How Tall Was Lupe?
Lupe still had some growing to do, but she was already about six feet tall at the shoulder.
How do we know?
Scientists can tell how tall Lupe was based on the length of her femur. They figured this out by measuring the height and femur length of many elephants. They found a mathematical equation that describes a pattern between the length of the femur and the height of the elephant. Paleontologists used this equation to figure out how tall Lupe was. Lupe’s femur is 27 inches long which indicates she was about 6 feet tall** at the shoulder.
** Note: In the exhibit at the Children's Discovery Museum, the replica of Lupe is a bit taller than this estimate.
- How tall was Lupe?
- How much did Lupe weigh?
- How old was Lupe?
- How does a femur grow?
- How did Lupe walk?
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0741583.