People often hear: "I wish I could see dinosaurs alive, they're so huge!" ”。
I don't think many prehistoric lizards really reached terrible sizes, but none of them surpassed the blue whale, which broke all the records imaginable and unimaginable.
It's amazing that such a big animal still exists!
Adults are more than 30 meters long and can weigh 150-180 tons.
One of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs, the Argentinosaurus, could in principle compete with the blue whale, as scientists say it reached a length of 30-35 meters. However, in terms of mass, the land giants apparently did not reach record values: the mass of adult long-necked giants did not exceed 60-80 tons.
As for blue whales, today he holds several important titles at the same time:
- The largest whale in modern cetaceans;
- the largest representation of mammals;
- The largest animal on earth today;
- The heaviest animal in earth's history.
There aren't any tyrannosaurs, monitor lizards, pythons, giant apes, and other popular "giants" that even approach giants from the depths.
You might even argue that the blue whale has reached the highest form of life on Earth.
Interesting facts about blue whales
These giants always forage in areas with the highest concentration of krill, sometimes eating up to 6-8 tons of crustaceans a day.
Despite their enormous size, blue whales are capable of reaching speeds of 48 km/h. Yes, it is only suitable for short distances. Yes, underwater. But still impressive. On a motorboat, you are not always able to accelerate to such a speed.
The Blue Whale has the largest heart in the animal kingdom and weighs about 1 ton!
The maximum pulse usually does not exceed 15 beats per minute. During deep diving, the pulse drops to 4-6 beats per minute, sometimes reaching 2 times per minute.
As a result, blue whales can conserve oxygen and are better able to cope with extreme stress.
When they surface, their hearts can beat up to 25-30 times per minute to get all of their internal "life support systems" back to normal!
Blue whales may have reached the maximum size of any creature on Earth.
Given that even our record-keeper's 1,000-pound heart has gone to great lengths to meet the pressing needs of its owners, it's unlikely that anyone will overtake the Blue Whale.