Re: [dinosaur] Tallest known sauropod

["John D'Angelo" <dangelojohne@gmail.com>]

The incomplete paratype tooth of Asiatosaurus is apparently larger than the teeth of Giraffatitan (crown height >74 mm in Asiatosaurus vs. 60 mm in Giraffatitan), so I assume that Molina-PÃrez and Larramendi got their estimate by scaling from the tooth size and assuming it had similar proportions to other known titanosauriforms. I doubt we can accurately estimate the size of a sauropod based on teeth alone, though. I also wouldn't go so far as to say something is "by far the strongest candidate" based on extrapolation from a single vertebra. The matter of the tallest dinosaur also depends on how it's being measured. What assumptions are being made about neck posture and range of motion? Does maximum height attained while rearing count?

On Thu, Oct 8, 2020 at 12:31 PM Mike Taylor <sauropoda@gmail.com> wrote:

Asiatosaurus is a very strange choice for Tallest Dinosaur. It's essentially unknown, and I don't think the name is generally considered valid at all.

To my mind, BY FAR the strongest candidate for the title of Tallest Dinosaur Barosaurus, based on the giant BYU specimen formerly referred to Supersaurus. To have your mind blown, see https://svpow.com/2016/09/16/how-horrifying-was-the-neck-of-barosaurus/

-- Mike.

On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 at 18:07, Poekilopleuron <dinosaurtom2015@seznam.cz> wrote:

Good day, in the new book by Molina-PÃrez and Larramendi on sauropodomorph dinosaurs, the authors suggest that the genus _Asiatosaurus_ was the tallest known dinosaur, reaching the height of 17.5 meters (more than _Sauroposeidon proteles_ and others). Is this based on teeth only, or did they estimate this value based on other skeletal elements of a Chinese species (I donÂt own this book yet)? Thank you in advance! Tom