LARGEST ANIMAL

The largest ANIMAL found on Earth can be measured using a variety of methods. It could be defined as the largest by volume, mass, height or length. Some organisms group together to form a superorganism, though this cannot truly be classed as one large organism. (The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, stretching 2,000 km, is a collection of many organisms.)

The Aspen tree (Populus tremuloides) forms large stands of genetically identical trees (technically, stems) connected by a single underground root system. These trees form through root sprouts coming off an original parent tree, though the root system may not remain a single unit in all specimens. The largest known fully connected Aspen is a grove in Utah nicknamed Pando, and some experts call it the largest organism in the world,^[1] by mass or volume.^[2] It covers 0.43 km²(106 acres) and is estimated to weigh 6,600 short tons (6,000 t).^[3]

A giant fungus of the species Armillaria solidipes (honey mushrooms) in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon was found to span 8.9 km² (2,200 acres),^[4] which would make it the largest organism by area. Whether or not this is an actual individual organism, however, is disputed: some tests have indicated that they have the same genetic makeup,^[5] but unless its mycelia are fully connected, it is a clonal colony of numerous smaller individuals. Another clonal colony that rivals the Armillaria and the Populus colonies in size is a strand of the giant marine plant, Posidonia oceanica, discovered in the Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands. It covers a band roughly 8 km (5.0 mi) in length.^[6]

The world's largest single stem tree, by volume, is the General Sherman tree, a Giant Sequoiawith a volume of 1,487 m³ (52,500 cu ft).^[7] This tree stands 83.8 m (275 ft) tall and the trunk alone is estimated to weigh over 2,000 short tons (1,800 t). The largest single-stem tree ever measured was the Lindsey creek tree, a Coast Redwood with a minimum trunk volume of over 2,500 m³(88,000 cu ft) and a mass of over 3,600 short tons (3,300 t). It fell over during a storm in 1905.^[8]

The largest known animal ever to have existed is the blue whale, an endangered species whose official record length is 33.58 m (110 ft 2 in), and weight 190 short tons (172 metric tons) (for a pregnant female). The largest living land animals by mass are male (bull) African Bush Elephants(Savannah Elephants or Bush Elephants); one known example weighed roughly 27,000 lb (12 t). Some extinct land animals, including many dinosaurs, were much larger still. A 1985 study concluded that the theoretical limit for land-dwelling animals based on known types of body plans was between 100 and 1000 metric tons.

SOURCE:GOOGLE.COM