Spinosaurus
genus of theropod dinosaur (fossil) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spinosaurus was a huge semi-aquatic dinosaur from the Cretaceous, that lived 99 to 93.5 million years ago.[1] It was one of the largest and the longest of all known terrestrial carnivores that weights up to 7.4 metric tons in body mass.
Spinosaurus | |
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Reconstructed skeleton in swimming posture, National Geographic Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | †Spinosauridae |
Tribe: | †Spinosaurini |
Genus: | †Spinosaurus Stromer, 1915 |
Type species | |
†Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer, 1915 | |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
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It had rather short hind limbs that made it easier to walk on muddy surfaces and nostrils on top of its crocodile-like head. This would let it submerge its' snout into waterways that would help it to catch fish, similar to a heron
The same research suggests it was longer than Tyrannosaurus rex, And wade
Spinosaurus bones were first discovered in Egypt in 1912 by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. Two species, S. aegyptiacus and S. marocannus which is most likely invalid.Spinosaurus looked like Baryonyx, except it was larger and more heavily built. Six specimens of Spinosaurus have been uncovered. The first fossils were destroyed in Munich, during World War II, in a 1944 bombing raid by the British.[1]
A note on classification: The material also supports the monophyly of the Spinosaurinae and the separation of Spinosaurus and Irritator.