Spinosaurus Facts for Kids & Students - Information & Pictures (2023)

FAQs

How long is a Spinosaurus? ›

At an estimated maximum length of roughly 15 metres, Spinosaurus was the largest of all known theropod dinosaurs. This enormous, strange-looking theropod prowled the coastal plains of northern Africa, 100–95 million years ago.

These arguments are based on new fossils that suggest Spinosaurus had a fleshy, paddle-like tail for swimming and dense bones to help submerge it underwater.

In Jurassic Park III, the Spinosaurus gender is male by Alan Grant after he and the rest of the group escape the plane crash. Alan Grant says in relief, "I think we lost him." The gender is also mentioned in the 8th episode of the fourth season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous titled "Technical Diffculties".

Spinosaurus was a large meat-eating dinosaur from Africa. Scientists think it may have lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle. Our understanding of Spinosaurus has changed in recent years. For over 100 years we only had very incomplete remains of this dinosaur.

Onchopristis

Mawsonia

According to Ibrahim, Spinosaurus was shaped unlike any other dinosaur, with drastically smaller hind legs than anyone had previously believed. This meant that it was likely quadrupedal, walking on four legs most of the time.

Spinosaurus still was able to move on land and lay eggs there, perhaps walking on four legs rather than two like other meat-eating dinosaurs.

Spinosaurus, or “spined reptile,” was named for its “sail back” feature, created by tall vertebral spines.

The largest teeth were close to 5 inches long! This size is rare however. More commomly, 2 to 3 inch teeth are found. Complete unrepaired teeth are very rare because of the fragile nature of the fossil teeth.

The Spinosaurus also had a major design flaw: its weakest point (its spine) was completely exposed. Although the Spinosaurus' sail may have helped scare away potential threats by making it appear bigger, one bad move and it could be paralyzed by its attacker.

Would Spinosaurus beat T-Rex in water? ›

While there is no direct evidence of a battle between T-Rex and Spinosaurus, some scientists believe that Spinosaurus may have been a better swimmer than T-Rex, as it had adaptations for aquatic life, including a long, narrow snout and paddle-like feet.

Spinosaurus' huge sail may have been used for regulating its temperature. It could collect warmth from the sun and also disperse excess body heat when in the shade. The presence of this sail as a thermo-regulatory device is evidence that Spinosaurus may have been a cold-blooded animal.

Spinosaurus was probably a bit longer than T. rex, though it was more lightly built. But Spinosaurus lived 10-30 million years before T. rex tromped the Earth.

Giant Spinosaurus Was Bigger Than T. Rex—And First Dinosaur Known to Swim.

Two species of Spinosaurus have been named: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus ("Egyptian spine lizard") and Spinosaurus marocannus ("Moroccan spine lizard"). S. marocannus was originally described by Russell as a new species based on the length of its neck vertebrae.

Onchopristis

Mawsonia

What did Spinosaurus eat? Spinosaurus is thought to have survived primarily on fish, including giant coelacanths, sawfish, large lungfish and sharks, which lived in the dinosaur's river system, according to Ibrahim.

Actually, Spinosaurus is extremely aggressive and territorial, and it attacks any other predator that invades its domain. A very reliable witness claims that Spinosaurus is actually attracted by the territorial marks of other predators, such as T-Rex, and quickly appears to get rid of the intruder.

Spinosaurus is known to have eaten fish, and most scientists believe that it hunted both terrestrial and aquatic prey. Evidence suggests that it was highly semiaquatic, and lived both on land and in water much like modern crocodilians do.

Mosasaurs were the ocean's most dominant predator at the end of the Cretaceous period and lived across the world's oceans. Large mosasaurs would have likely eaten almost any kind of prey they were able to catch, including fish, sharks, sea birds and even other mosasaurs, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

What Dino is bigger than Spino? ›

The Spinosaurus is believed to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur in the world's history. Yet, that doesn't mean it can immediately be considered the deadliest. The Giganotosaurus was another massive dinosaur that could go toe-to-toe with the T-Rex.

Spinosaurus stood on its hind legs and walked upright, new evidence has suggested.

Scientists believe that Spinosaurus probably walked on its knuckles. Spinosaurus's legs were short, and its jaws were good at catching slippery prey, like fish.

How strong were arms of the spinosaurus | Fandom. Tyranno's forelimbs were probably vestigial but even those little arms could lift 200 kilograms.

Strong, long-boned feet and long, flat claws.

In fact, Spinosaurus may have had webbed feet for walking on soft mud or paddling.

No other carnivorous dinosaur that we know of lived like this. But Spinosaurus is still changing. Our understanding of the water-loving beast is pieced together by scattered remains, and a full skeleton of the animal has never been found.

We know from bite marks on hadrosaurs that the back was a favourite area to target for the big meat-eaters, perhaps the spine helped protect the vulnerable back and neck of Spinosaurus.

Spinosaurus. Also known as the “spine lizard”, the Spinosaurus roamed during the Cretaceous period and could exert a force of 4,200 lbs per square inch. This is similar to that of the modern Nile crocodile.

No T. rex eggs have ever been discovered, though scientists have stumbled upon eggs from many other dinosaur species.

Named for its seven-foot-long spines, Spinosaurus lived about a hundred million years ago during the Cretaceous period. It inhabited what is now North Africa's Sahara region, which at the time featured a large river system. Spinosaurus was well adapted for aquatic life.

What is the new Spinosaurus called? ›

The researchers who named the newest species of spinosaurid dinosaurs looked at the right jawbone and also vertebrae from a dinosaur found at the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Castellón, Spain. The team named the species protathlitis cinctorrensis – p. cinctorrensis for short.

Evidence, from chemical signatures in isolated fossil teeth to the structure of its jaw, implies that Spinosaurus often ate fish and other shoreline snacks. At the same time, some fossil records suggest that spinosaurids had no issues gobbling up land-dwelling dinosaurs and even winged pterosaurs.

Nigersaurus had a delicate skull and an extremely wide mouth lined with teeth especially adapted for browsing plants close to the ground. This bizarre, long-necked dinosaur is characterized by its unusually broad, straight-edged muzzle tipped with more than 500 replaceable teeth.

Nigersaurus -- so named because it was discovered in Niger -- had the long neck of a Diplodocus and up to 1,000 teeth in its intricate jaws, Sereno, of the University of Chicago, said on Monday.

What really makes Spinosaurus special are its unique adaptations that may have allowed the dinosaur to hunt underwater. Like crocodiles, Spinosaurus had a long narrow snout with nostrils mid-skull, perfect for submerging.

The battle was hard fought and even led to the scars on the larger dinosaur, but sadly, the Spinosaurus was killed in the battle for dominance. Throughout the Jurassic Park franchise, the Spinosaurus was always the aggressor and was known to attack any prey on sight.

The spino also has great speed on all 4, is quite slow on 2 legs, and is even faster with the water buff. It is also extremely powerful. mode. It also attacks faster than a rex.

“Tyrannosaurus rex remains the one true king of the dinosaurs,” said paleontologist Steve Brusatte, study coauthor of the latest analysis and professor at The University of Edinburgh's School of Geosciences in Scotland, in a news release.

Who is the strongest dinosaur? ›

Of course, the Tyrannosaurus Rex had the strength to be called “the strongest dinosaur”. Rex, a Latin word meaning “King”, reflects the kingly status it achieved due to its imposing characteristics.

With its pneumatised skeleton and a system of air sacs (modelled after birds), the Spinosaurus model was found to be unsinkable, even with its lungs deflated by 75%, and this would greatly hinder a semi-aquatic, pursuit predator.

While these dinosaurs probably wouldn't have been able to take to the sea, Spinosaurus and Baryonyx would have likely prowled lakes, swamps and rivers to hunt, using their dense bones to submerge themselves underwater where they could capture fish.

Spinosaurus fossils were found in large numbers at the site of an ancient river bed in Morocco, which flowed through the Sahara Desert 100 million years ago. The scientists said their discovery meant the 15-metre (49ft) long, six-tonne dinosaur was not a land-based predator but a largely aquatic one.

In a T-Rex vs Spinosaurus fight, the T-Rex would come away victorious. The Spinosaurus does have the benefit of being able to ambush a T-Rex at the edge of the water, and that might be the lone scenario where the T-Rex loses.

rex scene is a scene in Jurassic Park III. It features a fight between Tyrannosaurus rex and Spinosaurus. Because the Spinosaurus won the fight, the scene became very infamous among fans.

Megalodon has also been found to be far larger than the gigantic theropod dinosaurs such as Spinosaurus, T-Rex, as well as the large ocean going marine reptiles such as Basilosaurus, and Tylosaurus.

The Spinosaurus was one of the most dangerous dinosaurs. It is considered the biggest carnivore because it was even bigger than Tyrannosaurus Rex and Giganotosaurus! It is easily identified by its spiny sail and crocodile-like snout.

Giganotosaurus would use its speed to smash into the other dinosaur and land deadly, flesh-ripping bites on it. The Spinosaurus's bite was strong, but its teeth were built to grab and hold smaller prey, not take down massive theropods. The Giganotosaurus would be too much for the Spinosaurus to fend off in this fight.

Can Spinosaurus walk on two legs? ›

This meant that it was likely quadrupedal, walking on four legs most of the time. Before this, it was thought that Spinosaurus was mostly bipedal, usually walking on two legs, and may have occasionally used all four.

The Bull was a male Tyrannosaurus rex that lived on Isla Sorna in 2001. He briefly encountered the rescue party led by Alan Grant before coming face-to-face with the Spinosaurus, where he was ultimately killed in the ensuing fight.

Bizarre 500-toothed dinosaur

Nigersaurus, you might remember, we named for bones collected on the last expedition here three years ago. This sauropod (long-necked dinosaur) has an unusual skull containing as many as 500 slender teeth.

Megalodons succumbed to global cooling due to the shrinking of their habitat, the vanishing of their favorite prey, and competition from other predators 3.5 million years ago.

Is the megalodon still alive? 'No. It's definitely not alive in the deep oceans, despite what the Discovery Channel has said in the past,' notes Emma. 'If an animal as big as megalodon still lived in the oceans we would know about it.'

Spinosaurus. Spinosaurus was an enormous theropod dinosaur that lived around 95-70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. It's the longest carnivorous dinosaur currently known, around three times the length of an African elephant and more than 20% heavier.