The biggest dinosaurs were plant eaters. They were bigger
than any living land animals because they had no competitors.
One of the longest, measured from nose to tail tip, was
diplodocus, which lived on the North American continent some
145 million years ago. Diplodocus was nearly three times as long
as the longest land animal living today, the reticulated python.
Long-gone Jurassic giant
A dromedary camel can
be 10 ft long from the end
of its nose to the base of
its tail.
Diplodocus was 75–89 ft
long from nose to tail tip.
Found in Asia, and growing up to 35 ft — almost
half the length of a tennis court—the reticulated
python is the longest snake in the world.
The Nile crocodile
grows up to 16 ft in
length—more than 125
times as long as the
world’s smallest gecko.
Bull African elephants
can be 16 ft long—more
than 23 ft if you include
their trunks and tails.
Zebras can grow up
to 7.5 ft long.
A tiger can be 9 ft long—
about six times as long as
a domestic cat.
The Giant Indian rhinoceros
grows up to 14 ft long—about the
length of a small car.
The smallest frog could sit on your thumbnail—and dozens of
the tiniest spiders could dance on its head. Were it not poisonous,
the same frog would only be a snack for the biggest spider.
Stupendous spider
Writing Across Texts Write a paragraph explaining
your answer.
You have read about the hottest, coldest, highest,
deepest places on Earth and about the biggest and
smallest creatures on Earth. Is it important to keep
track of these facts?
Reading Across Texts
South American bird-
eating spider (actual size):
leg span up to 11 in.
Patu marplesi, a spider found
in Western Samoa, has a leg
span of only 0.017 in.
Cuban arrow-poison frog (actual size): only
0.5 in. long
Compare and Contrast
How do arrow-poison frogs compare to other frogs?
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