Posted on 02/20/2026 6:03:41 AM PST by DFG
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 snaring slippery fish.
It prowled a forested inland environment and strode into rivers to catch sizable fish like a modern-day wading bird — a “hell heron,” as one of the researchers put it, considering it was about 40 feet long and weighed 5-7 tons.
The dinosaur presented a striking profile on the Cretaceous Period landscape of Africa some 95 million years ago as it hunted large fish like coelacanths in the region’s waterways. Its bony cranial crest, about 20 inches tall, resembled a curved sword called a scimitar, and it had a large sail-like structure on its back and an elongated crocodile-like snout.
Along with the existing genus name Spinosaurus, meaning “spine lizard,” the researchers gave it the species name mirabilis, meaning “astonishing,” referring to its crest. A genus is a group of closely related species bearing similar traits. For example, lions and tigers are the same genus but different species.
It is only the second known species of Spinosaurus, a dinosaur that has gained fame in popular culture for its depiction in the “Jurassic Park” movies. The other one, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, was named in 1915 based on fossils from Egypt.
Spinosaurus, the only known semiaquatic dinosaur predator, joins Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus among the largest meat-eating dinosaurs.
The two Spinosaurus species, which were contemporaneous, shared the same general body plan including long dorsal spines forming the sail-like structure and a skull adapted for hunting fish.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
You can’t fool me...that’s my Ex...
Bkmk
Take a lot of big fish to feed that critter.
Lots more CO2 in the atmosphere, and higher oxygen content make earth much more productive in that era. More oxygen made larger creatures easier to support as well.
Exactly how much more oxygen was available is open to dispute.
There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger.
(before anyone complains about Africa's complete lack of tigers, it doesn't say that this happened in Niger, she may have been on vacation. Plus, it's a limerick, so, chances are this never happened at all.)
Should have been named “Grimleysaur”, I must say!
That tail has a lot of meat in it.
Tastes like gator I bet.
Damn Niger - that’s a hell of a dinosaur!
Thanks for the ping! What an awesome looking creature.
My pleasure.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
