7 Animals Bigger Than an African Elephant

key point:

• While Africa appears to be the largest land animal on Earth, there are bigger animals…if you include extinct animals and marine animals.
• Spinosaurus is the largest known carnivorous dinosaur on Earth. It preyed on smaller species at the time, about three times the size of an elephant.
• Argentinosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs ever seen and one of the largest known animals on Earth.

Africans seem to be the largest land animals on Earth right now, with an average weight between 4,000 and 14,000 pounds. The largest African elephant ever recorded weighed 24,000 pounds, showing just how big these animals can be. In this article, you’ll discover 7 animals that were bigger than the statue of Africa, some of the largest extinct animals that ever lived on Earth.

African elephants, like all species, vary in size. Large animals are not uncommon on Earth, and going back millions of years you can find incredibly large animals. Africa seems to be one of the largest animals in existence, and here are 7 animals that can outgrow them.

1. Steppe Mammoth

The steppe mammoth is the largest mammoth species ever found, slightly larger than the African elephant. This species lived about 180 to 200 billion years ago in what is now northern Eurasia.

Steppe mammoths stood about 14.8 feet tall, and their average weight was estimated to be about 22,046 to 31,526 pounds.

The woolly mammoth is one of the most famous mammoth species in the world, but it is about the same size as an African statue. Changes in plant life and temperature were one of the main reasons for the mammoth’s extinction. Humans have only lived with woolly mammoths for about 2,000 years and are not the reason for their extinction.

2. Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus was a large species, standing about 23 feet tall. This species lived in North Africa and inhabited the Earth approximately 1 to 90 million years ago. Spinosaurus was also very heavy, weighing between 26,000 and 31,000 pounds.

Spinosaurus is the largest known carnivorous dinosaur on Earth. It preyed on smaller species at the time, about three times the size of an elephant.

3. Palaeophis colossaeus – giant sea snake

Palaeophis is an ancient genus of sea snakes that lived during the Eocene Epoch, about 56 to 33.9 million years ago. The genus has about 3 species, the largest of which is Palaeophis colossaeus. At 40 feet long, this sea snake is the largest known snake. According to their fossil estimates, they weighed more than 17,000 pounds. The reason why this snake can grow so big is because the sea water temperature was higher at that time. Fossils of this genus have been found in places such as the UK, Denmark and Africa.

4. Argentinosaurus

Argentinosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs ever seen and one of the largest known animals on Earth. Argentinosaurus grew to 70 feet tall, roughly the size of a six-story building. Overall, their bodies are about 98 to 115 feet long. Estimated to weigh around 110,000 to 220,000 pounds, they are also among the heaviest land animals.

The massive dinosaur was discovered in 1987, and its fossilized remains were found on a ranch in Argentina. It is a member of the sauropod clade that also contains several large dinosaurs such as brachiosaurus. The largest sauropod was the titanosaur.

5. Indricotherium / Paraceratherium

Indricotherium, a close relative of the modern rhinoceros, was a large species that lived between 34 and 23 million years ago. Indricotherium lives in Central Asia, in forest habitats. Indricotherium was about 16 feet tall and weighed 20 tons. Indricotherium, Paraceratherium and Baluchitherium are three names for this species. When it was discovered, different names were used for this animal because it was believed to be a different species.

As herbivores, Indricotherium feed on leaves. Their long necks, about 4.3 feet tall, are used to reach leaves on trees. Indricotherium is thought to be one of the largest and heaviest land mammals that ever lived, nearly twice the size of an African elephant.

6. Megalodon

Among fish, megalodons are one of the largest fish to swim in the ocean, and they are also the largest sharks that ever lived. Megalodon existed about 20 million years ago and went extinct about 2.6 million years ago. Declining ocean temperatures and climate change are responsible for the extinction of megalodons, but they were among the largest and fiercest predators in life.

At full maturity, the megalodon is estimated to be 49 to 60 feet long and weigh about 110,200 pounds (50 tons). The jaws of the largest Megalodon were 11 feet wide and filled with more than 250 teeth. Like other similar sharks, the megalodon’s teeth are always growing. One tooth of this shark is about 7 inches long. Fossilized teeth are common and wash up on beaches around the globe.

7. Blue Whale

The blue whale is the largest animal on earth and the heaviest of all cetaceans. Blue whales grow between 75 and 100 feet and are very heavy, weighing between 220,000 and 352,000 pounds at full maturity. This species comes in blue/grey and they inhabit all oceans on Earth except the Arctic.

Blue whales feed on krill for their size and it is estimated that they consume an average of 16 tons of food per day. The blue whale is the largest known animal ever, weighing as much as 30 elephants.

While the blue whale is the largest, there are several other species of whale that can grow much larger than the African elephant. Fin whales, sperm whales, and bowhead whales are just a few examples of other large species, weighing over 100,000 pounds.

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