Size and Scale

Part of the The World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibition.

Size is much more than just a matter of appearances. It affects nearly everything an animal does. Big animals eat more than small animals; small animals breathe faster than big animals. Big animals generally live much longer than small ones.

Most small animals produce lots of offspring; most big animals, only a few. In other words, size matters; and nowhere does it matter more than in sauropod dinosaurs, the biggest land animals ever.

Article Size and Strength Are you stronger than an ant? Trick question. Of course you are, in absolute terms. But an ant can lift 100 times its weight, and--unless... Article Size and Cells Animals can vary enormously in size, but they're alike in at least one way. The individual cells that compose all of their bodies--from... Article Size and Destiny A long life means different things to creatures of different sizes and metabolic rates. For a shrew it may be one to three years;... Article The Trend Towards Big The fossil record seems to show that many animal groups get bigger over evolutionary time. Even sauropods started off relatively...

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Meet Mamenchisaurus Inside Mamenchisaurus Outside Mamenchisaurus Digging Up Sauropods The Future About the Exhibition Resources For Educators: The World's Largest Dinosaurs Collaborators