{"id":28008,"date":"2023-05-10T17:47:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T15:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=76783"},"modified":"2023-05-10T18:35:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T16:35:41","slug":"which-species-has-the-strongest-skeleton","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/which-species-has-the-strongest-skeleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Which species has the strongest skeleton?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean stronger says Ben Garrod. In fact its the smaller animals that have the strongest skeletons <\/p>

By Professor Ben Garrod\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 10 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>The largest skeleton on Earth belongs to the blue whale<\/a><\/strong>, the heaviest animal on the planet at 190 tonnes. In contrast, the heaviest animal that ever lived on land is the recently discovered titanosaur, whose skeleton must have been incredibly powerful to support its 70-tonne bodyweight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, unsurprisingly, the heaviest land animal<\/a> <\/strong>is the elephant, but it doesn\u2019t have the strongest skeleton.<\/p>\n

Biggest, however, doesn\u2019t necessarily mean strongest \u2013 particularly for blue whales, since being suspended in water lightens the load.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which species has the strongest skeleton?<\/h2>\n

Proportionally speaking, the world\u2019s strongest skeletons belong to far smaller contenders. A roe deer\u2019s femur, for example, can support over 1.5 tonnes, but the winners are probably the hero shrews Scutisorex somereni<\/i> and S. thori<\/i>, super-tough little mammals that inhabit the forests of Central Africa. <\/span><\/p>\n

The animals were often sought by members of Congolese tribes for a ritual that involved standing on a live individual for five minutes. Thanks to their incredibly rigid and interlocking bones, the shrews were left unharmed, albeit possibly a little confused.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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