Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: How large was the Pteranodon?
Pteranodon (; from Greek πτερόν ( pteron, "wing") and ἀνόδων (anodon, "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with wingspans over 8 meters (26 feet). They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. More fossil specimens of "Pteranodon" have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway.
"Pteranodon" was the first pterosaur found outside of Europe. Its fossils first were found by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1870, in the Late Cretaceous Smoky Hill Chalk deposits of western Kansas. These chalk beds were deposited at the bottom of what was once the Western Interior Seaway, a large shallow sea over what now is the midsection of the North American continent. These first specimens, YPM 1160 and YPM 1161, consisted of partial wing bones, as well as a tooth from the prehistoric fish "Xiphactinus", which Marsh mistakenly believed to belong to this new pterosaur (all known pterosaurs up to that point had teeth). In 1871, Marsh named the find ""Pterodactylus oweni"", assigning it to the well-known (but much smaller) European genus "Pterodactylus". Marsh also collected more wing bones of the large pterosaur in 1871. Realizing that the name he had chosen had already been used for Harry Seeley's European pterosaur species "Pterodactylus oweni" in 1864, Marsh re-named his giant North American pterosaur Pterodactylus occidentalis, meaning "Western wing finger," in his 1872 description of the new specimen. He also named two additional species, based on size differences: Pterodactylus ingens (the largest specimen so far), and Pterodactylus velox (the smallest).
The Permian era "Cotylorhynchus", from what is now the southern United States, probably was the largest of all synapsids (most of which became extinct 250 million years ago), at and 2 tonnes. The largest carnivorous synapsid was "Anteosaurus" from what is now South Africa during Middle Permian era. "Anteosaurus" was long, and weighed about .The largest living reptile, a representative of the order Crocodilia, is the saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus") of Southern Asia and Australia, with adult males being typically long. The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile on record was long, and weighed about . Unconfirmed reports of much larger crocodiles exist, but examinations of incomplete remains have never suggested a length greater than . Also, a living specimen estimated at and has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records. However, due to the difficulty of trapping and measuring a very large living crocodile, the accuracy of these dimensions has yet to be verified. A specimen named Lolong caught alive in the Philippines in 2011 (died February 2013) was found to have measured in length.
The fact that females appear to have outnumbered males two to one suggests that, as with modern animals with size-related sexual dimorphism, such as sea lions and other pinnipeds, "Pteranodon" might have been polygynous, with a few males competing for association with groups consisting of large numbers of females. Similar to modern pinnipeds, "Pteranodon" may have competed to establish territory on rocky, offshore rookeries, with the largest, and largest-crested, males gaining the most territory and having more success mating with females. The crests of male "Pteranodon" would not have been used in competition, but rather as "visual dominance-rank symbols", with display rituals taking the place of physical competition with other males. If this hypothesis is correct, it also is likely that male "Pteranodon" played little to no part in rearing the young; such a behavior is not found in the males of modern polygynous animals who father many offspring at the same time.
In 1910, Eaton became the first scientist to publish a more detailed description of the entire "Pteranodon" skeleton, as it was known at the time. He used his findings to revise the classification of the genus once again based on a better understanding of the differences in pteranodont anatomy. Eaton conducted experiments using clay models of bones to help determine the effects of crushing and flattening on the shapes of the arm bones Williston had used in his own classification. Eaton found that most of the differences in bone shapes could be easily explained by the pressures of fossilization, and concluded that no "Pteranodon" skeletons had any significant differences from each other besides their size. Therefore, Eaton was left to decide his classification scheme based on differences in the skulls alone, which he assigned to species just as Marsh did, by their size. In the end, Eaton recognized only three valid species: "P. occidentalis", "P. ingens", and "P. longiceps".
The wing shape of "Pteranodon" suggests that it would have flown rather like a modern-day albatross. This is based on the fact that "Pteranodon" had a high aspect ratio (wingspan to chord length) similar to that of the albatross — 9:1 for "Pteranodon", compared to 8:1 for an albatross. Albatrosses spend long stretches of time at sea fishing, and use a flight pattern called "dynamic soaring" which exploits the vertical gradient of wind speed near the ocean surface to travel long distances without flapping, and without the aid of thermals (which do not occur over the open ocean the same way they do over land). While most of a "Pteranodon" flight would have depended on soaring, like long-winged seabirds, it probably required an occasional active, rapid burst of flapping, and studies of "Pteranodon" wing loading (the strength of the wings vs. the weight of the body) indicate that they were capable of substantial flapping flight, contrary to some earlier suggestions that they were so big they could only glide.
"Brontosaurus" was a large, long-necked quadrupedal animal with a long, whip-like tail, and forelimbs that were slightly shorter than its hindlimbs. The largest species, "B. excelsus", weighed up to and measured up to long from head to tail. For comparison, the current largest land animal, the average male African bush elephant is 3.20 m (10.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and has a body mass of 6,000 kg (13,228 lb) or 6.6 short tons.
The largest land mammal extant today is the African bush elephant. The largest extinct land mammal known was long considered to be "Paraceratherium orgosensis", a rhinoceros relative thought to have stood up to tall, measured over long and may have weighed about 17 tonnes. In 2015, a study suggested that one example of the proboscidean "Palaeoloxodon namadicus" may have been the largest land mammal ever, based on extensive research of fragmentary leg bone fossils from one individual, with a maximum estimated size of 22 tonnes.
The "World's Largest Dinosaur" is the name of a model "Tyrannosaurus rex" located in the town of Drumheller in the Canadian province of Alberta. Built of fiberglass and steel, has a height of and a length of , considerably larger than the largest known specimens of the actual dinosaur which reached up to in length, and was up to tall at the hips. The dinosaur was built while former mayor Phil Bryant was in his term.
"Pararhabdodon" most likely was a bipedal-quadrupedal herbivore, in the neighborhood of 6 m (19.7 ft) long, fully grown. The dorsal and sacral neural spines were elongate, so the animal would have had a tall back, like other hadrosaurids. Because the material is sparse, more specific conclusions cannot be reached.
The largest living reptile, a representative of the order Crocodilia, is the saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus") of Southern Asia and Australia, with adult males being typically long. The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile on record was long, and weighed about . Unconfirmed reports of much larger crocodiles exist, but examinations of incomplete remains have never suggested a length greater than . A living specimen estimated at and has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records, but due to the difficulty of trapping and measuring a very large living crocodile, the accuracy of these dimensions has yet to be verified. A specimen caught alive in the Philippines in 2011 (now dead) was found to have measured in length.
Though similar to "Palaeopropithecus", "Archaeoindris" was significantly larger and more robust. "Archaeoindris" was one of the largest primates to ever evolve, and was the largest-known strepsirrhine primate, weighing an estimated . It was roughly the size of an adult male gorilla, which was first noted by Lamberton.
The press release in 1999 immediately garnered international media attention, which led to many (inaccurate) news reports of "the largest dinosaur ever!". While "Sauroposeidon" likely represents the tallest known dinosaur taxon, it does not hold records for either the longest or most massive. "Patagotitan" or "Argentinosaurus" make better candidates for the title "World's Largest Dinosaur" (presuming to ignore, as is conventional, "Amphicoelias"), though incomplete fossil evidence makes exact rankings impossible.
The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile on record drowned in a fishing net in Papua New Guinea in 1979, its dried skin plus head measured long and it was estimated to have been when accounting for shrinkage and a missing tail tip. However, according to evidence, in the form of skulls coming from some of the largest crocodiles ever shot, the maximum possible size attained by the largest members of this species is considered to be . A governmental study from Australia accepts that the very largest members of the species are likely to measure in length and weigh . Furthermore, a research paper on the morphology and physiology of crocodilians by the same organisation estimates that saltwater crocodiles reaching sizes of would weigh around . Due to extensive poaching during the 20th century, such individuals are extremely rare today in most areas, as it takes a long time for the crocodiles to attain those sizes. Also, a possible earlier presence of particular genes may have led to such large-sized saltwater crocodiles, genes that were ultimately lost from the overall gene pool due to extensive hide and trophy hunting in the past. However, with recent restoration of saltwater crocodile habitat and reduced poaching, the number of large crocodiles is increasing, especially in Odisha. This species is the only extant crocodilian to regularly reach or exceed . A large male from Philippines, named Lolong, was the largest saltwater crocodile ever caught and placed in captivity. He was 20 ft 3 in (6.17 m), and weighed 2,370 lbs (1,075 kg). Believed to have eaten two villagers, Lolong was captured on 3 September 2011, and died in captivity on 10 February 2013.
Dimetrodon ( or , meaning "two measures of teeth") is an extinct genus of synapsids that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Ma). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontidae. The most prominent feature of "Dimetrodon" is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It walked on four legs and had a tall, curved skull with large teeth of different sizes set along the jaws. Most fossils have been found in the southwestern United States, the majority coming from a geological deposit called the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma. More recently, fossils have been found in Germany. Over a dozen species have been named since the genus was first described in 1878.
Lolong (died 10 February 2013) was the largest crocodile in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus") measured at , and weighed , making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail.
The team discovered the remains of the largest dinosaur to walk in the southern parts of Africa , namely a 190-million-year-old fossilised egg of a Massospondylus dinosaur. This dinosaur lived in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic, a period from about 230-million years ago to about 185-million years ago. The Massospondylus wandered about in great herds, migrating back and forth between what would millions of years later become Southern Africa and Russia, when the southern super-continent, Gondwana, was still intact. The rocks that were laid down during this period are called the Stormberg Group of rocks, and it is in rocks of the Stormberg Group that the fossils of Massospondylus and other dinosaurs were found. Massospondylus dinosaurs hatched from eggs not much larger than a hen’s egg, but grew into big creatures 5 to 6 metres long. They had large bodies, long necks and small heads, and long tails.
This minor planet was named after Brontosaurus, a gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs, which walked on all four legs and lived in the Upper Jurassic. Adult individuals measured up to 20 meters and had a weight of up to 20 tons. Many Fossils have been found in the United States. Brontosaurus is one of the best-known dinosaurs. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 November 2002 ().
The Bhitarkanika Mangroves are home to 55 of India's 58 known mangrove species. The mangroves harbor one of India's largest populations of saltwater crocodiles, and Gahirmatha Beach, which separates the mangroves from the Bay of Bengal, is the world's most important nesting beach for olive ridley sea turtles. Some wildlife experts are of the opinion that the largest saltwater crocodile ever was in Bhitarkanika, measuring an estimated 23 feet (7.0 m) which could be traced from the skull preserved by the Kanika Royal Family. The crocodile was shot near Dhamara in 1926, and later its skull was preserved by the then Kanika King. Crocodile experts estimate the animal to have been between 20 feet (6.1 m) and 23 feet (7.0 m) long, as the size of the skull was measured one ninth of the total length of the body. In 2006 the park was recognized by the "Guinness Book of World Records" for the largest white crocodile living in captivity also measuring 23 feet. The wetland also hosts a large and diverse population of resident and migratory birds. Rhesus monkey, leopard cat, fishing cat, jungle cat, small Indian civet cat, toddy cat, common mongoose, jackal, striped hyena, Indian fox, wild pig, Indian porcupine, mole rat, long tailed tree mouse, spotted deer, sambar, common otter, smooth Indian otter are also found here.
An intertwined subject to the taxonomy which has been noted and studied has been the size and ontogeny (growth and development) of the individuals represented. Individuals of multiple sizes are represented in the sample, but overall they represent smaller animals than the hadrosaurs known from Asian and North American species. Despite this, a small number of individuals falling into the adult size ranges of other hadrosaurs are indicated by isolated elements, such as femurs. Multiple hypotheses have been put forward to explain this: firstly, juvenile individuals may have been the dominant life stage living in the area where the bonebed was preserved, due to ecological differences over lifespan; secondly, it's possible they represent dwarfed animals dominating the environment relative to rare a larger species; lastly, it's possible the large individuals were comparative giants of a single dwarfed species, near the extreme end of individual variation in the species. The 2015 analysis of hadrosaur dentaries from the Pyrenees found two morphotypes to be present in the bonebed, so they favored the second hypothesis. The more in-depth 2018 study used histological analysis in order to assess the age of different individuals, using tibiae. Of the several tibiae tested, four (between long) were identified as juveniles between the ages of one and three based on comparisons to tissue patterns in other ornithopods, and three more were found to likely be juveniles based on similarities to the former four. The eighth ( long) and ninth ( long) were found to belong to an early adult and subadult individual respectively. A femur was found to share subadult growth features with the subadult tibia. Three tibiae (, , and around respectively) were found to belong to adult individuals. Growth trajectory was found to be consistent between the tibiae, supporting the idea that the site represents a large variety of age stages of a single species.
"Sinosauropteryx" was a small bipedal theropod, noted for its short arms, large first finger (thumbs), and long tail. The taxon includes some of the smallest known adult non-avian theropod specimens, with the holotype specimen measuring only in length, including the tail. However, this individual was relatively young. The longest known specimen reaches up to in length, with an estimated weight of .
Adult "Pteranodon" specimens from the two major species can be divided into two distinct size classes. The smaller class of specimens have small, rounded head crests and very wide pelvic canals, even wider than those of the much larger size class. The size of the pelvic canal probably allowed the laying of eggs, indicating that these smaller adults are females. The larger size class, representing male individuals, have narrow hips and very large crests, which were probably for display.
Adult male "Pteranodon" were among the largest pterosaurs, and were the largest flying animals known until the late 20th century, when the giant azhdarchid pterosaurs were discovered. The wingspan of an average adult male "Pteranodon" was . Adult females were much smaller, averaging in wingspan. The largest specimen of "Pteranodon longiceps" from the Niobrara Formation measured from wingtip to wingtip. An even larger specimen is known from the Pierre Shale Formation, with a wingspan of , though this specimen may belong to the distinct genus and species "Geosternbergia maysei". While most specimens are found crushed, enough fossils exist to put together a detailed description of the animal.
"Pteranodon" was a large Pterosaur, notable for its skull crest. These may have been used as mating displays, or it might have acted as a rudder, or perhaps both; also, it may have acted as a counterweight to the large beak. Despite its huge size, at "Pteranodon" is not the biggest of the pterosaurs; creatures such as "Quetzalcoatlus" could reach .
The "Pteranodon" sequence took much time to create, primarily because of how hard it would be to make a model pterosaur pick up a real woman. However the solution was simple: Instead of using a large crane on location, the crew had Raquel Welch fall behind a rock, and then the model "Pteranodon" swoops down and flies off with a model of Welch, which was substituted during the single second in which she is behind the rock and not visible. Later, when the creature takes her to its nest, the nest was matted into the scene atop a real rock face by double printing the film. For the "Pteranodon" and "Rhamphorhynchus" fight scene, when she is dropped into the water, Harryhausen and the crew released her from two dummy rubber "Pteranodon" claws and while the real Welch fell onto a mattress, the film cut to a long shot of the Welch model suspended on wires.