The fossil origin and body characteristics of Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus is a giant carnivorous dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Late Cretaceous. It belongs to the spinosaurid group of theropods. It is a very peculiar dinosaur with spines growing from its back, round teeth and long It can be seen from its crocodile-like mouth, features that are extremely rare among large carnivorous dinosaurs.

Spinosaurus has the same level of attack and predatory abilities as Tyrannosaurus. The body shape of Spinosaurus is similar to that of Tyrannosaurus, and its weight is about 4 to 8 tons, which is slightly heavier than Tyrannosaurus, but the proportion of Spinosaurus's front and rear limbs is not so extreme. The hind limbs of Tyrannosaurus account for much more weight than the forelimbs, which are only as long as a human arm. In this way, the body weighing several tons is entirely supported by the hind limbs; while the forelimbs of Spinosaurus are much longer than those of Tyrannosaurus and can Hunt efficiently.

Unlike the Western-style knife-shaped teeth possessed by other theropod dinosaurs, Spinosaurus' teeth were cone-shaped with several longitudinal parallel lines on the tooth surface. Such characteristics are only found in fish-eating reptiles such as crocodiles. Later, paleontologists discovered fish scales in the stomach of Spinosaurus fossils. It seems that Spinosaurus was a fish-eating dinosaur, and the longitudinal lines on the surface of its teeth may have helped the fish meat not stick to the teeth.

There are many 1.8-meter-long spines on the back of Spinosaurus. They extend from the back of the head to the front edge of the tail. They are covered with skin and look like sails on a small boat. Paleontologists have several ideas about the function of the "sail" on Spinosaurus' back. Some theories believe that the spinous sail is covered with a thin skin, which is covered with capillaries. The blood vessels will take excess heat out of the body and carry it away with the air to dissipate heat. Therefore, the theory of heat dissipation has become the mainstream theory.

Recently, paleontologists discovered that a tooth was embedded in the cervical vertebrae of an Early Cretaceous pterosaur fossil. The owner of this tooth was identified as Spinosaurus. This directly proves that the diet of Spinosaurus included fish in addition to fish. Including other foods, like this unlucky pterosaur.

Chinese name: Spinosaurus

Latin name: Spinosaurus

Age of survival: Late Cretaceous

Fossil origin: Morocco, Egypt

Physical characteristics: 15 to 17 meters long

Diet: Carnivorous

Type: Theropod

Definition: Spiny lizard

animal tags： Spinosaurus