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Spinosaurus reconstruction in life: long, narrow jaws with conical teeth, and a single tail for water locomotion.
(Illustrations: Davide Bonadonna / Nature)
Scientists studying a peculiar million-year-old fossil of a particular dinosaur species called Spinosaurus would never have imagined that their findings could one day challenge the very definition of a “dinosaur”. A study published this week describes this impressive discovery: the first known swimming dinosaur!
A view of the Kem Kem region, Sahara desert (south-eastern Morocco), from the Spinosaurus excavation site.
(Photo: Diego Mattarelli / Nature)
Until recently, only fragments of Spinosaurus fossils were available for analysis, and most of the associated fossils were destroyed during World War II. In this study, a team of paleontologists led by Nizar Ibrahim of the University of Detroit, USA. USA, Describes an almost complete tail freshly obtained from a sub-adult Spinosaurus, a rare find from Kem Kem beds. The new fossil, found in 2018, features an almost complete skeleton of this swimming dinosaur found in continental Africa to date.
Spinosaurus’ tail is a flexible, paddle-like tail that may have helped them propel through water, just like today’s crocodiles, the study says. The uniquely shaped tail made up of a series of extremely tall neural spines would have helped them move laterally to create thrust in the water. Furthermore, the elongated snout with conical teeth of these dinosaurs also resembled the jaw of a crocodile.
Above: Reconstruction of the Spinosaurus tail skeleton (missing bones shown in white). Center: Cross sections through the tail showing changes in the vertebrae, tail volume, and main muscle arrangement. Below: Spinosaurus’ striking new look (black, soft parts / body contour; red, bones collected in 2008 by a local fossil collector; green, bones from recent scientific excavations; yellow, bone fragments collected from rubble around from the main excavation area).
(Drawings: Marco Auditore. Photos: Gabriele Bindellini / Nature)
While the new study establishes Spinosaurus as expert swimmers, its connection to water is not new information. Previous studies suggested that these dinosaurs may have waded in the water to hunt for fish, though confined only to the shallow shorelines. However, current research sheds new light on Spinosaurus, establishing them as aquatic animals that may have hunted prey in the water with the help of their specially adapted tails.
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