About Timothy Expertise I can answer all kinds of questions about the history of life on earth from single-celled organisms to plants to vertebrates, and a few about the earths geologic history. I am particularly knowledgeable about vertebrate paleontology (dinosaurs, reptiles, fish and mammals), archaeology and ancient human history. I also know more than I really should about Spider-Man and Ford Mustangs.
Experience I am from western Nebraska, which is a world-class site for mammalian fossils. I studied paleontology, archaeology and history at the University of Nebraska. While I did not become a professional paleontologist or archaeologist in the end I still study it extensively and have volunteered at several digs here in Nebraska.
Question hi-I would like to ask some questions
As i have some dinosaur knowledge i would just like confirmation on some facts i read from books internet ect
It says now that ultrasaurus is classed as brachiosaurus this would mean brachiosaurs as a whole species are the largest and tallest of all dinosaurs except-the titanosaurs-sauroposiedon which is the tallest of all dinosaurs was also as tall as the largest brachiosaurus which had a height of 6.7m at the shoulder -
How tall is the berlin museum brachiosaurus skeleton?
many say 12m -13.5-14m ?
since there is no other question section that covers dinosaur toys i will ask anyway.
where can you find accurate museum models ?
The jurassic park dinosaurs collection has a bull t-rex and this may state that bull t-rexes were the largest of all tyrannosaurs -maybe they are the heavily built specimens that are discovered?
Whay is triceratops always put at 9m in every fact file if none of the skeletons in the museums are this length?
The largest is 26ft science musuem ministota -skull2.2m
But do you know the details of the largest skeletons of triceratops?
t.maximus id based on some fragments but they are clearly ceratopsian and 25% larger than the largest triceratops bones so would it be possible that the largest have yer to be found?
I realise that recent finds show the largest torosaurus skull 9ftlong 7ft wide and the longer 11ft pentaceratops take the records for the largest skull of any land animal but how large is the largest triceratops skull?
I read thst is in the byu museum and is about 9ft .
The giant footprints which were discovered are clearly ceratopsian and are very wide 2ft or so but are poorly documented.
Now i realise that you are a volunteer but i would like to know all about the largest tricertops skulls and brachiosaurus bones.thanks
The information i mentioned is from reliable sources in collabration with museums and books by paleotologists and scientific advisors and experts and the links are based on real bones and displays from museum collections.
thanks
Answer Jack-
Thanks for the interesting questions. Sorry about the lateness of this reply. I have been having ISP issues and didn't receive your question in my normal email inbox. So, looks like you have a lot of questions here. I will try to answer them in the order posed.
Berlin Humboldt Brachiosaur: The information I have puts the Humboldt Brachiosaurus brancai is 23 meters in length and has his head 13 meters above the ground. Interestingly, the Humboldt Brachiosaur (the tallest mounted skeleton in the world) is considered by some scientists to be of the genus Giraffatitan, since the holotype specimen of Brachiosaurus is of the altithorax species.
Museum Models: The best ones in my opinion are the Favorite Collection by Favorite Co. They are available online at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Studies in Hill City, SD. If you can't make the drive, here is their websites online store page. Check under the fossil art and collectibles link.
The Carnegie Collection has some nice fleshed out models as well, and are easy to come by. I think you can get them at places like Target nowadays. Here is a link with some pics:
Bull T-rexes: We have no accurate way of determining the sex of T-rexes. Sexual dimorphism isn't apparent, so we don't know if the bulls or cows were larger. The largest T-rex skull belongs to a animal that probably was about 13 meters long an weighed between 4-7 metric tons, depending on who you ask. (we don't have exact measurements of mass since we only have the skeleton) And we have no idea if that giant is a boy or girl.
Triceratops: Triceratops horridus was about 8-9 meters in length. Some were larger, some were smaller (just like humans. Human males are 5'10" tall and weigh 170 lbs. That doesn't describe a race horse jockey or an NFL lineman though) There could be a number of reasons that the ones you have seen weren't that length. Perhaps they had a smaller specimen, I can't say for sure. But from the bits and pedicels, and the complete skeletons, we can put the average size of a trike at 8-9 meters long.
Triceratops horridus and T. prorsus are the only 2 legitimate trike species at this time. maximus, brevicornus, alticornus, ingens, hatcheri, etc... (there are a dozen or more) are doubtful species that are too fragmentary or poor to be distinguished from the established species. T. maximus was likely just a large T.horridus. The largest Triceratops skull that I know of is almost ten feet long and at Brighamn Young University (not on display). This is the "T.maximus" animal.
The largest Brachiosaur bones that I know are the Ultrasauros (with an "o" not a "u") bones which you mentioned early in your questions.
I hope I answered all your questions!
