Millions of years ago, our planet was inhabited by huge animals - dinosaurs. Today there are no such giants, however, and in our days there are creatures of incredible size on Earth. What is the largest animal in the world? We will try to answer this question in this article.
African elephant
This giant is the largest and heaviest of animals that inhabit land. African elephants grow up to a height of 3.3 meters, in length - up to seven and a half meters and at the same time weigh about six thousand kilograms. Females are slightly smaller than males, their length is slightly more than two and a half meters, and their weight is about three thousand kilograms.
Interestingly, the adult African elephant has no natural enemies, which, however, is not surprising, given the enormous size of the animal. But for newborns elephants are seriously threatened by lions, crocodiles, leopards and hyenas.
Seal
In front of you is a sea elephant (southern) - a representative of the genus of sea elephants, a family of real seals. This is the largest representative of pinnipeds on our planet. Its mass reaches 4 tons, and the body length is more than 6 meters. This is the largest animal in the world (carnivorous) got its name because of the obese body and an unusual skin bag on the nose of males, which during mating season or when the seal is alarmed swells into a huge ball.
He was called southern in order to distinguish him from his close relative - the northern elephant seal that lives on the California coast and is significantly inferior to it in size. Surprisingly, the basis of the diet of these huge animals is squid and fish, living at a depth of up to a thousand meters. Seals dive in search of food and run it under water for a long time. The diving record was officially registered - about two hours.
Sea elephants spend most of their lives in the waters of the ocean, they rarely go to land, it usually happens during the mating season. Often at this time, males arrange real fights.
Giraffe
Answering the question, what is the largest land animal in the world, many of our readers will probably say: "Giraffe!" Indeed, no one on our planet can compare with his growth. A cloven-hoofed mammal grows up to six meters in height. Males weigh about 1600 kilograms on average, females are almost half as much - 830 kilograms.
Even children know about the features of this animal - a long and strong neck, which is almost half its height.
The Bears
And again we return to the question of who is the largest animal in the world. The fact that polar (or polar) bears can claim this title is known to many, but there is also a kind of brown bear in the world - Kodiak, which is not inferior in size to the northern giants. In terms of size, these animals are almost equal, so scientists have still not come to a consensus that one of them is larger.
The height of these bears is from 1.6 to 2 meters, the length sometimes exceeds 3 meters. The largest officially registered individuals weighed 1, 003 kilograms (polar bear) and 1, 135 kilograms (kodiak).
Giant salamander
And now let's go to Japan, where the largest animal (amphibian) lives. The giant (gigantic) salamander is listed in the World Red Book, as it is currently on the verge of extinction.
It is difficult to call this creature attractive: its huge body is completely covered with mucus, its huge head is slightly flattened from above. The long tail is laterally compressed, the legs are thick, but disproportionately short. Tiny eyes resemble beads, and they are devoid of eyelids. The body is covered with warty skin with a fringe on the sides. The body length of this "cutie" reaches one hundred and seventy centimeters, and weight - about thirty kilograms.
An interesting fact is that this amphibian has very tasty meat, considered a delicacy. In addition, some of its organs are used in traditional medicine. Healers claim that drugs made from the meat of giant salamander cure gastrointestinal diseases, tuberculosis and some blood diseases.
Ocean sun fish
Now let's talk about aquatic inhabitants. This is not the largest animal in the world, but it is impossible not to mention it in our review. We are sure that if one of the scuba diving enthusiasts meets such a fish on his way, he will certainly experience a shock.
In oceanic solar fish (Mola-Mola), the skeleton is not cartilaginous, but bony. Outwardly, it resembles a giant fish head with a tail. This amazing creature weighing up to a thousand kilograms and almost two meters long can amaze even experienced travelers who have seen many outlandish animals. The largest bony fish inhabits and breeds in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Often it can be seen in the waters of Iceland, Newfoundland, Norway, Britain, the Kola Peninsula.
Sea crocodile
This giant reptile has a fairly large habitat - from the east coast of India and Southeast Asia to Northern Australia. An adult male sea crocodile weighs up to a thousand kilograms, length - up to 5.5 meters. These are averaged values. Researchers claim that males are more than 6 meters long.
Sea crocodile is an active predator that feeds on mollusks, insects, crustaceans, amphibians, fish and small reptiles. However, he attacks almost any animal that appears on its territory, regardless of where it is located - on land or in water.
Sperm whale
Today, only one species of sperm whales lives on Earth. In length, they reach twenty meters and weigh almost fifty tons. With such an impressive form, the animal in the depths of the ocean has no enemies. The only exception may be killer whales, which sometimes attack females and their offspring.
Giant Tridakna
In front of you (in the photo below) is the largest mollusk in the world. The detachment of animals to which it belongs is called Veneroida. It combines bivalve mollusks from a subclass of labiaceae.
The giant tridacna, common in the Pacific Ocean, has a huge shell. Its length is more than two meters. The clam weighs 400 kilograms. An interesting fact is that zooxanthellae live in the tissues of the animal, living due to photosynthesis and are food for the mollusk. Tridacna also digests part of the algae directly in the tissues, since the intestines are underdeveloped.
The edges of the huge mantle protrude between the flaps and are equipped with an optical system - small light-refracting cones that are immersed in the body of the mollusk. The flaps of the shell are massive, thick, uniform in shape. As with all representatives of this subclass, the mollusk shell does not have a pearlescent layer.
The “king of mollusks” lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans, at a depth of 25 m. He is called a murderer, since there are cases when divers inadvertently fell into their wings and died. The valves of the mollusk shells are sensitive to vibration of the water, so they can easily slam at the slightest movement near the mantle. They live tridakny almost two centuries.
Giant mollusks can produce quite large pearls: the largest documented pearl of Lao Tzu weighs about seven kilograms. However, this pearl has no jewelry value.
