A brand new Spinosaurus species has been unearthed from the Saharan desert, and its cranium bears an impressive crest by no means seen earlier than on this type of dinosaur.
Paleontologists have named it Spinosaurus mirabilis, which means ‘fantastic backbone lizard’. We heartily agree.
The invention reveals extra than simply the dinosaur’s magnificence, nonetheless. Spinosaurus have largely been present in coastal deposits, whereas this new specimen hails from deep inland in Niger, a whole bunch of kilometers from any ocean.
Even the paleontology staff, led by Paul Sereno of the College of Chicago, was caught off guard.
“This discover was so sudden and wonderful, it was actually emotional for our staff,” Sereno says.
“I will ceaselessly cherish the second in camp once we crowded round a laptop computer to have a look at the brand new species for the primary time… One member of our staff generated 3D digital fashions of the bones we discovered to assemble the cranium – on solar energy in the midst of the Sahara. That is when the importance of the invention actually registered.”
With its spiky, interlocking tooth harking back to fashionable crocodiles, and its proximity to long-necked dinosaurs buried in close by river sediments, Sereno and staff suppose this Spinosaurus may need led a semi-aquatic way of life amidst a forested habitat.
“I envision this dinosaur as a type of ‘hell heron’ that had no drawback wading on its sturdy legs into two meters of water however most likely spent most of its time stalking shallower traps for the numerous giant fish of the day,” Sereno says.
Associated: Fossil Discovery Rewrites International Dinosaur Historical past
The scimitar-shaped crest positive is good-looking, however precisely what goal it served stays a thriller. The staff suspect it was as soon as sheathed in keratin – maybe brightly coloured, like a toucan’s invoice – to create a type of visible show.
The analysis was printed in Science.
