| Spinosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Spinosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Spinosaurus Stromer et al., 1915 |
| Type species | |
| †Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer, 1915 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Spinosaurus (spin·o·saur·us/pronounced SPINE-oh-SORE-us) ("spiny lizard") was a large Theropod dinosaur that is known to be the prime candidate for being largest known Carnivore yet.
A model of Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus is known from several poor specimens. The holotype specimen was discovered in 1912 in Egypt, by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer. The specimen included the lower jaw, teeth, several neural spines, ribs, vertebrae and a single phalanx.
Stromer measured the maximum length of Spinosaurus as 12 meters (39 ft), despite the holotype measuring only about 10 meters (33 ft) long. Sadly, the holotype specimen was destroyed after the museum, where the fossils were displayed at, was destroyed by Allied forces during the night of 24/25 April 1944.
Newer discoveries from Tunisia in 1999 and Morocco in 2005 and 2014 suggest that Spinosaurus may have reached 15 meters (49 ft) in length. A size estimate by Dr. Dal Sasso suggests that the animal could have reached a length of 18 meters (59 ft) in length, however, this claim may be an over-estimation.
The largest known specimen was found by Spanish paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso, in Morocco in 2005. The specimen includes a near complete upper jaw which measures about 1.75 meters (5.7 ft) long, with a few well-preserved teeth. The latest finds, also discovered in Morocco, were discovered by Dr. Nizar Ibrahim and Dr. Paul Sereno. The specimen includes well preserved hind limbs, four neural spines, gastralia and some parts of the skull from the postorbital area.
Scaling comparison of Spinosaurus beside a human and an Alligator gar.
Ibrahim and Sereno made a new reconstruction of this animal, suggesting that Spinosaurus may have had a quadrupedal posture. However, this reconstruction has been criticized by both the public and the scientific community, although some people and scientist support it, some people (including scientists) believed it to be a chimera or error by Ibrahim due to an error in the original paper's description of how the measurements were done. Including Scott Hartman & John Hutchinson. A new revision has been published which has proved supporting Ibrahim's measurements. Evers et al. 2015 argued that Sigilmassosaurus was a distinct genus, and therefore doubted whether the material assigned to Spinosaurus by Ibrahim et. al. even belonged to it.
It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the described fossils. The best-known species is Spinosaurus aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species named Spinosaurus maroccanus (which is currently considered to be a junior\nomen dubium) has been discovered in Morocco in recent times it is not officially recognized by this name. Spinosaurus Maroccanus may be sigilmassasaurus.
An artist's interpretation of Spinosaurus catching prey in its natural ecosystem.
Due to the body shape and limb orientation, it's biomechanics are more comparable to an aquatic bird like a cormorant or pelican rather than a crocodile. Spinosaurus is thought to have been semi-aquatic due to its diminutive limbs, but no one knows for certain. Spinosaurus locomotion method on land is uncertain. Plausible theories include a Bipedal Gait with an S-Curved neck similiar to a Swan or a Pelican; or a more erect bipedal gait similiar to most theropods and lastly a quadrupedal gait; althrough its purely a speculation. Spinosaurus theorized to being able to change posture.
This diagram shows possible methods of land-based locomotion for Spinosaurus:
Discovery
Two species of Spinosaurus have been named: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus (meaning "Egyptian spine lizard") and Spinosaurus maroccanus (meaning "Moroccan spine lizard")
The first described remains of Spinosaurus were found and described in the early 20th century. In 1912, Richard
A Spinosaurus Skeleton
Markgraf discovered a partial skeleton of a dinosaur in the Bahariya Formation of western Egypt. In 1915, German paleontologist Ernst Stromer published an article assigning the specimen to a new genus and species Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
Fragmentary additional remains from Bahariya, including vertebrae and hindlimb bones, were designated by Stromer as "Spinosaurus B" in 1934.[18]Stromer originally believed they belonged to juvenile Spinosaurus, but after closer research and bone analysis, he determined that specimen was actually a chimera, with remains of Sigilmassasaurus and Carcharodontosaurus.
We don't have complete Spinosaurus' skeletons, but we have some of its parts of the body. We have about 5.7 ft long jaws, formed to grabbing and neural spines, that may be created the sail. However, newest reconstruction by Dr. Nizar Ibrahim shows that neural spines had a shape similar to those of bison's. That may indicate Spinosaurus
actually had some kind of hump, not a sail. But, we have near complete skeletons of its cousins, Baryonyx and Suchomimus. They were just smaller versions of Spinosaurus, without a sail. So we can easily reconstruct the Spinosaurus based on mentioned dinosaurs. However, the most accepted theory is that its spine was thicker than the popular version of Spinosaurus, but not thick enough to be a hump.
S. maroccanus was originally described by Dale Russell in 1996 as a new species based on the length of its neck vertebrae. Specifically, Russell claimed that the ratio of the length of the centrum (body of vertebra) to the height of the posterior articular facet was 1.1 in S. aegyptiacus and 1.5 in S. maroccanus. Later authors have been split on this topic. Some authors note that the length of the vertebrae can vary from individual to individual, that the holotype specimen was destroyed and thus cannot be compared directly with the S. maroccanus specimen, and that it is unknown which cervical vertebrae the S. maroccanus specimens represent. Therefore, though some have retained the species as valid without much comment, most researchers regard S. maroccanus as a nomen dubium or as a junior synonym of S. aegyptiacus.
General Description
The animal was semi-aquatic. Spinosaurus was estimated to grow about 15 meters (49 feet) long and weigh about 7.6 tonnes (8.4 tons).
It got its name, which means "spine lizard," because of the tall spines on its vertebrae (bones of the spine), some reaching a height of six feet! They formed a sail along the animal's back, though not like those of the Permian mammal-like reptile Dimetrodon or Ouranosaurus, the hadrosaur that lived in the same time period and area and may have been a prey item of Spinosaurus.
The enlarged vertebrae of Spinosaurus that give it its name have been a cause of a great deal of controversy in recent years, with some people claiming they were a shrink-wrapped sail akin to Dimetrodon or Edaphosaurus, and others arguing instead that it was a thick ridge or hump akin to a bison or rhinoceros. The remains published in 2014 have shown that the vertebral spines narrow at the top nearer the front end of the animal, which means they would not have supported a thick fatty hump, however, they still do not display the characteristics of a “true sail-back” either. There were "few channels for blood vessels" meaning it likely wasn't for thermal regulation. Sail-backed reptiles have the supports for their sails that are thin, almost like the rays of a fishes fins, this can be seen for example in modern basilisks, whereas the vertebrae of Spinosaurus are thick at the base and narrow towards the top. In life the structure would have appeared rising from the body to form a triangular shape over the animals back (when viewed from in front), as opposed to either a shrink-wrapped sail or a large hump, it would have been most akin to chameleons. However, the vertebrae towards the animal's hips were thicker and could have supported a hump, perhaps to aid in buoyancy or balance.
Spinosaurus's primary weapon is its mighty 5 foot arms with 25-30cm fingers armed with 15-20cm claws, designed for killing and occasionally for walking. The arm would swipe at another predator causing the claws to dig extremely deep into the flesh while the fingers are just an extension, like a knife has a handle, making the claw go deeper into the prey or competitor causing great pain. Then, secondary weapon is its specialized 1.6-meter jaws. These jaws are formed for the grabbing the prey, clamping down and suffocating it and they are most similar to these of crocodile. So, scientists guess that it used them like a crocodile, to throw prey from side to side. Brutally torn the prey into smaller 'pieces'. The jaws also had conical teeth like today's crocodiles. The teeth were hollow, designed for fish hunting meaning it had a relatively weak bite compared to other predators but is able to kill all the same.
Spinosaurus is a semi-aquatic animal. Proof of this is the elongated feet, hydrodynamic design, and sensors in the form of small holes, on the top of its snout. They were perfect for locating fish in the water. This was found when in 2010 an isotope analysis by Romain Amiot and colleagues found that oxygen isotope ratios of spinosaurid teeth, including teeth of Spinosaurus, indicate semiaquatic lifestyles.
Isotope ratios from tooth enamel and from other parts of Spinosaurus and of other predators from the same area such as Carcharodontosaurus were compared with isotopic compositions from contemporaneous theropods, turtles, and crocodilians.
Spinosaurus vs Carcharodontosaurus The balance of power Planet Dinosaur
The study found that Spinosaurus teeth from five of six sampled localities had oxygen isotope ratios closer to those of turtles and crocodilians when compared with other theropod teeth from the same localities. The authors postulated that Spinosaurus Switched its living/hunting Territory between terrestrial and aquatic habitats to compete for food with large crocodilians and other large theropods. This strongly suggests that the Spinosaurus has more amphibious (lives both land and water) lifestyle rather than a fully aquatic lifestyle.
Spinosaurus food: The giant car-sized sawfish Onchopristis
The teeth are different from other theropod teeth because they were conical and the serrations (the cutting ridges along the sides) were very small. These tooth features, along with the shape of the skull bones, show that Spinosaurus is similar to Baryonyx and Suchomimus. They are both parts of the group Spinosauridae, but Spinosaurus belongs to a sub-group known as Spinosaurinae, while Baryonyx belongs to a separate group known as Baryonychinae, which have different features among their members.
Spinosaurus is believed to have eaten fishes, but there has been controversy about a dinosaur of that size.
relying on just fish, no matter how big the fishes were. Spinosaurus ate large fish, but in times of famine and drought which were common it would scavenge and hunt small-sized prey to large prey (Ouranosaurus). Its also possible Spinosaurus used its size and claws to scare off other carnivores (like Carcharodontosaurus and Sarcosuchus) and eat/scavenge their kill much like Short-Faced Bears of Ice Age.
A Very outdated description\reconstruction of Spinosaurus. However the elements implementing to its quadrupedal posture having proven to plausible.
In 2014, paleontologists Paul Sereno and Nizar Ibrahim discovered that Spinosaurus vertebrae actually had a dip in the sail and its legs were much shorter than previously thought. This has brought the suspicion that Spinosaurus was likely more aquatic than previously thought, spending nearly all of its time in the water, and almost all its entire diet was piscivorous based. Its shorter legs have also made scientists wonder if part of the time Spinosaurus was semi-quadrupedal instead of bipedal like most theropods. However, this thesis was very criticised among the scientific community, because the specimen is possibly a chimera (Hutchinson et al.) or a juvenile (Hartman et al.) (Chimaera meaning some parts were from another individual). Dr. Scott Hartman says that dinosaurs are able to change during their growing process extremely (Horner et al.). The best example of changing during growing process is small ornithischian dinosaur, called Dryosaurus. Dryosaurus juveniles had very large and muscular forelimbs, what indicates they have locomoted on all fours. As they grew, their forelimbs became smaller and more useless, until they become absolutely bipedal animals in the adult stage. So, this might be the case with Spinosaurus, too. Also, Hartman says that there's no need for such a disorder. Recent studies have determined that all Spinosaurids were amphibious animals, but still, they were bipedal animals; and more likely had generalist diet rather than an entirely piscivorous diet.
The original first skeleton of this theropod was destroyed during the course of World War II. However, a piece of a skull bone belonging to another Spinosaurus that was found on a shelf in a German museum. It is most likely that another expedition to Egypt would uncover more skeletons so that more can be learned about Spinosaurus. It also lived with sauropods like Paralititan, other large carnivores like Carcharodontosaurus and Sauroniops, and large crocodiles like Sarcosuchus.
In the Media
- Spinosaurus has become an iconic dinosaur and its fame started with the film, Jurassic Park III, the first Jurassic Park film not based on a Michael Crichton book. Spinosaurus was portrayed as the main "villain" that caused destruction in its path. In an infamous scene, this Spinosaurus was seen fighting a Tyrannosaurus rex and defeating it. A Spinosaurus fossil Skeleton was seen in Jurassic World where it was destroyed by the Tyrannosaurus Rexy during the Isla Nublar Incident of 2015. It is also one of the dinosaurs included in the Holoscape of Innovation Center, though it is unknown if Spinosaurus actually lives in Jurassic World. Spinosaurus also apparently fell back into extinction after the Isla Nublar Incident of 2015 before Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Spinosaurus also appears in most of the Jurassic Park expanded universe, including games and toy lines.
- Spinosaurus also appears in many video games such as Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, Zoo Tycoon, Carnivores 2, and much more. It is also popular as a player made animal in "Zoo Tycoon 2."
- Spinosaurus appears in the video game Carnivores 2, with an inaccurate anatomy because in the epoch there was little information about this dinosaur.
- Spinosaurus appears in series 4 of Primeval and is shown living in the same place as a Raptor (Dromaeosaur). Another one appears in Series 5.
- Spinosaurus is also in the Discovery Channel's Monsters Resurrected, portrayed as the "Biggest Killer Dino", where it was inaccurately shown to be the super top predator on land. It was seen lifting up and consuming a Rugops whole, kill a Carcharodontosaurus with a single slash of its claws, and slice up the sides of Sarcosuchus. But at the end, it was brought down by a pack of 5 Rugops. The portrayal was noticeably over-powered compared to the real dinosaur.
- A Spinosaurus, nicknamed "Spike", makes an appearance in the video game Jurassic: The Hunted, appears as a boss.
- Spinosaurus appears in National Geographic's Bizarre Dinosaurs, where its sail is talked about. The same Spinosaurus model was briefly seen in another National Geographic Documentary Dinomorphosis.
- Spinosaurus appears in the Japanese animated film Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006, where it is the abused pet of an evil time-traveling dinosaur poacher. Also, near the climax, Spinosaurus faces off with Tyrannosaurus only to be defeated.
- Spinosaurus appears in the first episode of BBC's Planet Dinosaur as a fish hunter and during the drought shown to hunt land animals if there are no aquatic animals to eat (no animal eats one thing being an opportunist spinosaurus would likely eat whatever it could), At one of the remaining pools a Sarcosuchus awaken from its hibernation & warded off the Spinosaurus and then resumed hibernation. It later competes against a Carcharodontosaurus for an Ouranosaurus carcass and defeats it in battle with its claws. The same Spinosaurus model was seen in two other Documentaries PBS's Nova National Geographic Special Documentary Bigger Then T.REX & Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever from Nat. Geo. Wild AKA World's Biggest Beasts from The Smithsonian Channel. Only it was in different color appearances in the other two documentaries.
- It also is a playable character in Primal Carnage.
- Spinosaurus also appears in the 12th episode of The Land Before Time but is inaccurately shown with only two fingers. It was also a minor antagonist in the film.
- A Spinosaurus makes a brief appearance in the Asylum film Age of Dinosaurs where it was running around the city with the rest of the escaped Dinosaurs & somehow is able to climb on top of a tall building.
- Spinosaurus will appear in the game Jurassic World: Evolution. It seems to be based off the Jurassic Park III variant.
- In Fossil Fighters series, Spinosaurus is a playable vivosaur.
- Spinosaurus was the main character in Ricardo Delgado's Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians mini-series.
- The dinobot Scorn of Transformers: Age of Extinction, the decepticon Undermine and his autobot copy Repugnus of Transformers: Cybertron all turn into a mechanical version of Spinosaurus.
Gallery
- See Spinosaurus/Gallery
Videos
Jurassic Park - Spinosaurus. aegypticus Sound Effects HD
Sounds of the Spinosaurus from the Jurassic Park franchise.
Reconstructed sound on the Spinosaurus. Based on the ecological niche, morphology and behavioral evidence in the fossil records and from closest relatives.
Reconstructed sounds of the Spinosaurus. aegypticus. Based on Paleontological and Zoological evidence about the animals ecological niche, habitat, morphology, and behavioral patterns in relation to its closest living relatives, sounds of the Great Blue Heron, Nile Crocodile, Southern Cassowary, Griffon Vulture, American Alligator, and Great Barbet all create the base low frequency and chilling bellow of the of what a Spinosaurus' vocals might have sounded like.