The Fauna of Hateg Island

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

All of them? No way in hell. Back in 1984 my neighbor in Indiana found a triceratops in his backyard while was digging for some kind of septic thing. He tried to keep it secret but his kids (and me) ran our mouths at school. The secret got let out and the rest is history. It took them a damn year and a half to carefully exhume this thing.

Your neighbor was/is a lucky man. The closest I came to finding a fossil is finding a rock that kind of looks like it has a fossil in it when I was kid lol.

 

[Iron Nick]

Thanks, like I said I enjoy learning new things and you did a good job of explaining the square-cube law in way that was easy for me to understand. Very interesting stuff.

You're welcome, it was very eye opening and cool for me when i heard it first, so i like to spread that around!

I figured you would like that video, like you said, interesting.
The great thing about YouTube these days is that you can find a channel for just about any subject you are interested in. I don't know about you, but I for one am glad that we are living in the Internet Age.

Oh, i'm happy as well.
Quite insane how much information we can access so easily. Super cool reallyl.

That's a good point, I doubt the larger predators like Tyrannosaurus or Carcharodontosaurus would risk chasing prey up steep mountains. Especially since a human wouldn't be that much of a satisfying meal for such large animals anyway. The Mega Theropods rivaled or might have even surpassed modern day African bush elephants in weight. So it must have taken a lot of food to fill them up. A lot more food than what a single human can provide for them.
But while humans wouldn't be very filling for the larger Theropods, we would make a good meal for a smaller Theropod like Utahraptor or Allosaurus. So lets be glad that they were long extinct long before even our earliest ape-like ancestors evolved.

Yeah, that's what i think as well. A Tyrannosaurus is scary, but you'd know you're safe in some areas - not so much with the two you've mentioned.

Really? Because I always thought that because of the butterfly effect (the idea that if you go back in time and change the past, even in a minor way like accidentally stepping on a butterfly, that it would drastically change the future) that you couldn't risk doing anything that would change the past because of the potential changes to the future. You're saying that's not the case?

From what i know, time doesn't exist seperately anyways - it's just our wording that makes it seem like the past and the future exist in some way; there's only really the present and time is our way of measuring change.
If that wasn't the case and one could time travel and do stuff there, of course you'd be right with that butterfly effect thing.
A german physicist (Harald Lesch) has once said that the only way to travel backwards in time, is to change each particle to what it once was, but that's not possible, maybe not even in a (detailed) theory.

That's true, one of the reasons that we find Dinosaurs so fascinating is that they are these almost "mythical" beasts from a bygone world that is almost nothing like our own. Chances are that if elephants were extinct (and they probably will be in a few decades if jackasses don't stop hunting them for their ivory) we would probably romanticise them the same way we romanticise Dinosaurs like T-Rex and Triceratops.

I agree, and the stuff with the elephants is really sad. I'm a huge fan of them, so it'd hit me even worse than other species going extinct.

Well, I guess I'll have to take their word for it. I've never eaten crocodile, nor do I have any plans to eat crocodile anytime soon.

Same here, haha.

It's hard to say. I doubt it was as intelligent as an orca. (Because orcas are exceptionally intelligent, even by the standards of mammals, and correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't mammals typically more intelligent than reptiles to begin with?) But it was probably fairly intelligent for it's time. All I know is Liopleurodon was around for 11 million years. So it must have been a very successful predator in it's day.

Ay, of course it wasn't as intelligent as an orca! I just think that most reptilians are way more intelligent than fish, aren't they?
Orcas, as most (or possibly all) whales are super intelligent, that is true.
Whales are quite interesting imho.
Seeing a blue whale in person must be insane, they're so unfathomably huge...

Yeah, it's a shame that Plesiosaurs and so many other marine reptile families went extinct. But it's because they went extinct that cetaceans like whales and dolphins were able to emerge and fill the void that the marine reptiles left behind. So I guess it was just meant to be.

What you've just said - wholeheartedly agree, brother.

Same, WWB and the Jurassic Park Franchise is why I love Dinosaurs today.
I would love to see a Walking with Dinosaurs remake with more up to date information in it. It could be amazing if done right.

On a real note: something like that could be financially worthwhile, so maybe we should do something on the internet, like gathering people to convince some film makers (possibly BBC) to do just that.

Basilosaurus is pretty interesting. Not only because it was one of the earliest whales, but also because it was much more predatory and vicious than most modern whales. It was hardly the gentle giant that we consider whales to be today.

Absolutely. Loved it in the WWB franchise.
I just hope it looked more like this:

...instead of this:

Although that look has something interesting about it, hehe.

Indricotherium is now called Paraceratherium. As for why, it's kind of hard to explain. So instead o trying to explain it, I'll just give you a link to this article that I think explains it better than I could.
https://dinoanimals.com/animals/paraceratherium-indricotherium-baluchitherium/

Will check the link out close soonely, just watching something rn.

But that first picture with the girl besides it. F*ck, looks ridiculously gigantic!

I say check them all out. They are all worth watching and they are all a lot of fun to watch. Also if you liked Walking with Dinosaurs you will probably like When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and Planet Dinosaur. Those are pretty good documentaries too.
BTW do you want to take this conversation somewhere else? Because we seem to be the only ones still coming back to this thread. Private message me?

So much time on my hand rn. Will hope to check a few out, always soemthing like this typically takes time with me, haha.

As for continueing in the thread or not: while we're the only one replying regularly, i think there is or there will be a few interested readers between what we discuss here, so i'd be fine with it.

Or... ...we could continue in a thread about our favorite prehistoric animals or something like that. Possibly create one, if there isn't one which fits the bill yet, hehe.

 

[evansusmc2]

Your neighbor was/is a lucky man. The closest I came to finding a fossil is finding a rock that kind of looks like it has a fossil in it when I was kid lol.

Overall yes. But not being able to play in that backyard for a while kinda sucked. Plus the excavation process left a giant divot that is apparent to this day.

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

You're welcome, it was very eye opening and cool for me when i heard it first, so i like to spread that around!

Oh, i'm happy as well.
Quite insane how much information we can access so easily. Super cool reallyl.

Yeah, that's what i think as well. A Tyrannosaurus is scary, but you'd know you're safe in some areas - not so much with the two you've mentioned.

From what i know, time doesn't exist seperately anyways - it's just our wording that makes it seem like the past and the future exist in some way; there's only really the present and time is our way of measuring change.
If that wasn't the case and one could time travel and do stuff there, of course you'd be right with that butterfly effect thing.
A german physicist (Harald Lesch) has once said that the only way to travel backwards in time, is to change each particle to what it once was, but that's not possible, maybe not even in a (detailed) theory.

I agree, and the stuff with the elephants is really sad. I'm a huge fan of them, so it'd hit me even worse than other species going extinct.

Same here, haha.

Ay, of course it wasn't as intelligent as an orca! I just think that most reptilians are way more intelligent than fish, aren't they?
Orcas, as most (or possibly all) whales are super intelligent, that is true.
Whales are quite interesting imho.
Seeing a blue whale in person must be insane, they're so unfathomably huge...

What you've just said - wholeheartedly agree, brother.


On a real note: something like that could be financially worthwhile, so maybe we should do something on the internet, like gathering people to convince some film makers (possibly BBC) to do just that.

Absolutely. Loved it in the WWB franchise.
I just hope it looked more like this:

...instead of this:

Although that look has something interesting about it, hehe.

Will check the link out close soonely, just watching something rn.

But that first picture with the girl besides it. F*ck, looks ridiculously gigantic!

So much time on my hand rn. Will hope to check a few out, always soemthing like this typically takes time with me, haha.

As for continueing in the thread or not: while we're the only one replying regularly, i think there is or there will be a few interested readers between what we discuss here, so i'd be fine with it.

Or... ...we could continue in a thread about our favorite prehistoric animals or something like that. Possibly create one, if there isn't one which fits the bill yet, hehe.

Not only is it fun to learn new things,it's also fun to teach others those new things after you've learned them. It seems we have that in common.
Yeah, another channel that I forgot to mention that you should check out as well is PBS Eons.They make I lot of good videos about Paleontology too.
True, most of the larger predators like Tyrannosaurus probably wouldn't even bother with hunting humans in most cases (unless they were desperate and extremely hungry) but the smaller predators like Utahraptor would definitely hunt us if they had the opportunity.
Oh okay, I was talking more hypothetically. Whether or not time travel is actually possible is irrelevant to my original point.
Yeah, the really sad thing about elephants going extinct is that elephants and giraffes are the only terrestrial animals that rival some of the larger Dinosaurs in size. And in a few decades both elephants and giraffes are probably going to be gone or only alive in captivity unfortunately.
Yes, I believe reptiles are generally more intelligent than fish.
I love whales,they are true gentle giants. And I would love to see a blue whale up close. They are the largest animals to ever live on this planet.


An internet show could be great, in fact it might be better than an actual TV show because it would never have to end and they could just make a new episode with each new discovery.
I love the WWB design for Basilosaurus. It looks so life-like. It looks so much better than...well...that other design.
Also on that note if you think Basilosaurus was cool, then you would probably like Livyatan too.
In case you don't know, Livyatan was a relative of modern day sperm whales, but it was much more predatory and vicious than modern sperm whales.

It lived during the same time as the famous Megalodon, and it might have even competed against Megalodon for food. It was basically the real life Moby Dick.
Yeah, it's amazing to think that a terrestrial mammal could get that large. What's even more amazing is that Paraceratherium was a relative of modern day rhinos. Crazy.
You're right, there still seems to be a few people coming to this thread after all.
Any of those options work for me, but I'm fine with staying on this thread if you are.

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

Overall yes. But not being able to play in that backyard for a while kinda sucked. Plus the excavation process left a giant divot that is apparent to this day.

Maybe, but I'm sure at the end of the day it was worth it considering that your neighbor found something so important to science.

 

[Iron Nick]

Not only is it fun to learn new things,it's also fun to teach others those new things after you've learned them. It seems we have that in common.
Yeah, another channel that I forgot to mention that you should check out as well is PBS Eons.They make I lot of good videos about Paleontology too.

Had them recently in my suggestions, haven't really checked them out though!

True, most of the larger predators like Tyrannosaurus probably wouldn't even bother with hunting humans in most cases (unless they were desperate and extremely hungry) but the smaller predators like Utahraptor would definitely hunt us if they had the opportunity.
Oh okay, I was talking more hypothetically. Whether or not time travel is actually possible is irrelevant to my original point.

Yup and alright, hehe.

Yeah, the really sad thing about elephants going extinct is that elephants and giraffes are the only terrestrial animals that rival some of the larger Dinosaurs in size. And in a few decades both elephants and giraffes are probably going to be gone or only alive in captivity unfortunately.

It's hard to foresee the future, but i'm certainly worried about the animals you've mentioned.
Extinction seems to accelerate, but (luckily) so does environmental awareness in lots of humanity, although there's still sh*tloads to be done.

Yes, I believe reptiles are generally more intelligent than fish.
I love whales,they are true gentle giants. And I would love to see a blue whale up close. They are the largest animals to ever live on this planet.
5 mma4

100% agree. A friend of mine saw humpback whales up close (although from a boat above water) at the coast of australia IIRC, when they were jumping out of the water and she said it was one of the coolest, if not the coolest experiences in her lifetime.

An internet show could be great, in fact it might be better than an actual TV show because it would never have to end and they could just make a new episode with each new discovery.

WOuld love that and agree here as well, although a "finished" documentary series always has something to it, if you ask me!

I love the WWB design for Basilosaurus. It looks so life-like. It looks so much better than...well...that other design.

Haha, agreed! The other design is from the game saurians IIRC, don't play it, but saw the design when i googled Basilosaurus.

Also on that note if you think Basilosaurus was cool, then you would probably like Livyatan too.
In case you don't know, Livyatan was a relative of modern day sperm whales, but it was much more predatory and vicious than modern sperm whales.

It lived during the same time as the famous Megalodon, and it might have even competed against Megalodon for food. It was basically the real life Moby Dick.

Aware of it, super bad ass whale!

Yeah, it's amazing to think that a terrestrial mammal could get that large. What's even more amazing is that Paraceratherium was a relative of modern day rhinos. Crazy.
You're right, there still seems to be a few people coming to this thread after all.
Any of those options work for me, but I'm fine with staying on this thread if you are.

Yeah, that picture had me buffled for real. It's one thing to see the animals in documentaries aside each other, but a completely other thing to see them side by side with humans.
The paracetatherium looks like some species out of a movie, kind of like some gentle giant, so cool.
To think that something has literally dwarved elephants (and not just in height, but in general size!) is mind-boggling. (It looks very rhino-ish by the way as well, so not surprised at the relatedness)

Yeah, why not continue here, it's nice, isn't it?

By the way, i also like the Deinotherium a lot, it looks like an elephant on steroids, it's quite huge (no paracetatherium, but still, lol), the high shoulder-line with the head being further down and the strange arrangement of the teeth (making it's mouth and jaw visible, compared to regular elephants) make it look quite "metal".

Hope you're doing well with everything going on in the world rn btw.

 

[TribalDrumz]

I'm more into Human Origins and Evolution and the different ape/human like species.

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

Had them recently in my suggestions, haven't really checked them out though!

Yup and alright, hehe.

It's hard to foresee the future, but i'm certainly worried about the animals you've mentioned.
Extinction seems to accelerate, but (luckily) so does environmental awareness in lots of humanity, although there's still sh*tloads to be done.

100% agree. A friend of mine saw humpback whales up close (although from a boat above water) at the coast of australia IIRC, when they were jumping out of the water and she said it was one of the coolest, if not the coolest experiences in her lifetime.

WOuld love that and agree here as well, although a "finished" documentary series always has something to it, if you ask me!

Haha, agreed! The other design is from the game saurians IIRC, don't play it, but saw the design when i googled Basilosaurus.

Aware of it, super bad ass whale!

Yeah, that picture had me buffled for real. It's one thing to see the animals in documentaries aside each other, but a completely other thing to see them side by side with humans.
The paracetatherium looks like some species out of a movie, kind of like some gentle giant, so cool.
To think that something has literally dwarved elephants (and not just in height, but in general size!) is mind-boggling. (It looks very rhino-ish by the way as well, so not surprised at the relatedness)

Yeah, why not continue here, it's nice, isn't it?

By the way, i also like the Deinotherium a lot, it looks like an elephant on steroids, it's quite huge (no paracetatherium, but still, lol), the high shoulder-line with the head being further down and the strange arrangement of the teeth (making it's mouth and jaw visible, compared to regular elephants) make it look quite "metal".

Hope you're doing well with everything going on in the world rn btw.

You should, they make good content. I've made a few threads about their videos in fact.

Yeah, there is still hope for those animals. But as you said there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Your friend is a lucky woman. I would love to have the opportunity to see one of those magnificent creatures up close.
I think there is pros and cons to both a TV series and an internet series, but for the most part I think an internet series would be better overall.
Never played that game either, I'm not a fan of their designs.
Imagine a fight between Basilosaurus vs Livyatan. I think Livyatan would win, just look at the size of those teeth.
Paraceratherium is one of the largest terrestrial mammals to ever live on this planet. The only terrestrial mammal that was arguably larger was the massive Palaeoloxodon namadicus. (Or the Asian straight-tusked elephant) Palaeoloxodon namadicus was an extremely large species of elephant that lived in Asia during the late Pleistocene and it is believed that it went extinct around 24,000 years ago.
Here is a picture of the Asian straight-tusked elephant.

And here it is compared to Paraceratherium.

It's amazing to think that these creatures once lived on this planet, and in the case of the Asian straight-tusked elephant, relatively recently too.
True, Paraceratherium looks like a hybrid of a rhino and a giraffe. Could you imagine seeing one in the flesh? It would be breathtaking.
Works for me.
Deinotherium is pretty cool. In the same way Paraceratherium looks like a species out of a movie, Deinotherium looks like an alien version of an elephant from a Sci-Fi movie. Again, it's amazing to think that animals like these once lived on this planet.
Same to you, take care my friend.

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

I'm more into Human Origins and Evolution and the different ape/human like species.

Very interesting stuff, it's amazing how similar our earliest ancestors were ot modern chimpanzees.

 

[Iron Nick]

You should, they make good content. I've made a few threads about their videos in fact.

Watched quite a couple of videos from PBS Eons the last days, so yeah, great content really. Sooner or later i'll check the other ones out too, i'm sure.

Yeah, there is still hope for those animals. But as you said there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Your friend is a lucky woman. I would love to have the opportunity to see one of those magnificent creatures up close.

Yeah, agree with both and it has to be great to see them up close. I don't visit Zoo's (at least those who have animals that need huge areas to live) anymore, but i remember being already in awe by seeing a polar bear in person, they're way bigger than one would think, in my opinion.

I think there is pros and cons to both a TV series and an internet series, but for the most part I think an internet series would be better overall.

Yeah who knows, could be true - i'm fine with either (or both at once, lol)

Never played that game either, I'm not a fan of their designs.

Haven't played it either. Some designs suck, i agree, but some are cool to me.

Imagine a fight between Basilosaurus vs Livyatan. I think Livyatan would win, just look at the size of those teeth.

They're apparently similar in length at least, so they could possibly be even.
Livyatan's teeth look terrifying and it was probably quite a bit bigger (bulkier) and heavier than Basilosaurus, but then again i could see Basilosaurus being way more agile/mobile, so it might've been a toss up.

Paraceratherium is one of the largest terrestrial mammals to ever live on this planet. The only terrestrial mammal that was arguably larger was the massive Palaeoloxodon namadicus. (Or the Asian straight-tusked elephant) Palaeoloxodon namadicus was an extremely large species of elephant that lived in Asia during the late Pleistocene and it is believed that it went extinct around 24,000 years ago.
Here is a picture of the Asian straight-tusked elephant.

And here it is compared to Paraceratherium.

It's amazing to think that these creatures once lived on this planet, and in the case of the Asian straight-tusked elephant, relatively recently too.

Yeah, Palaeoloxodon is a unit, although i think it was smaller (compared to the Paraceratherium in the picture).
At least from what i know, Palaeoloxodon measured maximum 4.5m at the shoulders, while the Paraceratherium (i wrote ParaceTatherium all the time, only noticed today, haha) was estimated at 5m shoulder height max, not including tissue, etc.
They're both absurdly large though!

True, Paraceratherium looks like a hybrid of a rhino and a giraffe. Could you imagine seeing one in the flesh? It would be breathtaking.

Must be insane really, quite the "land-whale".

Deinotherium is pretty cool. In the same way Paraceratherium looks like a species out of a movie, Deinotherium looks like an alien version of an elephant from a Sci-Fi movie. Again, it's amazing to think that animals like these once lived on this planet.
Same to you, take care my friend.

Yeah, fitting analogy - the Oliphants from The Lord of the Rings also had these tusks/teeth in the lower jaw, Tolkien or Jackson might have totally took his inspiration from the Deinotherium!

EDIT: Happy easter to you by the way!

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

Watched quite a couple of videos from PBS Eons the last days, so yeah, great content really. Sooner or later i'll check the other ones out too, i'm sure.

Yeah, agree with both and it has to be great to see them up close. I don't visit Zoo's (at least those who have animals that need huge areas to live) anymore, but i remember being already in awe by seeing a polar bear in person, they're way bigger than one would think, in my opinion.

Yeah who knows, could be true - i'm fine with either (or both at once, lol)

Haven't played it either. Some designs suck, i agree, but some are cool to me.

They're apparently similar in length at least, so they could possibly be even.
Livyatan's teeth look terrifying and it was probably quite a bit bigger (bulkier) and heavier than Basilosaurus, but then again i could see Basilosaurus being way more agile/mobile, so it might've been a toss up.

Yeah, Palaeoloxodon is a unit, although i think it was smaller (compared to the Paraceratherium in the picture).
At least from what i know, Palaeoloxodon measured maximum 4.5m at the shoulders, while the Paraceratherium (i wrote ParaceTatherium all the time, only noticed today, haha) was estimated at 5m shoulder height max, not including tissue, etc.
They're both absurdly large though!

Must be insane really, quite the "land-whale".

Yeah, fitting analogy - the Oliphants from The Lord of the Rings also had these tusks/teeth in the lower jaw, Tolkien or Jackson might have totally took his inspiration from the Deinotherium!

EDIT: Happy easter to you by the way!

I haven't been to the zoo in ages either, but my grandma took me to the Detroit zoo when I was a kid and I was amazed by how big the polar bear was. Polar bears are absolutely massive. They make black bears and even grizzlies look like teddy bears in comparison.
Maybe they could do a TV show, then an internet spinoff show.
Agreed, some designs look good, some not so much.
Yeah I think it would be a close fight, it could go either way, but I would go with Livyatan because it had larger teeth and as you said it was bulkier than Basilosaurus.
It looks like Paraceratherium was slightly taller, but I believe Palaeoloxodon was slightly heavier (Paraceratherium is estimated to be around 15-20 tonnes, while Palaeoloxodon namadicus is estimated to be 22 tonnes) so it depends if you are going off weight or height. A more extreme version of the classic elephant vs giraffe debate. But both animals were extremely large either way. The two largest land mammals to ever live.
In fact they surpassed even the largest Theropods, such as Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurus, in weight and height. (Although they still surpassed Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon in length) The only animals that were/are bigger overall than Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon were Sauropods like Brachiosaurus, and the absolutely gargantuan Argentinosaurus. And of course whales such as sperm whales, and the enormous blue whale, the largest animal to ever live.
Indeed, a true behemoth for sure.
I wouldn't be surprised, Deinotherium looks like something out a fantasy novel to begin with. So it only makes sense that someone would base the design of a creature from a fantasy novel off Deinotherium.
Same to you, I hope you had a nice Easter as well.
Edit: Okay, so I was exaggerating a bit when I said that only Sauropods and whales were/are the only animals bigger than Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon. Of course the infamous Megalodon was bigger, and so was a few other prehistoric fish species. A few species of extinct marine reptiles, such as Mosasaurus, were quite a bit larger as well. Some species of Ichthyosaurs (another family of now extinct marine reptiles) might have even surpassed the blue whale in size.
With that being said, Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon namadicus were still extremely large animals in their own right, especially when compared to other terrestrial animals.

 

[weed]

somebody made an epic post on one of Rogan's videos saying something like:

the clap from my buttcheeks is so thunderous, it scares away the megafauna I'm always hunting.


I probably got that all wrong, but it went along those lines hahaha

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

somebody made an epic post on one of Rogan's videos saying something like:

the clap from my buttcheeks is so thunderous, it scares away the megafauna I'm always hunting.


I probably got that all wrong, but it went along those lines hahaha

LOL

 

[Iron Nick]

I haven't been to the zoo in ages either, but my grandma took me to the Detroit zoo when I was a kid and I was amazed by how big the polar bear was. Polar bears are absolutely massive. They make black bears and even grizzlies look like teddy bears in comparison.
Maybe they could do a TV show, then an internet spinoff show.
Agreed, some designs look good, some not so much.
Yeah I think it would be a close fight, it could go either way, but I would go with Livyatan because it had larger teeth and as you said it was bulkier than Basilosaurus.
It looks like Paraceratherium was slightly taller, but I believe Palaeoloxodon was slightly heavier (Paraceratherium is estimated to be around 15-20 tonnes, while Palaeoloxodon namadicus is estimated to be 22 tonnes) so it depends if you are going off weight or height. A more extreme version of the classic elephant vs giraffe debate. But both animals were extremely large either way. The two largest land mammals to ever live.
In fact they surpassed even the largest Theropods, such as Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurus, in weight and height. (Although they still surpassed Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon in length) The only animals that were/are bigger overall than Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon were Sauropods like Brachiosaurus, and the absolutely gargantuan Argentinosaurus. And of course whales such as sperm whales, and the enormous blue whale, the largest animal to ever live.
Indeed, a true behemoth for sure.
I wouldn't be surprised, Deinotherium looks like something out a fantasy novel to begin with. So it only makes sense that someone would base the design of a creature from a fantasy novel off Deinotherium.
Same to you, I hope you had a nice Easter as well.
Edit: Okay, so I was exaggerating a bit when I said that only Sauropods and whales were/are the only animals bigger than Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon. Of course the infamous Megalodon was bigger, and so was a few other prehistoric fish species. A few species of extinct marine reptiles, such as Mosasaurus, were quite a bit larger as well. Some species of Ichthyosaurs (another family of now extinct marine reptiles) might have even surpassed the blue whale in size.
With that being said, Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon namadicus were still extremely large animals in their own right, especially when compared to other terrestrial animals.

Sorry for the late reply brother!
Yeah, i mean context always matters - it's "easy" to get big in the ocean, so of course, the largest animals there make the largest terrestrial animals look small by default - of course though - both are incredible and awe-inspiring in their own right.
What was the reason again though for animals like Megalodon, Livyatan and Basilosaurus do go extinct? Because i don't think there was ever not enough prey for them in the oceans, lol.
Wasn't it because of rising temperatures? I could be wrong though.

 

[Utahraptor Ostrommaysi]

Sorry for the late reply brother!
Yeah, i mean context always matters - it's "easy" to get big in the ocean, so of course, the largest animals there make the largest terrestrial animals look small by default - of course though - both are incredible and awe-inspiring in their own right.
What was the reason again though for animals like Megalodon, Livyatan and Basilosaurus do go extinct? Because i don't think there was ever not enough prey for them in the oceans, lol.
Wasn't it because of rising temperatures? I could be wrong though.

No problem, it usually takes me at least a day to reply to most posts on here. So no worries.
Yep, aquatic animals are typically larger than terrestrial animals because aquatic animals like whales aren't weighted down by gravity and their own mass the same way terrestrial animals are correct? Also I believe that terrestrial animals need to eat more food relative to their size, and as a result they burn up more energy looking for food.
But as far terrestrial animals go, Paraceratherium and Palaeoloxodon namadicus are quite impressive indeed. The only the terrestrial animals that rival/surpass them are the larger Theropods and Sauropods.
I'm pretty sure you're correct. In the case of Megalodon, the tropical waters it was used to became colder. And while the whales it fed on could survive in colder waters (thanks to their blubber) Megalodon couldn't. I'm not sure about Livyatan or Basilosaurus, but I'm sure it was something similar.

 

[fallable]

Diamonds, gold, and pearls have more value but I have no interest in it. It shows you how screwed up society is when it comes to valuing certain items.

By that logic, gold is made from the explosions of ancient stars, it should be even more valuable.