A Dreadnoughtus scale drawing has been commissioned by Everything Dinosaur.  The illustration is to be used in a new fact sheet on Dreadnoughtus (D. schrani).  A spokesperson from the UK-based mail order company confirmed that it would be sent out free with sales of the new CollectA Deluxe 1:100 scale Dreadnoughtus figure.

A scale drawing of the huge sauropod Dreadnoughtus schrani. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A Dreadnoughtus Scale Drawing

Named and described in 2014 (Lacovara et al), Dreadnoughtus is one of the largest terrestrial vertebrates known to science.

It is a member of the Titanosauria clade, although its exact taxonomic affinity with other South American titanosaurs remains controversial.  The body mass was estimated at over 59 tonnes in the original scientific paper.  This estimate was based on calculations using the enormous limb bones.  The femur (thigh bone) measures around 1.9 metres in length.  Furthermore, the humerus (upper arm bone) is approximately 1.6 metres long.  However, the formula used to calculate body weight based on limb bone circumference can have a large margin of error.  Subsequent weight estimates vary, but two papers published in 2020, proposed that Dreadnoughtus weighed nearly fifty tonnes.

The new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe 1:100 scale Dreadnoughtus dinosaur model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Two individual skeletons are known.  The largest fossil specimen (the holotype) suggests an animal around twenty-six metres in length.  Amazingly, analysis of some of the fossil bones indicate that this animal was still growing at the time of its death.  The scapula (shoulder blade) had not fused completely to the coracoid bone indicating that the fossils represented a sub-adult.

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the scientific description of this enormous plant-eater, CollectA will be introducing a Dreadnoughtus scale model.

The range of CollectA Deluxe prehistoric animal models: Scale Models of Prehistoric Animals.

Everything Dinosaur Fact Sheets

Everything Dinosaur researches and writes a fact sheet for most of the prehistoric animal figures they supply.  Dinosaur fans like to collect these fact sheets.  The Dreadnoughtus schrani fact sheet has been prepared in anticipation of the arrival of the new CollectA model.

A spokesperson for the company stated that the CollectA Deluxe Dreadnoughtus figure was due to arrive next month (May 2024).

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Dinosaur Models and Dinosaur Toys.