If *Xenoposeidon* was built heavily like *Brachiosaurus*, what was the corresponding estimated weight?
Answer
Around 7.6 metric tons
Estimating the full size of *Xenoposeidon* is speculative because only one bone is known, necessitating comparison with better-understood genera. When hypothesizing a robust build comparable to *Brachiosaurus*, the resulting estimates place the animal's length around 15 meters (49 feet), but with a substantial mass, calculated to be around 7.6 metric tons. This contrasts sharply with the estimate derived from comparing it to the more slender *Diplodocus*, which suggested a similar length but a much lower weight of approximately 2.8 metric tons, illustrating the wide range of possibilities inherent in extrapolating from fragmentary evidence.
Related Questions
What is the meaning of the genus name *Xenoposeidon*?What catalog number identifies the partial dorsal vertebra of *Xenoposeidon*?Which paleontologists formally named *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* in 2007?At what approximate angle does the neural arch of the *Xenoposeidon* vertebra lean relative to the centrum's vertical axis?If *Xenoposeidon* was built heavily like *Brachiosaurus*, what was the corresponding estimated weight?What did Richard Lydekker initially suggest the bone specimen belonged to in 1893?The dorsal vertebra of *Xenoposeidon* was unearthed near Hastings in rocks belonging to which geological formation?What family did the 2018 analysis by Taylor suggest *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* is a basal member of?Which famous contemporary dinosaur, a large ornithopod, shared the Early Cretaceous environment of *Xenoposeidon*?What is the Greek meaning of the species epithet *proneneukos*?