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| ===Plants=== | ===Plants=== | ||
| ] is the largest tree; shown here compared to a car.]] | ] is the largest tree; shown here compared to a car.]] | ||
| The ] is the world's largest ] in terms of total volume. They grow to an average height of 70-85 m (230-280 ft) and 5-7 m (16-23 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29 ft) in diameter. | The ] is the world's largest ] in terms of total volume. They grow to an average height of 70-85 m (230-280 ft) and 5-7 m (16-23 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29 ft) in diameter. The sequoia is a gymnosperm, the largest angiosperm is '']'' which can reach heights over 92 m. | ||
| The largest flower belongs to the ], with a diameter of nearly a meter and a weight up to 11 kg. | The largest flower belongs to the ], with a diameter of nearly a meter and a weight up to 11 kg. | ||
Revision as of 09:39, 20 August 2005
The largest organism found on Earth can be measured using a variety of different methods. It could be defined as the largest by volume, mass or length. Some creatures group together to form a superorganism, though this cannot truly be classed as one large organism.
Largest species
The official largest organism is a honey fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae. It covers more than 3.4 square miles (8.9 km²) and is thousands of years old.
Animals
Blue Whales are believed to be the largest animal ever to have lived, at up to 30 metres (100 feet) in length and 140 tonnes (150 short tons) or more in weight. The largest fish is the Whale shark, recorded accurately to be up to 12 meters long with unofficial accounts of 18 m.
Elephants are the largest living land mammals. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 100 kg (225 pounds). The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1974. It was male and weighed 12,000 kilograms (26,400 pounds).
The largest bird is the Ostrich, reaching a height of up to 2.5 metres (8 feet). Eggs laid by the Ostrich can weigh 1.3 kg and are the largest eggs in the world today.
The largest reptile is the Saltwater Crocodile, with adult males being typically 4.5–5 meters long, although exceptionally large individuals may surpass 6 metres (19 ft) in length and weigh up 2200 pounds. Average sized males weigh around 1000 pounds. Females are much smaller than males, with typical female body lengths in the range of 2.5–3 metres.
The Lion's Mane Jellyfish is the largest jellyfish, with some attaining a bell diameter of 2.5 metres (8 feet) and tentacles as long as 30.5 metres (100 feet) or more.
Plants
The Giant Sequoia is the world's largest tree in terms of total volume. They grow to an average height of 70-85 m (230-280 ft) and 5-7 m (16-23 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29 ft) in diameter. The sequoia is a gymnosperm, the largest angiosperm is Eucalyptus regnans which can reach heights over 92 m.
The largest flower belongs to the Rafflesia arnoldii, with a diameter of nearly a meter and a weight up to 11 kg.
Microorganisms
The largest bacterium ever discovered is the Epulopiscium fishelsoni, found in the gut of surgeon fish in the Red Sea. At 0.5 mm it is visible to the naked eye and up to a million times the size of typical bacterium. The largest virus is the mimivirus, with mature particles of 400 nm in diameter (icosahedral capsid), 800,000 bases and 900 genes. Later research suggested that it could be up to 800 nm long, 1.2 Mbp and 1260 genes.
Extinct creatures
Some of the largest organisms ever to have existed have now died out. Most of them dinosaurs, the creatures grew to enormous sizes. The tallest and heaviest dinosaur known from a complete skeleton is the Brachiosaurus (now Giraffatitan) which was discovered in Tanzania between 1907–1912, and is now mounted in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin. It is 12 m (38 ft) tall, and probably weighed between 30,000–60,000 kg (30–65 tons). The longest is the 27 m (89 ft) long Diplodocus which was discovered in Wyoming, and mounted in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Natural History Museum in 1907.
There are bigger dinosaurs, but they are known from only a small handful of bones. The current record holders all date from the 1970s or later, and include the massive Argentinosaurus, which may have weighed 80,000–100,000 kg (90–110 tons); the longest, the 40 m (130 ft) long Supersaurus; and the tallest, the 18 m (60 ft) Sauroposeidon, which could have reached into a 6th-floor window.
The Leedsichthys, from the Jurassic period (165-155 million years ago), is thought to have been the largest fish to have ever lived, with estimates of some growing to 20-22 m (66 to 72 feet) in length.