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Prehistoric Life

How long was Diplocaulus magnicornis?

An adult Diplocaulus magnicornis had a total length of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in).

What is measured: adult, total body length

Diplocaulus magnicornis (1 m) drawn to scale beside a bowling pin (38.1 cm) and an adult person (1.7 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Bowling pin (38.1 cm), Diplocaulus magnicornis (1 m) and Adult person (1.7 m).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 59% of the height of an adult person
  • About 6 would fit end to end along a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 50% of the height of a doorway
  • About 2.6× the height of a bowling pin
  • As long as about 12 credit cards end to end

Learn

Facts about Diplocaulus magnicornis

Diplocaulus had greatly enlarged skull projections that gave its head a striking boomerang shape.

Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Diplocaulus; University of California Museum of Paleontology — Diplocaulus

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Diplocaulus magnicornis
Anomalocaris canadensis1 m (3 ft 3 in)same size
Diplocaulus magnicornis1 m (3 ft 3 in)this page
Eoraptor lunensis1 m (3 ft 3 in)same size
Australopithecus afarensis1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)1.1×
Smilodon1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Sinosauropteryx prima1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Heterodontosaurus tucki1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Smilodon fatalis1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Thylacosmilus atrox1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Compsognathus longipes1.25 m (4 ft 1 in)1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Diplocaulus magnicornis or Smilodon?

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