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Dreadnoughtus

Say it: dred-NAW-tus
Name means: “fears nothing”1
Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Dreadnoughtus was a giant, long-necked plant eater that stomped through ancient Argentina. It was one of the biggest land animals ever found, and its name means 'fears nothing' because it was so huge and tough.1

Lived
84 to 72 million years ago6
Late Cretaceous
Fossils found in
Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina1
Food
Plants2
Length
26 m1
estimated for the immature type specimen
Weight
48 tonnes to 49 tonnes1
Height
6 m1
at the shoulders

When did it live?

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

Dreadnoughtus about 26 m longA car about 4.5 mAn elephant, the biggest land animal today about 6.5 mA house about 10 mA swimming pool about 25 m

How tall was it?

🚪A doorabout 2 m🦒A giraffeabout 5.5 mDreadnoughtusabout 6 m tallA house with 2 floorsabout 7 m

at the shoulders

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 8 elephants
as long as 6 cars parked in a rowas long as 140 bananas end to endas heavy as 9800 watermelonsas tall as 3 doors stacked up

How big was Dreadnoughtus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Dreadnoughtus is known from more complete skeletons than any other gigantic titanosaur, with about 70% of the bones behind the skull preserved.13

2

Its neck was super long, about 11.3 metres (37 feet), which is almost half of its total body length.1

3

The type specimen was still growing when it died, so adults might have been even bigger.1

4

Its bones were buried quickly in a flood, which is why they are so well preserved.1

5

Small theropod teeth found with the bones suggest scavengers, maybe megaraptorans, nibbled on the carcass.1

6

Dreadnoughtus lived about 76 to 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous.1

AI-madeAI-made picture of Dreadnoughtus
An AI-made picture of how Dreadnoughtus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.
you asked

Most asked questions about Dreadnoughtus

?How big was Dreadnoughtus?

About 26 metres long and weighed around 48 to 49 metric tons, though some estimates range higher or lower.14

?What did Dreadnoughtus eat?

It was a plant-eater (herbivore). Its long neck helped it reach lots of different plants without moving much.51

?Was Dreadnoughtus bigger than T. rex?

Yes, Dreadnoughtus was much bigger. It was about 26 metres long and weighed up to 49 metric tons, while T. rex was about 12 metres long and weighed around 8 metric tons.15

?Did Dreadnoughtus have any predators?

Healthy adults were probably too big to be attacked, but small theropod teeth found with the bones suggest scavengers like megaraptorans nibbled on the carcass.15

?How fast could Dreadnoughtus run?

Nobody knows for sure, but because it was so huge and walked on four legs, it probably moved slowly, like a modern elephant.5

?Where was Dreadnoughtus found?

In Patagonia, Argentina, in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation of Santa Cruz Province.14

?When did Dreadnoughtus live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 76 to 70 million years ago.15

?Why is it called Dreadnoughtus?

Its name means 'fears nothing' because its huge size made it hard for predators to attack. It also honors the dreadnought battleships.15

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Dreadnoughtus was the biggest dinosaur ever.

Truth: It was one of the largest known from fairly complete remains, but other titanosaurs like Argentinosaurus might have been heavier, though they are known from much less complete fossils.1

For dino experts

Scientific name
Dreadnoughtus
Named by
Lacovara et al. 20146
Group
Long-necks
Family / clade
Eutitanosauria6
Classification
Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria6
Age of the rocks
84 to 72 million years (Campanian)6
Rock formations
Cerro Fortaleza6
Countries
Argentina6
Fossil records
2 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery
Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara discovered Dreadnoughtus in 2005 in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in Argentina. It took four summers to dig out the huge bones, using mules and ropes to move them.1
Still debated
Scientists still debate exactly where Dreadnoughtus fits in the titanosaur family tree, because it has a mix of advanced and primitive features.1

Where the facts come from

  1. Dreadnoughtus (en.wikipedia.org)
  2. PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
  3. A Gigantic, Exceptionally Complete Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from Southern Patagonia, Argentina (exa.ai)
  4. A Gigantic, Exceptionally Complete Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from Southern Patagonia, Argentina | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
  5. Dreadnoughtus (nhm.ac.uk)
  6. Dreadnoughtus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Long-necks

BrachiosaurusLong-necksDiplodocusLong-necksBrontosaurusLong-necksArgentinosaurusLong-necksCamarasaurusLong-necksMorosaurusLong-necks

Also from the same time: Late Cretaceous

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