How to estimate the weight of dinosaurs? Colbert, an American vertebrate paleontologist and dinosaur expert, improved the method of measuring body weight with the recovery model, which is recognized as an effective method in the world at present. The principle is very simple, that is, the weight is equal to the volume multiplied by the specific gravity, and the volume of the dinosaur is obtained by using the dinosaur model. First, make a miniature model based on dinosaur bones, then put the model into a box filled with sand, and then measure the volume of the box and sand. The difference between them lies in the size of the dinosaur model. Multiply the volume of the dinosaur model by the cube of the ratio of the original size to the restored model to get the volume of the dinosaur before its death. Multiply the volume of dinosaurs by the proportion of modern reptiles closely related to dinosaurs, and finally get the approximate weight of dinosaurs.

A few days ago, biologists at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom developed a new technology that can measure the weight and size of dinosaurs more accurately with the help of laser scanning, and found that they were not as heavy as previously expected. The researchers also said that this technology can be applied to the measurement of the weight of all dinosaurs. Related research papers were published in the recently published journal Biology Letters.

Dr. Bill Cyrus, the main author of the paper, said: "One of the most important things for paleontologists is to know how heavy animals become fossils. The work was unexpectedly difficult, so we tested this new method. " Scientists scanned the bones of reindeer, polar bear, giraffe, elephant and so on 14 kinds of large mammals with laser, and calculated the minimum amount of skin covering the main parts of their bones.

They found that the actual weight of these animals is about 2 1% more than the above calculation results. Subsequently, they applied this method to the bones of the giant brachiosaurus dinosaur, the long-necked dinosaur, in the Berlin Museum of Nature, Germany, and calculated the skin and bone package of this dinosaur through laser scanning, and then increased it by 265,438+0%, thus calculating its actual weight. Previous estimates of the weight of the long-necked dragon were very diverse, up to 80 tons, but this calculation by the research team can reduce this figure to 23 tons. Although judging from the existing intact bones, the tallest and heaviest dinosaur may still be a long-necked dragon, this behemoth is much lighter than previously expected. ...