What is the largest animal on earth. The largest land mammal in the world. The largest arthropod in the world
The animal world of our planet is very diverse. The creatures of our world have all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes. In this article I will tell you about those animals that impress with their huge mass and incredibly large size. So, the top 10 largest animals in the world.
10 combed crocodile
The mass of the male of this species can reach 2 tons, and the length is 7 m. The combed crocodile is also called the saltwater crocodile, man-eating crocodile, underwater crocodile, salt, estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile.
9 Black Rhino
A black rhinoceros can weigh up to 2-2.2 tons, up to 3.15 m long and up to 150-160 cm high. Usually this type of rhinoceros has two horns, but in some places (for example, in Zambia) there are animals that have on the head from three to five horns. Until recently, there were four subspecies of the black rhino. However, on November 10, 2013, one of the subspecies was declared extinct. The main reason for the extinction of one subspecies of the black rhinoceros was poachers.
8 Walrus
Males representing the Pacific subspecies of the walrus, for the most part, weigh 800-1700 kg, but there are those that can boast a mass of up to 2 tons. The Atlantic subspecies of the walrus has a smaller mass. The tusks that both male and female walruses have are elongated fangs. They are up to 1 m long and weigh up to 5.4 kg.
7 White Rhino
Rhinos usually weigh 2-2.5 tons, but older males can weigh 4-5 tons. The body length of the white rhino is about 4.2 m, and the height at the shoulders is about 1.6-2 m. White rhinos have two horns . The front is always longer than the back. The following record is known: the length of the front horn of a white rhino is 1.58 m. The white rhino is divided into two subspecies: the northern white rhinoceros and the southern white rhinoceros. The northern white rhinoceros is slightly larger than the southern one. Due to poachers who exterminated rhinos, at the end of November 2015, only three northern white rhinos remained in the world. These two females and one male live in a nature reserve in Kenya.
6 Behemoth
Among hippos (they are also hippos), there are cases when a male weighs up to 3 tons. Most often, males have a mass of about 1.6 tons, and females - 1.4 tons. The height of the hippo at the shoulders reaches 1.65 m. The body length can be from 3 to 5.4 m. The tail of the hippopotamus alone has a length of 56 cm.
5 southern elephant seal
Males have a mass of 3-5 tons, and females - 400-900 kg, less often - up to 1 ton. The body length of a male is usually 4.2-5.8 m (according to other data: the body length of the southern elephant seal can reach 6 ,2-6.5 m). Females usually have a body length of no more than 2.6-3 m. Southern elephant seals are impressive in their size. Even a newborn cub has a considerable size and weight. If you think that it is called a southern elephant seal, then you are mistaken: the cubs of the southern elephant seals are called pups. So, this puppy has a body length of up to about 127 cm and a weight of about 40-50 kg.
4 Indian elephant
Male Indian (also called Asian) elephants can weigh up to 5.4 tons and be 2.5-3.5 meters tall. Females have a smaller mass: their weight is usually about 2.7 tons. The body length of an Asian elephant is about 5 ,5-6.4 m. Even the tail of an elephant has quite impressive dimensions! Its length is approximately 1.2-1.5 m. Pregnancy in an elephant lasts for 18-21.5 months, after which she gives birth to a baby elephant (less often two baby elephants), with a mass of about 90-100 kg and a height at the shoulders of approximately 1 m. The baby elephant has tusks from birth. In the first days of his life, they are only 5 cm long. By the age of two, the baby elephant's milk teeth change to adult ones, and at this time the tusks fall out. In adult elephants (mainly males, since female Indian elephants rarely develop tusks), tusks grow up to 1.6 m long and weigh about 20-25 kg.
3 African elephant
African elephants are divided into savanna and forest elephants. Savannah elephants are larger than forest counterparts. Males from savannahs usually weigh about 7 tons, and females - 5 tons. However, a record was recorded when a male savannah elephant weighed 12.24 tons.
This animal usually weighs more than 150 tons. The body length of the blue whale is about 33 m. The blue whale is also called the blue whale or the blue whale. There are three subspecies of the blue whale, but sometimes a fourth subspecies is also identified. Subspecies of the blue whale differ slightly from each other in size and physique.
Despite the fact that dinosaurs with their impressive size died out many centuries ago, there are species on our planet today that have huge sizes. Despite external power, they need our careful attitude towards them, their habitat and nature in general.
Let's take a look at the giants that still roam the Earth.
15. Giant flying fox ≈ 1.5 kg
The largest bat on Earth. These bats live in the Philippines. The body size of a fox is about 55 cm, weight is 1.5 kg, but the wingspan is very solid - up to 1.8 meters.
14. Belgian flandre giant - up to 25 kg
A domesticated form of a hare (rabbit). The main selection was carried out in the meat-skin direction, which left an imprint on its size. This is the largest breed of rabbits. Their average weight is 10-12 kg, the maximum recorded is 25 kg.
13. Chinese giant salamander ≈ 70 kg
The largest amphibian on earth. The length of the salamander reaches 180 cm. These amazing creatures live in China, where their meat is revered as a delicacy, so few salamanders grow to their maximum size.
12. Capybara ≈ 105 kg
The largest rodent on earth. These cute animals live in South America. Adult capybaras grow up to 1.5 meters in length, and in weight they can gain up to 105 kg. By the way, these rodents are happy to live next to a person.
11. Giant green anaconda ≈ 250 kg
This close relative of the python, on Earth. It lives in the tropics of South America. The maximum recorded body length is more than 7.5 meters, and the weight is 250 kilograms. The Asian python surpasses the anaconda in length, which is 9.7 meters, but loses in weight.
10. Polar bear ≈ 500 kg
To find the largest bear in the world you need to go to the Arctic. There, among the snow and ice, majestic polar bears live - a living embodiment of the formidable forces of nature.
The Inuit call polar bears "nanook", which means "respected".
At birth, a newborn polar bear cub weighs only 700 grams. And the milk that he eats is superior in fat content to the milk of other types of bears. Two months after birth, the bear cub weighs 10 kg.
Until a year and a half, a caring mother accompanies him everywhere. And at the age of two, when many human children still have difficulty walking and soiling diapers, a young polar bear is already gaining its normal weight and is able to bully a bearded seal, a ringed seal, or even a person if he is not careful enough.
Even for the world's largest bear, finding food can be a challenge. Less than two percent of polar bear hunts are successful, so half of their lives are spent looking for food.
9. Salted crocodile ≈ 590 kg
Most of the largest animals are not peaceful in nature. But even among them, combed crocodiles stand out for their aggressiveness and bloodthirstiness. even got into the Guinness Book of Records for the fact that, together with relatives, he ate a thousand Japanese soldiers during World War II.
But it is unlikely that combed crocodiles can be counted among the allies, because they would have just as much enjoyed eating Russian, American and any other soldiers.
8. Giraffe ≈ 800 kg
Among the largest animals in the world, giraffes immediately stand out with their long necks. Thanks to her, they are the tallest land creatures on the planet. The neck is 1/3 the length of the animal's body and, at the same time, consists of only seven cervical vertebrae, like in most other mammals.
About giraffes, we can safely say that they have a big heart. It weighs 12 kilograms, and creates pressure that would terrify any hypertensive patient. What the body will not do so that the blood can reach the brain.
Giraffes are also famous for their long tongues. Only they need it not for gossip, but in order to eat leaves from the highest trees in the African savannah. In length, this organ reaches as much as 45 centimeters.
7. Hippo ≈ up to 4.5 tons
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the third largest land animal in the world. But hippos don't really like to walk on the ground. They are semi-aquatic mammals, meaning they spend most of their day in rivers and lakes. This is how they keep their hairless body moisturized under the scorching African sun. If the hippopotamus does not have the opportunity to plunge into cool water, its skin cracks.
Female hippopotamuses began to give birth under water long before it became a fashionable trend in the human world. By the way, hippos are one of the few mammals whose cubs can suck their mother's milk while underwater.
In most European languages, the hippopotamus is called the "hippo". This word came from the Latin language (and there, in turn, from Greek) and in translation means “river horse”. Of course, this massive creature cannot be compared with, but in the water it is very fast and agile.
6. Southern elephant seal ≈ 2.2 tons
Among the largest animals of our planet, there are two elephants at once, and one of them is terrestrial, and the second is marine.
This seal got its name for the leather bag on the nose, which inflates during anxiety or during mating fights, turning into a large ball.
5. White rhino ≈ 2.3 tons
The old joke about the rhinoceros is that it has poor eyesight, but at such a large size, this is no longer its problem. Indeed, these giants do not particularly rely on sight. And even hearing plays a secondary role. But the sense of smell in white rhinos is very well developed. So don't approach it from the windward side.
By the way, unlike their small counterparts, black rhinos, whites usually run away when they see a person. But Black is attacking.
Due to the uncontrolled extermination of white rhinos, the northern subspecies has disappeared. This happened quite recently, in 2018, when the last male named Sudan died. So now we can only admire the photo of these largest animals in the world.
But the southern population still exists. But the question is: for how long?
4. African bush elephant ≈ 7 tons
Before you is a seven-ton answer to the question of what is the largest animal among terrestrial creatures. Due to its size and body weight, the elephant got into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest land mammal. Among the savannah elephants there are also their own heavyweights. So, in Angola in 1974, an elephant weighing 12.2 tons was shot dead.
Like their smaller counterparts, African elephants can use their trunks (which have over 40,000 muscles) to lift anything up to 180kg. Unfortunately, the largest land animal does not boast the largest population. 25,000 elephants die each year due to poaching.
3. Great whale shark ≈ 20 tons
It seems strange that - this is not the most terrible representative of the shark species. She doesn't even hunt whales, contrary to her name. Unlike most of its predatory counterparts, the great whale shark is content with plankton for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This sea giant does not swim very fast, and almost does not pay attention to people swimming nearby. This allows divers to ride on the back of a whale shark if they wish.
In videos of the world's largest animals, you can often see people swimming with whale sharks.
2. Sperm whale ≈ 40 tons
One of the best ways to recognize a sperm whale in the ocean is by its massive head. Sperm whales have the largest brain of all living creatures on Earth, it weighs up to 7.8 kg.
However, the fact that their heads are filled with spermaceti makes the biology of these creatures so fascinating. It is the spermaceti sac that accounts for 90% of the weight of the sperm whale's head.
Scientists suggest that it is spermaceti that helps these huge toothed whales dive and emerge from the depths. There must be something that keeps all 40 tons of sperm whale afloat!
1. Blue whale ≈ 150 tons
The largest animal on Earth is a majestic, carnivorous sea creature that weighs a whopping 150 tons and measures 33 meters in length. And this is still on average, since the whalers met both 180-ton and even 190-ton whales.
The heart of a blue whale is one and a half meters in size, weighs about 180 kilograms, and its aorta is wide enough for a baby to swim through it.
However, despite their gigantic size, blue whales are not dangerous to humans. They do not attack swimmers and feed on krill, small crustaceans, cephalopods and fish.
But a man for a blue whale is the most dangerous opponent. Due to active whaling and severe pollution of the seas, the largest animal in the world almost disappeared. In 1693, only 5 thousand individuals remained. And although now the population of the blue whale has grown to 10 thousand individuals, it is still on the verge of extinction.
People at their peak try to learn more information about their home planet. At the moment, mankind knows no more than 5-7% of everything that the earth hides. Underwater depths, high mountains and abandoned places become a new environment for the emergence of new species of living organisms. The world is still a big and difficult riddle, which the best scientists and researchers are trying to solve.
Regardless of the unknown amount of information about the world, it is now possible to identify the largest animals on earth. Thanks to miscalculation, modern technology and other methods, it is easy to find out about the types of animals that are known to mankind, including weight and ways of life.
The largest animal on earth
Most people who have not spent too much time reading books can say with confidence that the largest animal in the world is an elephant. large animal that feeds grass and leaves capable of crushing any predator. The history of elephants, as the largest animals in the world, originated in the distant depths of history, when it was not yet possible to create ships capable of sailing thousands of miles.
Approximately before the discovery of the New World by Columbus, the elephant was the largest animal on the planet. This was considered to be a fact. But after a significant leap in the development of the science of shipbuilding, began mass exploration of the oceans, including the Pacific, where most of the marine animals live. During this period, people were faced with the unimaginable power of a sea animal that can compare with the largest ships in the world. There was an acquaintance of mankind with the blue whale, the heaviest animal in the world.
The title of the heaviest animal in the world passed to the big "fish", and now the elephant began to be called the largest mammal on earth. Over time, the study of the animal world led to an unexpected fact: the blue whale, like the elephant, is also a mammal. moms feed their cubs milk. Due to its high fat content, it does not dissolve in water. At this time, the elephant was again “moved” a little. To this day, the elephant is called the largest land animal on Earth. Among the different species, the African elephant stands out. This huge creature up to 7 and a half meters high can weigh up to 7-8 tons. It is considered the leader among all elephants in terms of mass and size.
Due to its own weight and dimensions of the body, it is clear that on land the elephant has no equal in weight and size. Most of the other animals are several times lighter than this giant. However, it is impossible to call it the largest animal in the world, taking into account the expanses of water, because such a statement is a lie.
An elephant, compared to a blue whale, is completely comparable to a hare against the backdrop of a huge lion. In fact, the blue whale is recognized as the largest creature in the world. One of his heart will weigh more than 750 kilograms. All research detailed fossil analysis and historical finds have repeatedly proven that the blue whale is the largest animal on earth that has ever existed in history. The body length of the blue whale is more than 30 meters, this is the distance of half a football field.
You should not discard other animals that can compete in the title of the largest among their species. There are a lot of creatures on the planet that will be of more interest than an elephant.
The largest arthropod in the world
Among arthropods, there are also incredible record holders that can amaze the human imagination. Japanese spider crab is still considered the largest creature of the arthropod species. The total weight sometimes reaches 20 kilograms, and the length of the body, together with the claws, is up to 4 meters. Yes, not as impressive as an elephant. Arthropods are in no way famous for their large size, most of the subspecies of animals reach sizes up to 30-40 centimeters, no more.
The biggest bird
Bird Paradise also has incredible individuals that can grow to incredible sizes. As many have guessed, the largest bird in the world is the ostrich. An incredible mass, sometimes reaching an impressive figure of 170 kilograms, with an increase of almost 3 meters, allows the ostrich to be the largest bird. Because of their weight, ostriches cannot fly. This is offset by the incredible speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Thanks to strong and powerful legs, ostriches are capable of killing a person in one sitting. There were cases when more than 80 bones were broken from one blow of an ostrich to a person. And also the ostrich holds the title of the fastest bipedal creature on the entire planet.
It is worth mentioning several other types of birds that can fly, which can also amaze with their size:
Record holder among reptiles
Reptiles are the most "unloved" creatures for humans. Due to their skin structure, demeanor, people try to avoid close contact with them. The largest reptile in the world is the saltwater crocodile. This six-meter carcass weighing up to 1 ton, capable of inflicting fatal blows with its jaws in an instant. By right, they can be called the most dangerous predators on earth. They are not afraid of people, they boldly attack large animals. There were cases when one such crocodile was able to fill up a large hippopotamus.
The most dangerous and deadly reptiles are:
- Alligator.
- Leatherback turtle.
- Komodo dragon.
- Yadozub.
- Anaconda or python.
Predators and their achievements
The largest predator on the planet is represented by the Southern Elephant Seal. It is easy to guess now that the blue whale and elephants are herbivores. The southern elephant seal allows itself to attack large fish, including world famous sharks, squid. The weight of males of these animals sometimes reaches 4 tons. Despite being comparatively worthless on land, although this is a myth, elephant seals are experienced and dangerous adversaries. Apart from a pair of sharp fangs that can instantly tear any flesh, you should also beware of fins, the impact force of which is comparable to a car collision. The elephant seal spends most of its hunting in the water.
The land leaders in the list of the largest predators are divided into two species - Polar bear and Kodiak. Someone thought Grizzly? They are not able to compare with these monsters of the predatory world. The largest and most ferocious kings of the terrestrial predatory world are able to attack not only herbivores and fish, as is often shown on television channels. They are excellent killing machines, able to destroy anyone who dares to enter their territory.
Giants among cute hares
In order to add a little mercy to the article, we can recall the hares. Yes, and among them there are large and heavy representatives. This is not the usual hare that sometimes comes across in the forests of Europe. real giant can be considered a Belgian flandre. An ancient species of hares, which, with modern care, can reach a mass of 12-13 kilograms. An adult of one such representative of this species is larger than most hunting dogs. Their strong hind legs are capable of breaking large wooden beams up to 8 centimeters in diameter. They are successfully bred in many countries.
These are not all animal world records that can amaze the human mind. It should be understood that more than 90% of living world planet still hidden from human eyes. It is possible that at a depth of more than 2 kilometers, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, creatures live that are many times greater in size and mass than even a blue whale with elephants.
People tend to study the world that surrounds them. And not only children are interested in who is the smallest, tallest, what is the largest animal in the world, what is the most terrible beast. Adults are also sometimes disassembled by curiosity, which creatures on Earth are the best? So…
What is the largest animal in the world: list
- The blue whale tops the list of giants. He is the largest of all who have ever lived and now inhabit our planet, as well as of those who are known to us, who could be weighed and measured. He could grow only in the largest element of the Earth - in the waters of the oceans.
- Of those who live on land, the largest is the African elephant. How much does an elephant weigh? This question is often asked by children. On average, its weight is 7–8 tons, but a specimen weighing 13.5 tons is known, which confirms the title of the largest land animal. It is a pity that they have no one to measure their tusks with, which can reach a length of four meters. Because of the tusks, they were destroyed. Although African elephants can live up to 60-70 years. Now there are about 500 thousand left, this species is listed in the Red Book.
- Of the reptiles, the largest is the saltwater crocodile. Grows up to 5-6 meters. His largest recorded weight is 1900 kg.
- The tallest animal - the giraffe, rises almost six meters, which allows it to eat what the "mundane" representatives of the fauna did not eat.
- Of the birds, the largest are ostriches. They grow to almost three meters, while gaining weight up to one and a half centners. This, and even beautiful feathers and huge eggs, made them attractive for breeding on special farms.
- The largest fish, the whale shark, can weigh 22 tons.
- A giant among insects is the Goliath beetle, 11.5 cm long.
Among the largest creatures, the only skeleton of the extinct largest snake in history, the titanoboa, stands apart. She lived 50-60 million years ago in the jungles of Colombia. One of the found vertebrae of a snake the size of a human head. According to scientists, it was up to 15 meters long and could weigh a ton. A reconstructed skeleton of a reptile flaunts at Grand Central Station in New York.
The blue whale is the largest animal ever
The leader of the largest creatures on the planet deserves special attention. Probably, in the whole history there was no one larger than the blue whale. How much does a whale weigh? A newborn whale has 2–3 tons, adult animals weigh 100–120 tons, but whalers were also slaughtered larger. In 1926, a female weighing 150 tons was encountered, and in 1947 a whale weighing 190 tons was slaughtered.
It is impossible to weigh them whole on whaling ships, so there is a special method of weighing them in parts. We can only be amazed at such data: the tongue weighs three tons, the liver a ton. Up to 10 tons of blood circulates in the whale's body. Up to two tons of food is placed in the stomach.
He got his name because of the color of the body. It is dark gray, but with a bluish tint. On the body there are light gray spots arranged in the form of marble patterns.
Blue whales live an average of 40 years, but once met a 110-year-old. Huge carcasses of blue whales attracted whalers. Still: immediately such a catch! Therefore, by the middle of the twentieth century, they were on the verge of extinction. Sea waters are also polluted - the habitat of whales, which is not favorable for them. Therefore, the largest animals on earth are rare. Now there are 10,000 left. People are required to take special protective measures to save them.
I wonder what is the largest animal in Kazakhstan? It turns out that this is a giant moose, elk. They grow up to two meters at the withers, weigh up to 600 kilograms. The decoration of males is huge spade-shaped horns, and females are hornless.
These are the answers our questions have about who is the best on Earth. Someone died out a long time ago, someone crushed. The lives of some of the largest have been affected by human activities. And it is on humanity that the continued existence of many types of neighbors on the planet depends.
Today I want to present you 14 photos of the largest animals on the planet that will surprise you with their size.
The largest animals on the planet:
Anaconda
The largest snake in the world: the anaconda. The maximum length of her body is 7.5 meters, and the maximum weight is 250 kg. However, they talk about the green anaconda, which is much larger.
The largest rodent in the world is the Capybara.. The largest representatives of the capybara can reach 1.5 meters in length and 0.9 meters in height. The weight of these animals can be up to 105.4 kg. These are social animals living in groups of 10-20 individuals on average.
The largest arthropod in the world is the Japanese spider crab. The span of the first pair of legs can reach 3.8 m, and this spider crab can weigh up to 19 kg.
The largest reptile in the world Saltwater (combed or cellular) crocodile. The weight of an adult male saltwater crocodile can vary from 409 to 1000 kg, and its length, as a rule, reaches 5.5 m.
Belgian Flanders
The Belgian Flandre is the largest rabbit in the world.. They were first bred in the 16th century in the vicinity of the city of Ghent, Belgium. Belgian Flanders can weigh up to 12.7 kg.
golden flying fox
The world's largest bat: the golden flying fox. The length of the bat can reach 55 cm, and the maximum weight is 1.5 kg. The wingspan of a golden flying fox can be about 1.8 meters.
moonfish
The largest bony fish in the world: (sun fish, head fish). Adult representatives of this fish have an average length of 1.8 meters, the width from the fin to the swimmer reaches 2.5 meters, and the average weight is 1000 kg.
Kodiak bear
The largest land predators in the world are the polar bear and the Kodiak bear. We, perhaps, have all been familiar with the white polar bear for a long time, but the Kodiak bear is less known. It is a subspecies of brown bears and is found on Kodiak Island and other islands in the Kodiak archipelago off the southern coast of Alaska. The Kodiak bear and the Polar bear have approximately the same body parameters, so it is not clear which of them is the leader in terms of size. Both species reach a height of more than 1.6 m, and the total body length can reach 3.05 m. The maximum weight of these animals can be 1135 kg.
The fattest predator in the world: the southern elephant seal. Females of this animal species can, on average, weigh between 400 and 900 kilograms and be between 2.6 and 3 meters long, male southern elephant seals are usually five to six times heavier than females. On average, they weigh approximately 2,200 to 4,000 kg and can reach 4.5 to 5.8 meters in length.
Curly Pelican
The heaviest flying bird in the world: the Dalmatian Pelican. The average length of these birds varies from 160 to 180 cm, and they weigh 11-15 kg. The wingspan of curly pelicans is more than 3 meters.
The largest amphibian in the world: the Chinese giant salamander. The length of some individuals of the Chinese giant salamander can reach 180 cm, but this is extremely rare. The main condition necessary for the survival of the Chinese giant salamander is clean and very cold water. This species is now under threat of extinction.
Blue whale
The largest animal on the planet is the blue (or blue) whale. It can reach 30 meters in length and 180 metric tons or more in weight. The tongue of a blue whale can weigh about 2.7 tons, which is about the weight of an average Asian elephant. Its heart is comparable in size to the size of a small car, and it weighs about the same - 600 kg. And the volume of the lungs of this marine mammal exceeds 3 thousand liters.