Daniel Navarro
Spinosaurus mirabilis, artistic concept
The predator, the size of a bus, is distinguished from other spinosaurs by the scimitar-shaped crest on its head. It was so unusual that scientists didn’t immediately recognize it.
A team of paleontologists has discovered a colossal new species of dinosaur in a remote area of the Sahara.
baptized by Spinosaurus mirabiliswhich in Latin means “Amazing Spinosaurus“, the giant lived more than 95 million years ago, in the territory that is now Niger, far from the coastal regions where similar dinosaurs are usually found, adapted to hunting fish.
With the length of a school bus and a weight of several tonsthe new species of dinosaur is easily distinguished from other spinosaurs by its scimitar-shaped crest that he wears on his head.
The feature was so unusual that researchers they didn’t recognize her when they unearthed it for the first time, in 2019, having only realized its importance after returning to the location, in 2022to collect more specimens.
The team of researchers presented their discovery in a published Thursday in the journal Science. “This discovery was so sudden and extraordinary which was truly exciting for our team,” he said. Paul Serenoprofessor at the University of Chicago, at .
“I will forever remember the momentat the camp, where we gathered around a laptop to see the new species for the first time, after one of our team members generated 3D digital models of the bones we found to reconstruct the skull… It was at that moment that the importance of the discovery truly dawned on us“, he added.
Previously found Spinosaurus fossils were mostly located along ancient coastlines. These dinosaurs were highly adapted to hunt and capture fishwith elongated snouts and conical teeth that evoke modern-day crocodiles.
Keith Ladzinski
The fit of the upper and lower teeth into the skull forms a lethal trap for slippery fish – a time-tested fish-feeding adaptation observed in ichthyosaurs, crocodilians and pterosaurs, and which uniquely distinguishes Spinosaurus from its closest dinosaur relatives
The debate about the degree of aquaticity of these animals remains open: there are experts who argue that they were powerful swimmers, while others suggest that they spent much of their time wandering in shallow waters.
Time, it is St. Mirabilis was found hundreds of kilometers away the nearest sea coasts. The team suggests that this region of Niger will have been once a forest landscape crossed by riversnot a coastal environment.
“I imagine this dinosaur as a kind of ‘heron from hell’ which would have no difficulty getting its robust paws into two meters of water, but which probably spent most of its time lurking in traps in shallower waters for the numerous large fish of the time,” says Sereno.
Two spinosaurus mirabilis fight over the carcass of a coelacanth (artistic concept)
Therefore, there is still a lot to discover about this new species and its relatives in the spinosaur family. “This new discovery will only add more mystery to its aura”, says Steve Brusatteprofessor and paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the research.
“It’s truly a remarkable discovery, and what’s fantastic about it is the fact that we’re still learning more about Spinosaurus. It’s long been a mysterious dinosaurbut with each new fossil found, the real Spinosaurus slowly takes shape.”
