![]() It also takes much longer for huge animals to reach their adult size, and when a major anti-predation adaptation is size, it can be dangerous and difficult for the young of such creatures to survive without supervision. ![]() Large animals have a harder time changing their internal body temperature, and are often subject to small parasites that they have difficulty ridding themselves of. Large mammals can’t reach the same sizes as the titan dinosaurs because they push comparatively more energy into carrying and gestating their offspring than reptiles. Large predators can subdue prey with their bulk and stride farther than smaller ones. Large sizes can be particularly advantageous, a large animal will have little in the way of predators, and can control a larger territory with little effort compared to its smaller contemporaries. In the modern world, relative to much of the rest of the animal kingdom, human beings themselves are inordinately large animals, with most primates being only about half of our average size.īut why did so many of the largest animals that have ever lived go extinct? Why do the largest mammals not reach the same sizes as the massive dinosaurs that preceded them? And of every animal to ever live, which one holds the crown for most massive of all? Many adaptations and evolutionary trends dictate size. Indeed, size itself is a relative concept. Many dinosaurs that scientists consider “medium-sized” approach the “giant” sizes we attribute to much of today’s megafauna. ![]() But most of the largest animals that have ever lived are now extinct, known only from the fossil record. From huge rhinos to giant elephants and towering giraffes, human beings are enamored with massive megafauna. One thing that constantly fascinates human beings about animals in general is their size. ![]()
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