During the Mesozoic era, the Earth saw the emergence of the Sauropods. A suborder that, to this day, still holds the title of the largest living land species to have ever existed.
However, 66 million years ago, an asteroid that was 144.8 kilometers wide and 19.3 deep smashed into Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula at the end of the Cretaceous. This event, commonly called the K-T, or K-Pg extension, wiped out between seventy-five to eighty percent of all life on Earth at the time, including most of the Sauropods.
As the world recovered from this mass extinction, a multitude of different species began competing for the vacant role of giant herbivores. Although there were some creatures who managed to reach tremendous sizes, and temporarily occupy this niche, none of these animals were able to hold onto this title for long.
However, at the end of the Eocene, a new type of Elder Dragon appeared. At first, the only thing that made these creatures unique was that they were noticeably larger than most of the terrestrial fauna of the time. But as time passed, these large quadrupeds became even bigger, and evolved a menagerie of tools to help them achieve sizes that could rival the once titanic Sauropods.
Thanks to the following biological traits - a body posture that helps distribute their weight evenly; hollow bones that make them significantly lighter; and most surprising of all, a system of air sacs that is very similar to those of birds, which both supports their other anatomical features and allows them to efficiently pump oxygen throughout their bodies - these creatures aren't crushed under their own masses.
However, there is one more adaptation that has allowed them to survive being so massive. Unlike mammals who give birth to their young, Titanodracons lay eggs. This simple difference in reproduction means that these Elder Dragons aren't burdened with pregnancy, making the adults less vulnerable to attacks, as well as not having to expend energy during gestation, as the process is externalized.
But even with all these adaptations, there is one thing that these animals can't avoid. Because of how massive they are, these creatures must eat approximately a ton of food per day to keep themselves strong and healthy. Most of the time, these animals will get their nutrients from plants; however, unlike other giants, the Titanodracons have evolved to become omnivorous, making it easier for them to find food to maintain their enormous bodies.
Thanks to their varied diets and colossal sizes, these animals can be found living all over the world, and the most successful of all are the giants known as Vetumondraco orientemi.
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(Close-up of head.)
Although they are better known as Lao-Shan Lung, this is actually a misspelling of their Chinese name; Lao Shān Lóng, which means old mountain dragon.
This is a fitting name for these behemoths, as they can grow to be around 24 meters long and 5.7 meters tall at the shoulder. However, thanks to their hip structures, Lao-Shan Lungs can rise up on their back legs, giving them the total height of about 12.5 meters.
Lao-Shan Lungs primarily use this ability to reach food or points of interest that would otherwise be too tall for them to attain on all fours. However this wouldn't be possible if it weren't for their tails.
Despite being light for their size, the back legs of Lao-Shan Lungs still aren't capable of holding up their entire bodies by themselves. To compensate for the fact that they can't rely on their forelimbs to help distribute their weight in these positions, these Elder Dragons keep their tails on the ground when standing up, utilizing them for extra support.
But even with their tails to keep them from falling over due to weighing 57 tons, it still takes a lot of effort for them to stay in their upright posture for extended periods of time.
This is why during the mating season, males try to impress females, who are sometimes called Ashen Lao-Shan Lungs due to their grey skin, by standing upright for as long as possible. Unfortunately for them, they rarely get the chance to attract the opposite gender uninterrupted.
Despite living all over the old world, Lao-Shan Lungs will always return to specific mating grounds to reproduce with Ashen Lao-Shan Lungs usually arriving before the males. Over generations, the repeated use of these areas as gathering spots, along with the Lao-Shan Lungs' sheer size and dietary needs, has prevented the growth of large plants, creating the perfect stage for males to show off their strength to the slightly larger females.
But as it is so often the case, when multiple males gather in the same area for mating, it's only a matter of time before tempers flare. When Lao-Shan Lung bulls enter standoffs, both participants will stand to their full height, and attempt to make themselves look bigger than their rivals by showing off their horns and spikes. It's also common for the animals to roar at one another, as it further advertises their health and strength.
Most of the time, one of the males will back down, or won't be able to continue standing up and ultimately forfeit. But if both individuals are evenly matched, they may begin wrestling as they attempt to force their opponents to drop down on all fours.
During these battles of titans, both sides use their forelimbs to grapple with their adversaries, while their four clawed fingers cause scratches on each other's bodies. Thanks to their flexible necks, bulls can rear back their heads, and strike at each other's faces and throats with bites and horn jabs.
Since the top portion of Lao-Shan Lungs is protected by spiny segmented armor, and their bottom halfs are coated with 7 inches of thick scales, most of the attacks that fighting males throw at each other aren't life threatening.
The real danger to these battles comes from falling. One missteps could cause one, or even both animals to come crashing down to the ground. Most of the males will survive the initial drop, but likely sustain some injuries, such as damaged spikes or fractured bones. However, sometimes individuals may fall in a way that cripples or even kills them.
In a gruesome turn of events, these unlucky few will usually be eaten by the other Lao-Shan Lungs. This may be morbid, but it ensures that other males will be able to regain their strength to continue competing, and that females will have enough energy for the journey ahead of them.
Once the mating season has concluded, females will begin migrating towards volcanic areas. This may seem insane and very dangerous, but there's a good reason why Ashen Lao-Shan Lungs travel to these places. Since volcanic soil is constantly warmed by the magma that flows beneath the Earth's surface, Ashen Lao-Shan Lungs build their nests out of these materials, as it keeps the eggs at a constant and comfortable temperature.
In addition to this, andisols are rich in nutrients and hold water very well, making it the perfect place for plant growth. This means that when the Lao-Shan Lungs hatch from their eggs, they'll almost certainly be guaranteed to have a source of food.
But just like turtles, as soon as Lao-Shan Lungs hatch, they're on their own. Only measuring 20.32 centimeters when they first break out of their 15.24 centimeters long, and 12.7 centimeters wide eggs, these hatchlings look like miniature versions of their parents, though they lack horns and protective spikes.
Because of how defenseless these animals are during the first decade of their lives, Ashen Lao-Shan Lungs will lay between sixty and eighty eggs, maximizing the chances of one surviving. But even with this strategy, it's estimated that only two in every hundred hatchlings make it to adulthood. It's only when these animals reach ten years of age that their spikes and horns begin to grow, and at that point they simply become too big for most predators to attack.
For most of their adult lives, Lao-Shan Lungs will simply wander the land, and spend up to twenty hours a day eating. Unfortunately, due to humans replacing the Elder Dragons' old feeding grounds with cities and farm land, conflicts between Lao-Shan Lungs and civilizations are becoming more frequent.
Most of the time, the damages caused by Lao-Shan Lungs are relegated to crops and livestock being eaten, and property getting accidentally wrecked due to the Elder Dragons' size. But on rare occasions, these titans might wander into more densely populated areas.
Although Lao-Shan Lungs don't mean any harm, their colossal stature unintentionally makes them very dangerous, as doing something as simple as swinging their tail, or rubbing themselves against buildings can cause a massive amount of damage.
All over Asia, Africa, and Europe, many countries have tried different tactics to keep these massive animals away, some more successful than others. In some of the more prosperous countries, walls have been erected around cities to keep Lao-Shan Lungs out. Unfortunately, in some cases age has made these barriers weaker, leaving the walls vulnerable to collapsing.
In the past, other countries have used chemicals on their crops to kill the giants. Yet, because of the Lao-Shan Lungs' size, these toxins only succeeded in making them sick. On top of this, animals that did eat the poisoned plants as well as the corpses of the infected Elder Dragons, died. Because of this fiasco, this practice was banned altogether.
However, one practice has found great success is diverting the paths of the animals. Originating from as far back as the 8th century in China, farmers discovered that Lao-Shan Lungs couldn't stand the smell of chinese perfume plants. So to protect their crops from getting eaten, they planted the strong smelling vegetation around their land, creating an effective and nature friendly barrier. As time continued, this strategy was used to keep villages, and eventually cities safe from Lao-Shan Lungs.
In more recent years, other countries have adopted this method. Because they're relatively easy to grow, pose low threat levels to native life, and are unlikely to become invasive species, chinese perfume plants are quickly spreading around the world as the perfect Lao-Shan Lung repellent. This strategy might not eliminate all conflicts entirely, but it's much better than trying to shoot them, as the size and armour of the adults make them nearly bulletproof.
Unfortunately, there is one major problem that is threatening the future of Lao-Shan Lungs. With people converting the species' mating grounds and hatcheries for their own purposes, these goliaths are denied essential areas needed for their reproduction. However, multiple wildlife organizations are trying to protect these important sites, ensuring that Lao-Shan Lungs will still be able to return to these areas and create the next generation.
Thanks of their ability to simply muscle their way through most problems, willingness to eat just about anything, and the efforts of many to help these gentle giants survive, Lao-Shan Lungs may be in the near threatened category, but their populations are stabilizing and even increasing in some areas.
If you want to help protect these magnificent giants, supporting organizations aiming to protect breeding and nesting grounds is a great place to start. By working together, we ensure the continued survival of these real life eastern dragons.
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There's no doubting that Titanodracons are the closest thing we'll ever get to living kaijus. Their sheer mass and seemingly unstoppable march bring to mind the likes of giant movie monsters, such as Godzilla and King Kong. Thankfully, unlike their fictional counterparts, these colossal creatures lack any supernatural powers, and seem content with staying away from our cities. That said, there is one creature in particular that seems almost too outlandish to actually exist.
Standing 7 meters in height, 28 in length, and weighing 66 tons, Ambulomonte infernocus are guaranteed to render anyone who sees them speechless.
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Also called the Zorah Magdaros, which translates to walking volcano in old Felynese, these titans are the largest living land animals on Earth today.
Similarly to their close relatives, the Lao-Shan Lungs, Zorah Magdaros must eat massive amounts of food, around one and a half tons each day. So it makes sense that they're primarily found in the Congo Rainforest, as it's one of the few places where they can get enough nutrients.
Thanks to their alligator snapping turtle-like jaws, Zorah Magdaros are easily cable of both swallowing large amounts of food all at once and breaking through some of the tougher consumables they might come across.
Although Zorah Magdaros primarily feed off vegetation, it doesn't mean that they won't indulge in meat on occasions. In fact, it's not too uncommon for adults to accidentally swallow small animals while browsing. In addition to this, younger individuals will sometimes devour injured creatures. With the aid of their large pointed teeth and powerful jaws, young Zorah Magdaros are easily capable of slicing through flesh and bones.
But sometimes, these goliaths unknowingly kill other creatures. Because of the animals' sizes, anything unlucky enough to be caught in the path of Zorah Magdaros risks getting stepped on. Even the footprints of these moving mountains can be deadly. Whenever these animals travel across muddy terrains, they can sometimes make deep pits in the ground. Due to the tropical climate, these holes can occasionally be filled in with water and silt. This creates an unsuspecting death trap for any small creature that happens to walk into them, as it gets stuck, and sinks to the bottom. These phenomenons closely resemble the so-called dino death pits found in China, which were made by Sauropods walking through mud, and have been found to contain a menagerie of fossilized species.
Now despite having a lot of destructive capabilities, Zorah Magdaros are also incredibly important for their ecosystems. As you may have guessed by their nicknames, the carapaces of Zorah Magdaros resemble volcanoes; however, this isn't the only thing they have in common to the Lao-Shan Lungs. These behemoths also lay their eggs near volcanoes for the same reasons. Yet, this isn't the only reason they come to these mountains of fire.
Around once every six months, Zorah Magdaros will travel to volcanic areas and do something that seems very bizarre for animals of their sizes. They'll begin covering themselves in the ash and andisols by rubbing their body against the ground. These coatings of dust act as a natural bug repellent, and as they move through their environment, the volcanic soil that they picked up inevitably falls off, which not only gives off the illusion of smoke emanating from their bodies, but also covers the areas they pass through with nutrients, encouraging the growth of vegetation.
In addition to supercharging plant growth, Zorah Magdaros also create pathways for animals in the jungles, making it easier for them to navigate the otherwise densely packed terrains. As well, when these colossi knockdown trees in their travels, they create openings for new plant growth.
Despite being able to retract into their armour, all Zorah Magdaros are born with a trio of specialized organs in their armor known as magma cores. These body parts store and allow the Elder Dragons to spit acid at dangerous creatures, though this ability becomes redundant once they reach adulthood.
But as these animals reach the end of their sometimes century long lives, the orange patches on their shells will begin to glow and leak this acid, softening their carapace. The reason behind this strange phenomenon is that as Zorah Magdaros age, the magma cores' protective coatings begin to lose the battle against the acid within. Eventually, the organs rupture, allowing the liquids to break to the surface.
Because the acid has been chipping away at their carapaces for some time, when Zorah Magdaros finally die of old age, their tough armor and skin are soft enough for scavengers to penetrate. These events, known as titan falls, are essential for the health of the ecosystems. The decomposing bodies of these giants provide animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi with a smorgasbord of nutrients. And because of the sizes of Zorah Magdaros, their corpses can sometimes sustain thousands of species for many months.
Unfortunately, these solitary gentle giants are an endangered species. Due to deforestation and poaching of their young, Zorah Magdaros aren't capable of finding as much food as they need. If this keystone species disappears from the Congo Rainforest, all of the ecosystems they inhabit are almost certain to collapse in their absence.
However, wildlife organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, and the African Wildlife Foundation are trying to protect these forests and their wildlife. By showing your support to organizations like these, reporting illegal logging and poaching activities to the authorities, and spreading the word about the problems facing many of the creatures of the Congo Rainforest, you can help save these walking volcanoes and the species that rely on them for survival.
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One thing that has fascinated humans for their entire existence is gold. We seem to be obsessed with the shiny metal. But despite its lack of real usefulness, we still seek it out. Even just the slightest possibility of finding this metal appears to make us go crazy. One example of this is the Conquistadors who were convinced that there was a city of gold, El Dorado, somewhere in the new world.
However, there is one species that may be able to rival us when it comes to their love of precious metals. Deep within the caves and mountains of China, the massive Aureolacerta eldoradus is known to horde all sorts of treasures.
Standing 4 meters in height, and 18.6 length, these creatures, commonly known by the name of Kulve Taroth, are considered to be the world's largest burrowing animals. Most commonly found in the gigantic subterranean system that they create, Kulve Taroths are surprisingly elusive, only ever coming to the surface to drink and feed off the nearby vegetation and animals.
Not much is known about them or their lifestyle, due to the difficulty of both finding and reaching their nests. However, thanks to the bodies and few documented encounters we do have, we have been able to speculate on their behavior.
The first and most obvious thing about them is their coat of minerals. For a long time, these cloaks were believed to be large skin flaps that dangled from the animals. However, upon dissecting the corpses of Kulve Taroths, it was revealed that these skin flaps weren't part of their bodies at all. In fact, they weren't even biological.
Similarly to hermit crabs, the bodies of Kulve Taroths aren't completely armoured, looking more like horned lizards in reality. So to keep themselves safe, they use objects to cover their soft spots.
(Drawing of Kulve Taroth without armour.)
Because of their sizes and habitats, Kulve Taroths use the minerals they dig up to create coats of armor. However, this leaves us with the question of how they do it. Unlike hermit crabs, they simply can't just find a chunk of ore that's big enough to cover their body completely. Well, this is where a unique adaptation in their chests comes in.
Similarly to the Zorah Magdaros' magma cores, Kulve Taroths can spit acid that's stored in the special organs in their chests; however, these aren't just used for defense. Because of its unique chemical makeup, the acid that's stored in these special organs melt the metal rather than dissolving it entirely. By only spraying small amounts of acid from their armoured mouths, Kulve Taroths are capable of melting and fusing metals together, creating their armoured robes.
In addition to making clothing and self defense, Kulve Taroths will also spit out jets of their acid to soften the ground. This makes it easier for their powerful forelimbs and massive horns to break through the earth when digging.
The horns themselves are very strong, and usually coated in minerals, adding to their incredible durability. In addition to this, stress fractures on their headgears point their regular deployment. Some possibilities include self defense, jousting weapons, or shovels.
But whatever the reason for their horns, what is known, is that in ancient times, they were seen as a status symbol. Many leaders of the period possessed the headgears of these animals, yet it's also believed that just as many were slain by these animals during battle. This assumption is proven further, as some ancient Kulve Taroth robes have been found to have been made from human armour and weapons from that specific period in history.
Supposedly, during these battles, the Elder Dragons would enter a berserker-like state if their cloaks were removed, moving at incredible speeds and attacking with unbridled ferocity. Once again there is some evidence to support this claim. According to some eyewitnesses who've seen Kulve Taroths without any armour, the Elder Dragons seemed very agitated. This aggression is possibly due to the animals being exposed and vulnerable.
Unfortunately, we still know very little about these treasure wearing animals. In fact, they're so uncommon, that we don't even know how many there are in the world. But because of mining activities, contact between humans and Kulve Taroths has begun to rise. And unfortunately for both parties, these encounters aren't always peaceful.
If you want to help protect these animals, voting for people who are trying to find more environmentally friendly ways of making profits, reporting any illegal mining activities, and spreading awareness about Kulve Taroths and the problems opposing them, are just some ways you can do your part to ensure the continued existence of these creatures.
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The world is full of unique species, each coming in different shapes and sizes. However, sometimes evolution cooks up some truly amazing creatures, and few have been as amazing as the colossal Elder Dragons we know as the Titanodracons.
The living asian dragons, Lao-Shan Lungs are truly extraordinary animals. For millenia, they've captured our imaginations, shocking us with their enormous stature, breathtaking battles, and mighty strength. Despite being capable of destroying a city, these real life kaijus are thankfully gentle giants.
The walking volcanoes, Zorah Magdaros are the undisputed lrodes of the Congo Rainforest. Even though they're able to cause mass destruction by simply moving around, these colossi are the heart of their ecosystems. Without them, the jungle might not exist.
Clad in armour, minerals, and gold, the Kulve Taroths hide from the surface within their caverns of el dorado. They still hold many mysteries for us to uncover, and hopefully one day, we'll be able to discover them.
Together, these mighty animals have taken over the empty niche that was left behind by the large Sauropods of the Mesozoic. They may not be the fastest or smartest of creatures out there, but they are without a doubt some of the biggest. And just by looking at their sizes, they remind us just how small we really are.