US EditionFossils of a new species of huge dinosaur Spinosaurus unearthed in Niger
Fossils reveal Spinosaurus mirabilis lived inland 500-1,000 km from coasts and hunted fish by wading in rivers, supporting a semi-aquatic lifestyle, researchers say.
- 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.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Fossils of a new species of huge dinosaur Spinosaurus unearthed
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
A team from the University of Chicago announced the discovery of several fossils in the Sahara, including the crest of a 13-meter-high dinosaur.According to the report, the fossil found in the Sahara belongs to a new kind of spinosaur, the Spinosaur mirabilis.The fossil of the crested dinosaur of the Sahara is the first found in a century.According to Science magazine, where the discovery was made known, the fossil of the crested dinosaur found …
A team of paleontologists has discovered deep in the Sahara Desert in Niger the fossil of a fish-eating dinosaur known as Spinosaurus mirabilis, one of the largest carnivores to ever walk the Earth.
An international team of paleontologists has described a new species of spinosaur found in the central Sahara that boasts the tallest known cranial crest in a theropod dinosaur. The study, published in the journal Science, proposes that these Cretaceous giants were shoreline predators in riparian environments, rather than fully aquatic underwater hunters. The species was named Spinosaurus mirabilis, and its remains were discovered in the Farak F…
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.
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