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Prehistoric Life

How long was Helicoprion bessonowi?

An adult Helicoprion bessonowi had a total length of about 7.6 m (25 ft).

What is measured: Large adult, total body length

Helicoprion bessonowi (7.6 m) drawn to scale beside a 20-foot shipping container (6.06 m) and a city bus (12 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Shipping container (20 ft) (6.06 m), Helicoprion bessonowi (7.6 m) and City bus (12 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • A little longer than a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 63% of the length of a city bus
  • About 3 would fit end to end along a tennis court
  • About 6 would fit end to end along an Olympic swimming pool
  • About 3.8× the height of a doorway

Learn

Facts about Helicoprion bessonowi

Helicoprion’s famous spiral tooth whorl was part of its lower jaw and grew throughout the animal’s life.

Source: Idaho Museum of Natural History, “Helicoprion”; Smithsonian Magazine, “The Strange Spiral Jaw of Helicoprion”

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Helicoprion bessonowi
Ceratosaurus nasicornis6 m (20 ft)0.79×
Pteranodon7 m (23 ft)0.92×
Argentavis magnificens7 m (23 ft)0.92×
Megalania prisca7 m (23 ft)0.92×
Helicoprion bessonowi7.6 m (25 ft)this page
Ankylosaurus magniventris8 m (26 ft)1.1×
Prototaxites8 m (26 ft)1.1×
Nigersaurus taqueti9 m (30 ft)1.2×
Albertosaurus sarcophagus9 m (30 ft)1.2×
Parasaurolophus walkeri9.5 m (31 ft)1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Helicoprion bessonowi or Parasaurolophus walkeri?

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