• Artist’s interpretation ofSpinosaurus mirabilisDani Navarro Artist’s interpretation ofSpinosaurus mirabilis Dani Navarro Were the mysterious dinosaurs known as spinosaursexcellent swimmersthat could dive to catch prey? • Or were they"hell herons"that plucked huge fish from shallow waters? • Fossils of a new spinosaur species that lived around 1000 kilometres inland should settle the debate, say its discoverers, confirming that it was a wader. • “Coup de grâce, as far as I’m concerned,” saysPaul Serenoat the University of Chicago. • The lifestyle of spinosaurs has been a contentious topic among palaeontologists, due to the animal having astrange combination of features, including a large sail, huge claws, broad feet and crocodile-like jaws. • In 2025, the BBC seriesWalking With Dinosaursdepicted them as aquatic hunters.
Article Summaries:
- New fossils from a remote Niger site reveal a previously unknown spinosaur species, Spinosaurus mirabilis, that lived about 95 million years ago. The 10-14 m long dinosaur possessed a large skull crest and a sail, but its anatomy-particularly the proportions of its jaws, neck and hind limbs-matches modern wading birds rather than aquatic predators. Lead researcher Paul Sereno argues that the crest and sail were likely visual displays for territory or mate attraction, and that the animal could only enter shallow water (up to 10 ft deep). The find supports the view that spinosaurs were primarily terrestrial waders, not deep‑diving swimmers.
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