The Spinosaurus model is installed in Makuhari Mesa in Chiba, Japan.
Getty Images – Junko Kimura / Staff
Scientists have long been skeptical of the aquatic instincts of Spinosaurus. From its spiky sail to its crocodile snout, there were elements of spinosaurs that lent themselves to swimming – and more recently, Discovery of paddle-like tail bones Everyone asked if the dinosaur is more Michael Phelps than Edel Ill.
Now, a chairman published in Cretaceous Research has confirmed that Spinsaurus swims with the best of these. Tefonomic evidence, obtained from the banks of the Kemche River in the Moroccan Sahara Desert, supports this conclusion, with excavations uncovering 1,200 fossil teeth at the site.
Spinosaurus teeth account for about half of the findings, with hardly any evidence of land-colonized dinosaur teeth. This confirms the conclusion that spinosaurs are probably atic aquatic dinosaurs – in particular, river-dwelling predators.
David Martil, co-author of the study, said the presence of spinosaurus teeth was almost certainly a reflection of the aquatic lifestyle. “An animal that spends most of its life in the water is more likely to contribute to the amount of teeth in the river than dinosaurs that probably visited the river just to drink and feed on its banks.”
“With this research we are able to confirm this location because this giant dinosaur is not only alive, but also dead. The results are completely consistent with the idea of a true water-dwelling, ‘river monster’.”
After all, weighing up to about 18 meters (59 feet) and weighing more than 20 tons, it’s safe to say that Spinosaurus was definitely not the kind of company you could push your feet into deep.
