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Prehistoric Life

How long was Thylacosmilus atrox?

An adult Thylacosmilus atrox had a body length of about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in).

What is measured: adult body length

Thylacosmilus atrox (1.2 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), Thylacosmilus atrox (1.2 m) and Adult person (1.7 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 71% of the height of an adult person
  • About 5 would fit end to end along a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 60% of the height of a doorway
  • About 3.1× the height of a bowling pin
  • As long as about 14 credit cards end to end

Learn

Facts about Thylacosmilus atrox

Thylacosmilus was a saber-toothed metatherian whose exceptionally long upper canines were protected by deep lower-jaw flanges.

Source: Field Museum — Thylacosmilus; University of Florida — Thylacosmilus

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Thylacosmilus atrox
Anomalocaris canadensis1 m (3 ft 3 in)0.83×
Australopithecus afarensis1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)0.92×
Smilodon1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)same size
Sinosauropteryx prima1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)same size
Heterodontosaurus tucki1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)same size
Smilodon fatalis1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)same size
Thylacosmilus atrox1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)this page
Compsognathus longipes1.25 m (4 ft 1 in)1×
Cave bear1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)1.1×
Paranthropus boisei1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)1.2×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Thylacosmilus atrox or Anomalocaris canadensis?

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