Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dinosaurs were and are a complex and phylogenetically diverse group of archosaurs, or ruling reptiles, with more theropod species alive today than there are of mammals. They include in their storied ranks the most massive animals to ever walk on land, in multiple categories: theropods dwarf any non-dinosaur land carnivores. Ornithopods were the biggest facultative bipeds by an absurd degree, reaching masses comparable to the very biggest fossil elephant relatives, essentially reaching the sizes of semitrucks. And sauropods…oh boy. Describing them as “land whales” isn’t literal, but it’s a fair assessment of their body size.
No other land animals have approached the peaks of dinosauria in terms of body mass. Why? Today we’re going to discuss the biomechanical, ecological, and dietary strategies that dinosaurs used to reach a near-mythical status in the natural history of Planet Earth, using cutting-edge studies to inform our conversation.
Thumbnail art by Julio Lacerda; Mario Lanzas; Somniosus Insomnus; Joschua Knuppe; SkymanPaleo
Join this channel to get access to perks:
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Dinosaurs were and are a complex and phylogenetically diverse group of archosaurs, or ruling reptiles, with more theropod species alive today than there are of mammals. They include in their storied ranks the most massive animals to ever walk on land, in multiple categories: theropods dwarf any non-dinosaur land carnivores. Ornithopods were the biggest facultative bipeds by an absurd degree, reaching masses comparable to the very biggest fossil elephant relatives, essentially reaching the sizes of semitrucks. And sauropods…oh boy. Describing them as “land whales” isn’t literal, but it’s a fair assessment of their body size.
No other land animals have approached the peaks of dinosauria in terms of body mass. Why? Today we’re going to discuss the biomechanical, ecological, and dietary strategies that dinosaurs used to reach a near-mythical status in the natural history of Planet Earth, using cutting-edge studies to inform our conversation.
Thumbnail art by Julio Lacerda; Mario Lanzas; Somniosus Insomnus; Joschua Knuppe; SkymanPaleo
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCmkkmzfWWf4HzrO8SGO3gjw/join
