One amphicelia vertebra was 2.5 meters long.
Titanoboa
Titanoboa is a close relative of the boa constrictor. But much, much more. Titanoboa lived 58–61 million years ago and reached 13 meters in length. Modern reticulated python can grow to a maximum of 7.5 meters.
Megalodon
Megalodons were apex predators that lived 3–28 million years ago. The megalodon tooth alone barely fits in the hands of an adult. Its length could reach 20 meters, and its weight reached 47 tons. The megalodon's bite force was 10 tons!
Argentavis
Argentavis lived 5–8 million years ago. This is one of the most big birds throughout the history of the Earth. Its wingspan reached almost 7 meters, and it ate rodents.
Bighorn deer
Big-horned (Irish) deer appeared a couple of million years ago. When forests began to encroach on open spaces, big-horned deer became extinct - with their huge (more than 5 meters in span) antlers, they simply could not move among the dense branches.
Giant short-faced bear
The giant short-faced bear (bulldog bear), when erect, reached a height of 3.5–4.5 meters and had incredibly powerful jaws. He was one of the largest carnivorous mammals who lived on Earth in glacial period. Males were significantly larger than females and could reach a weight of 1.5 tons. 14 thousand years ago, bulldog bears became extinct.
Gigantopithecus
Gigantopithecus is the largest apes of all times. They lived about 1 million years ago. It is difficult to draw clear conclusions from the rare remains, but scientists believe that Gigantopithecus was 3–4 meters tall, weighed 300–550 kg and ate mainly bamboo.
Paraceratherium
Paraceratherium (indricotherium) lived 20–30 million years ago. They are relatives of modern rhinoceroses, but they did not have horns. Paraceratherium is one of the largest land mammals that ever existed. They reached 5 meters in height and weighed up to 20 tons. Despite their impressive appearance, they were not predators and fed on leaves and tree branches.
Dimensions
The largest mammal
Blue whale The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest mammal. The weight of an adult female is on average 120 tons with a body length of more than 26 m. Newborn cubs reach 6-8 m in length and weigh up to 3 tons.
Largest land mammal
African elephant Male African elephant(Loxodonta africana africana) of medium size reaches 3-4 m at the withers and weighs 4-7 tons. The largest specimen ever recorded was a male shot in Mucusso, Angola, on November 7, 1974; its weight was 12.24 tons.
Heaviest land mammal
Polar bear In 1960 in the Chukchi Sea, east of Kotzebue, pc. Alaska, USA, was shot and killed polar bear, whose weight was almost 900 kg. The length of his body from nose to tail, measured along the line of the enveloping contour, was 3.5 m, and the girth of the body was 1.5 m.
Heaviest mammal
Blue whale A female blue whale weighing 190 tons and 27.6 m long was caught in Antarctic waters on March 20, 1947.
Longest mammal
Blue whale A 33.58m long female blue whale was washed ashore in Grytviken, USA. Georgia, in the South Atlantic.
Tallest mammal
Giraffe(Giraffa camelopardalis) lives in dry and sparse savanna in sub-Saharan Africa. The tallest specimen recorded was a male named George, belonging to the subspecies G. c. tippelskirchi. He was brought to Chester Zoo, England, from Kenya on January 8, 1959. His horns were almost resting on the roof of his 6.1 m high cage when he was 9 years old.
Largest toothed mammal
Sperm whale The mandible of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), 5 m long, on display in the British Museum, belonged to a male whose body length is believed to have reached 25.6 m. The longest accurately measured sperm whale, reaching 20.7 m in length, was caught in the summer of 1950 near the Kuril Islands, in the northwestern part Pacific Ocean.
Smallest mammal
Bat The smallest mammal in the world is the bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai). The habitat of this bat is limited to 21 limestone caves on the Kwai Roi River in Kanchanaburi Ave. in southeastern Thailand. The wingspan of the animal is only 130-145 mm, and the weight barely reaches 1.7-2.0 g.
Smallest flightless mammal
Pygmy shrew The smallest flightless animal is the pygmy shrew (Suncus etruscus). The length of the body including the head is 35-48 mm, the length of the tail is 25-30 mm, and the weight is usually 1.5-2.5 g. Distributed on the coast Mediterranean Sea, as well as in the south of the Cripple Province, South Africa.
Movement speed of mammals
The fastest-footed land mammal
Cheetah(Acinonyx jubatus), an inhabitant of the open spaces of East Africa, Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, is capable of speeds of up to 100 km/h when running on flat terrain at a distance of up to 550 m.
Pronghorn(Antilocapra americana), found in the western United States, southwestern Canada, and parts of northern Mexico, is the fastest running land animal. long distances. There is evidence of pronghorns that ran a distance of 6 km at a speed of 56 km/h, 1.6 km at a speed of 67 km/h and 0.8 km at a speed of 88.5 km/h.
Fastest sea mammal
killer whale In 1958, a killer whale (Orcinus orca) was observed in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and found to be swimming at a speed of 55.5 km/h. There are reports of similar speeds achieved by white-winged porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) over short distances.
The slowest mammal
Three-toed sloth Three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), living in tropical zone South America, moves on the ground at an average speed of 1.8-2.4 m/min, or 0.1-0.16 km/h, but in trees it moves faster - up to 4.6 m/min, or 0. 27 km/h.
Cat family
The largest cat
Tiger The male tiger (Panthers) tigris altaica) body length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail is on average 3.15 m, height at the withers is 99-107 cm, weight is about 265 kg.
The heaviest lion
Panthera leo leo The heaviest lion ever weighed was a lion (Panthera leo leo) shot at South Africa in 1936. He weighed 313 kg.
The smallest cat
Bengal cat The length of the body along with the head of the Bengal cat living in southern regions India and Sri Lanka, reaches 350 - 480 mm. An average-sized female weighs 1.1 kg, and a male 1.5-1.6 kg.
Primates
The largest primate
Gorilla The largest primate is a male living in the lowland forests of Eastern Congo ( former Republic Zaire) gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri). His weight exceeds 163 kg and his height reaches 180 cm.
Tallest primate
Gorilla The tallest height (crest to toe) recorded for a gorilla was a male mountain gorilla shot in eastern Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1938. His height reached 1.95 m.
The heaviest primate
Gorilla The heaviest monkey living in captivity was a male mountain gorilla named N'gagia. His weight reached 310 kg. He died at the San Diego Zoo, California, USA, in 1944.
The smallest primate
Mouse lemur The smallest true primate (excluding tupai, a primitive primate similar in many ways to shrews) is the dwarf mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus), recently discovered in Madagascar. The length of its head and body is 62 mm, the length of its tail is 13.6 cm, and its weight is approximately 306 g.
Pinnipeds
The largest pinniped
Sea Elephant The order Pinnipeds includes harbor seals, eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) and walruses. The largest representative of pinnipeds is the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), living in the area of the subantarctic islands. Its maximum girth is 3.7 m, and its weight is 2000-3500 kg.
The smallest pinniped
Fur seal The smallest pinniped is the Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis). Adult females reach an average length of 1.2 m, and their weight is approximately 27 kg. Males are usually larger, up to 1.5 m in length and weighing up to 64 kg.
The fastest pinniped
Sea lion The highest swimming speed was recorded in the California sea lion (Zaiophus californianus), which swam in one burst at short distance at a speed of 40 km/h.
crabeater The highest speed of movement on land was observed in the crabeater (Lobodon carcinophagus) - 25 km/h.
Rodents
The largest rodent
Capybara The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), which lives in the northern part of South America, has a body length (including head) of 1.0-1.3 m, and a weight that can reach 79 kg. However, one capybara living in captivity became obese, weighing as much as 113 kg.
The smallest rodents
Dwarf hamster The northern dwarf hamster (Baiomystaylori), living in Mexico and the states of Arizona and Texas, USA, as well as the three-toed dwarf jerboa (Salpingotulus michaelis) from Pakistan, have a head and body length of 3.6 cm and a tail length of 7.2 cm .
Hundreds of thousands of species of animals of various sizes live on earth, among which there are real giants, the sizes of which, although inferior to prehistoric monsters, are much larger than the sizes of those animals that we can usually see around.
1. Blue whale
The blue whale, also known as the blue whale, is the largest of known to man animals on land and in the ocean. It belongs to the baleen whales. In the last century, a specimen was caught that weighed 150 tons and was 33 meters in length. The tongue of a blue whale alone can pull 3 tons, which is almost equal in weight to an Indian elephant! The heart of this whale is also large - 600 kg, and it is also the largest pump of any animal. It is comparable in size to a small car.
Blue whales are found not only in tropical waters, but also in the polar seas. But a giant of such impressive size is very harmless, since it feeds small fish, cephalopods and large crustaceans. Blue whales' vision and sense of taste are poor, but their sense of touch and hearing are well developed. Blue whales very smart and peaceful, but this does not save them from destruction due to valuable whalebone and oil. Therefore, there has long been a strict restriction on whale catching in the world, which, however, some countries do not adhere to.
Dinosaurs belonged to vertebrates; they dominated for over 160 million years in all terrestrial ecosystems - on land, in water...
2. African elephant
It belongs to the order Proboscidea. With a height at the withers of 4 m, it weighs up to 7.5 tons. It lives throughout the African territory south of the Sahara. There are two subspecies: a small forest and a large savanna. African savannah elephant Larger than Indian, it is the largest land animal. The African elephant population numbers about 415 thousand and continues to decline.
This intelligent mammal exhibits the ability to provide mutual assistance and assistance. Often one elephant, armed with a stick, uses it to remove a leech that has attached itself to its fellow elephant. But at the same time, it is one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Due to their size, adult elephants do not have natural enemies, but elephant calves can serve as easy prey for crocodiles or lions, as well as hyenas and leopards.
3. White rhinoceros
The white rhinoceros is second in size only to the elephant among land animals: it weighs up to 5 tons, has a length of up to 4.2 m with a height at the withers of 4.2 m. In fact, the white rhinoceros has a dark gray color. He has 2 horns on his head, which the rhinoceros uses during “showdowns” with competitors, but they almost led to his extermination. These herbivorous giants live in the northwest and south of Africa.
4. Southern Elephant Seal
This largest species of seal is among the largest terrestrial mammals. Specimens have been registered weighing 3.5 tons and having a length of 6.5 meters. The elephant seal has a trunk, but it is only about 10 cm long. In total, approximately 750 thousand southern elephant seals live in Antarctica. Their colonies can be found on the islands and archipelagos surrounding Antarctica: Heard, South Georgia, Kerguelen, Macquarie. During hunting, these animals are able to dive for more than 20 minutes, to depths of 400-1000 meters, where they catch fish and squid. There was a record of this animal staying under water for two hours.
5. Hippopotamus
He is also a hippopotamus - an artiodactyl from the suborder Porciniformes. This giant is common in Africa. With a length of 5.4 m, it can weigh up to 4 tons. It lives half in the water, although it also runs very quickly along the shore. The huge mouth of a hippopotamus can open 150 degrees. This is the most aggressive African animal that attacks if it doesn’t like something.
6. Giraffe
This is the tallest and most graceful animal living in the African savannas. A giraffe weighs up to 1.2 tons and is 6 meters tall. Although he is incredible Long neck, but, like other mammals, it has only 7 vertebrae. The giraffe has an exceptionally powerful heart, pumping 60 liters of blood per minute and creating a pressure 3 times higher than ours. A giraffe eats about 30 kg of plant food per day. Each giraffe has a unique skin pattern.
7. Polar bear
A mature polar bear can weigh a ton and be 3 meters long. The largest individuals live in the Bering Sea. Unlike other bears, the white one has an elongated neck and a flat head. It feeds on seals, fish, walruses, and sea hares. Under its thick, water-resistant fur it has a thick layer of fat, thanks to which it feels great in icy water.
Among other fauna, birds stand apart. Many of them are very beautiful, with bright plumage, seeming weightless when they float in the air. But wed...
8. Saltwater crocodile
The largest modern reptiles are saltwater crocodiles, the females of which are small (only 3 m), but the males grow up to 7 m and can weigh a ton. Their habitat: Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, although they sometimes appear in other places as they can travel considerable distances by sea. In shallow water or on the shore, the saltwater crocodile is very dangerous because it quietly sneaks up on its prey. Many people become its victims every year.
9. African ostrich
Now it is the largest bird in the world, weighing up to 150 kg and 2.5 meters tall. The ostrich has long forgotten how to fly, but it runs like a champion in steps of up to 4 meters, developing a serious speed of up to 70 km/h. At the same time, without reducing speed, he can suddenly change the direction of running. Surely many have heard about an ostrich burying its head in the sand, but these are just fairy tales: simply from fatigue after running, it can drop it.
10. Giant anaconda
This member of the boa subfamily is the heaviest and largest in the world. They say that there are anacondas up to 9 meters in length, but such sizes have not been officially recorded; scientists are inclined to more realistic length figures of 6.7 meters. The anaconda has a discreet greenish-gray coloration with darker brown spots. It mainly lives in the South American tropics. This snake is attached to water and is difficult to find far from bodies of water. She is an excellent swimmer and hunts underwater. It feeds on everything it comes across - birds, rodents, turtles, even young caimans. The most large specimens can attack large animals, including humans. Like all boas, the anaconda is not poisonous, but suffocates the victim and swallows it whole.
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