US EditionFossils of a new species of huge dinosaur Spinosaurus unearthed in Niger
Spinosaurus mirabilis, with a 20-inch scimitar-shaped crest and specialized fish-trap teeth, lived inland in forested waterways, challenging views of Spinosaurus as solely marine predators.
- Paul Sereno's team uncovered jaw fragments at a remote Niger desert site and excavated bones from around 10 individuals, naming the new species Spinosaurus mirabilis, which lived around 95 million years ago and grew 10 to 14 metres, Science reports.
- Experts note the contested lifestyle of spinosaurs' characteristic features—sail, claws, broad feet and crocodile-like jaws—while BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs portrayed them as aquatic hunters, intensifying debate among palaeontologists.
- Researchers plotted anatomical proportions and found spinosaurs clustered with modern herons, and the crest measured at least 40 centimetres bony, 50 centimetres keratin-covered, with a wading depth of 10 feet.
- Discoverers say fossils from around 1000 kilometres inland should settle the debate by confirming a wading lifestyle, and they argue sails and crests served as visual displays along rivers.
- Despite new evidence, some palaeontologists caution that crest differences could be variation, while critiques of swimming proposals mean debate continues, as the team noted a large skull crest early on.
22 Articles
22 Articles
New 'scimitar-crested' Spinosaurus species discovered in the central Sahara
A paper published in Science describes the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a new spinosaurid species found in Niger. A 20-person team led by Paul Sereno, Ph.D., Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, unearthed the find at a remote locale in the central Sahara, adding important new fossil finds to the closing chapter of spinosaurid evolution.
Fossils of a new species of huge dinosaur Spinosaurus unearthed in Niger
At a remote and barren Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring slippery fish.
Spinosaurus is considered one of the largest dinosaurs to have lived on Earth, and its gigantic remains had previously been found in coastal areas. However, an international team of researchers has discovered a new species (which they have named Spinosaurus mirabilis) in a remote region of the Sahara Desert in Niger, according to a study published this Thursday in the journal Science. This is the first discovery of the popular Spinosaurus in mor…
NewScientist
Los Angeles Weekly TimesNew fossils may settle debate over mysterious sail-backed spinosaurs
Spinosaurs have sometimes been portrayed as swimmers or divers, but a new species of these dinosaurs bolsters the idea that they were more like gigantic herons
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