Scientists have given us a look at what they believe was the
planet's first semi-aquatic dinosaur - or at least their idea of what
the creature called Spinosaurus looked like.
The dinosaur spent part of its life living and hunting in the waters that covered northern Africa 95 million years ago - a 15-meter long semi-aquatic giant even bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex.
The first Spinosaurus aegyptiacus fossils were found in Egypt more than a century ago. Using newly discovered fossils from the Sahara desert in Morocco, CT scans and digital reconstructions, an international team of researchers was able to create an anatomically precise, life-size 3D replica of its skeleton, revealing previously unknown aquatic adaptations.
Spinosaurus had small nostrils in the middle of its skull, which allowed it to breathe when part of its head was under water. Its long neck and short powerful hind legs made it agile in the water, but unlikely to walk upright on land like other predatory dinosaurs. The researchers propose it may have had webbed feet for walking on the soft mud of riverbanks.
Spinosaurus, more than three meters longer than the largest known T. rex, is the second giant dinosaur announced this month. The fossilized remains of the 26-meter-long Dreadnoughtus were found in southern Argentina, and described last week by scientists from Drexel University.
The dinosaur spent part of its life living and hunting in the waters that covered northern Africa 95 million years ago - a 15-meter long semi-aquatic giant even bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex.
The first Spinosaurus aegyptiacus fossils were found in Egypt more than a century ago. Using newly discovered fossils from the Sahara desert in Morocco, CT scans and digital reconstructions, an international team of researchers was able to create an anatomically precise, life-size 3D replica of its skeleton, revealing previously unknown aquatic adaptations.
Spinosaurus had small nostrils in the middle of its skull, which allowed it to breathe when part of its head was under water. Its long neck and short powerful hind legs made it agile in the water, but unlikely to walk upright on land like other predatory dinosaurs. The researchers propose it may have had webbed feet for walking on the soft mud of riverbanks.
Spinosaurus, more than three meters longer than the largest known T. rex, is the second giant dinosaur announced this month. The fossilized remains of the 26-meter-long Dreadnoughtus were found in southern Argentina, and described last week by scientists from Drexel University.
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