The spinosaurus was a theropod dinosaur of enormous size. It existed in the late cretaceous period and was native to what is now Libya, Morocco, and Egypt. The anatomy of the spinosaurus was quite peculiar when examining bone fragments of the spine. The sail like structure on its back grew from the vertebrae. It is not clear what the purpose was, but a conjecture is that it monitored body temperature. This process seems similar to the plates of the stegosaurus. The spinosaurus was unique in certain characteristics. The snout was long with the nostrils with greater proximity to the eyes. Unlike other theropods, the teeth were rounded and ordered in a cross section. The teeth's kneels were not serrated. This provides some clues to what these animals ate. The first theory is that the spinosaurus consumed fish. Yet its jaws seem to be powerful enough for small to medium sized prey on land.
The teeth were immense in size and were conical .The neck was most likely more curved than other theropods. It had stout arms and only three fingers on its hands. The toes of the spinosaurus contained claws. This animal was possibly built for speed, because of its powerful hind legs. The tail was both deep and narrow which provided balance. The spinosaurus was a ferocious and powerful predator. It was estimated to be at least 12 tons in weight and 16 meters long (52 ft).
Ernst Stromer Von Reichenbach and Richard Markgraf were the first to describe this dinosaur. Between the years of 1910 and 1911 both men searched North Africa. Reichenbach was a paleontologist and Markgraf a fossil collector. Together they hoped to find Eocene mammals, but stumbled on to Cretaceous dinosaurs. The fossils of spinosaurus were found in the Great Western Desert in Egypt. This was transported back to Reichenbach and Markgraf's homeland of Germany. During World War II the specimen remains were destroyed by bombing by Allied forces.
The spinosaurus currently hold the record of being the biggest theropd. A surprise to many is that it was much larger than the tyrannosaurus rex. This beast was a true king of the animal kingdom. There remains a possibility that larger predators could be found as paleontologists search for prehistoric organisms.
Further Reading
Parsons, Katie. Prehistoric Life The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth.
New York: Dk Publishing, 2009.
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