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Description
A comparison of three giant sauropods from different lineages. From left to right: the mamenchisaurid Xinjiangtitan shanshanensis, the brachiosaurid Giraffatitan brancai and the diplodocid Supersaurus vivianae.

Xinjiangtitan represents the mamenchisaurids, a group of sauropods characterised by extremely long necks relative to their body size. The total length of Xinjiangtitan is about 28.5 m, the total height is about 17 m, and I would roughly estimate the weight at ~ 30 - 35 tonnes. The neck of the holotype and only specimen of Xinjiangtitan is the longest complete neck known for any sauropod, at about 13.5 m. This incredibly long neck makes Xinjiangtitan the tallest of these three sauropods in a quadrupedal position, despite having much shorter forelimbs and lower shoulders than Giraffatitan. Xinjiangtitan is the smallest of the three sauropods here in terms of mass, which is hopefully apparent from the drawing; compare the bulk of the three torsos.

In the middle is the famous brachiosaurid Giraffatitan. The scaling here is based on the big Giraffatitan specimen XVII. The total length is about 24 m, total height a little over 16 m, and my best guess at the weight is ~ 40 - 45 tonnes. This is probably the heaviest of the three, though Supersaurus is comparable in bulk. Giraffatitan actually has a fairly unremarkable neck length for such a huge sauropod, at a 'mere' ~ 10.5 m. Its exceptional height comes not so much from extreme neck length as from extreme shoulder height; the forelimbs are very long and the back steeply sloping as a result.

Supersaurus is the longest sauropod of the three at about 33 m, due to the long, whiplash tail characteristic of diplodocids. The total height in this tripodal position - a hypothesised feeding stance for diplodocids, allowing higher browsing - is ~ 19 m, and my weight estimate is ~ 35 - 40 tonnes. The neck length is intermediate between Giraffatitan and Xinjiangtitan, at around 11.5 m.

To put these giants into perspective, the tallest living animal is the giraffe - I have illustrated a typical, 5 m tall individual that would weigh about 1 tonne. And last but not least, the scale human is 1.7 m tall.

Description
A comparison of three giant sauropods from different lineages. From left to right: the mamenchisaurid Xinjiangtitan shanshanensis, the brachiosaurid Giraffatitan brancai and the diplodocid Supersaurus vivianae.

Xinjiangtitan represents the mamenchisaurids, a group of sauropods characterised by extremely long necks relative to their body size. The total length of Xinjiangtitan is about 28.5 m, the total height is about 17 m, and I would roughly estimate the weight at ~ 30 - 35 tonnes. The neck of the holotype and only specimen of Xinjiangtitan is the longest complete neck known for any sauropod, at about 13.5 m. This incredibly long neck makes Xinjiangtitan the tallest of these three sauropods in a quadrupedal position, despite having much shorter forelimbs and lower shoulders than Giraffatitan. Xinjiangtitan is the smallest of the three sauropods here in terms of mass, which is hopefully apparent from the drawing; compare the bulk of the three torsos.

In the middle is the famous brachiosaurid Giraffatitan. The scaling here is based on the big Giraffatitan specimen XVII. The total length is about 24 m, total height a little over 16 m, and my best guess at the weight is ~ 40 - 45 tonnes. This is probably the heaviest of the three, though Supersaurus is comparable in bulk. Giraffatitan actually has a fairly unremarkable neck length for such a huge sauropod, at a 'mere' ~ 10.5 m. Its exceptional height comes not so much from extreme neck length as from extreme shoulder height; the forelimbs are very long and the back steeply sloping as a result.

Supersaurus is the longest sauropod of the three at about 33 m, due to the long, whiplash tail characteristic of diplodocids. The total height in this tripodal position - a hypothesised feeding stance for diplodocids, allowing higher browsing - is ~ 19 m, and my weight estimate is ~ 35 - 40 tonnes. The neck length is intermediate between Giraffatitan and Xinjiangtitan, at around 11.5 m.

To put these giants into perspective, the tallest living animal is the giraffe - I have illustrated a typical, 5 m tall individual that would weigh about 1 tonne. And last but not least, the scale human is 1.7 m tall.