Spinosaurus
From Jurassic Park wiki
| Jurassic Park III Dinosaur | |
| |
| Spinosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Scientfic Name | Spinosaurus aegyptiacus[1][2] |
| Diet | Carnivore (Meat-Eater) |
| Name Means | "Spined Lizard" |
| Length | 59ft (18m) |
| Height | 20ft (6m) |
| Weight | 7-9 tons |
| Time | Middle Cretaceous - 110 million years ago |
| Location | Egypt |
| Taxon | Theropoda, Tetanurae, Spinosauroidea, Spinosauridae |
Spinosaurus (meaning "spine lizard") is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in what is now North Africa, from the Albian to early Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous Period, about 100 to 93 million years ago. This genus was first known from Egyptian remains discovered in the 1910s and described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer. These original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional skull material has come to light in recent years. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the described fossils. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species, S. marocannus, has been recovered from Morocco.
The distinctive "spines" of Spinosaurus, which were long extensions of the vertebrae, grew up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and were likely to have had skin connecting them, forming a sail-like structure, although some authors have suggested that they were covered in muscle and formed a hump or ridge. Multiple functions have been put forward for this structure, including thermoregulation and display. According to recent estimates, Spinosaurus is the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs, even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex and Giganotosaurus. These estimates suggest that it was around 16 to 18 meters in length (52.5 to 59.1 ft) and 9 tonnes (9.9 tons) in weight, although these figures have not been universally accepted.
[edit] Description
Although Spinosaurus is well-known to dinosaur enthusiasts due to its size, sail, and elongated skull, it is mostly known from remains that have been destroyed, aside from a few more recently discovered teeth and skull elements. Additionally, so far only the skull and backbone have been described in detail, and limb bones have not been found. Jaw and skull material published in 2005 show that it had one of the longest skulls of any carnivorous dinosaur, estimated at about 1.75 meters long (5.75 ft). The skull had a narrow snout filled with straight conical teeth that lacked serrations. There were six or seven teeth on each side of the very front of the upper jaw, in the premaxilla bones, and another twelve in both maxillae behind them. The second and third teeth on each side were noticeably larger than the rest of the teeth in the premaxilla, creating a space between them and the large teeth in the anterior maxilla; large teeth in the lower jaw faced this space. The very tip of the snout holding those few large anterior teeth was expanded, and a small crest was present in front of the eyes.
The sail of Spinosaurus was formed of very tall neural spines growing on the back vertebrae. These spines were seven to eleven times the height of the vertebrae from which they grew. The spines were slightly longer front to back at the base than higher up, and were unlike the thin rods seen in the pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon.
[edit] In Jurassic Park
Seen in Jurassic Park III as the main dinosaur, replacing Tyrannosaurus and lives in Isla Sorna, fans often wonder why the people in The Lost World: Jurassic Park did not encounter Spinosaurus. The answer is simple: The Lost World took place in the southeastern part of the island, while JP3 took place in the northwestern part. The Spinosaurus's range didn't cover the southeastern part of the island, so the characters in TLW didn't encounter it.[3] When Dr. Grant and Billy where talking about what dinosaur it was Billy said he didn't remember seeing spinosaurus on the list of dinosaurs Hammond had cloned and Dr. Grant said that it wasn't leaving them bewildered with the spinosaurus' presence.
[edit] In Operation Genesis
Spinosaurus may be seen in all of its neck-snapping glory in Operation Genesis as a five-star large carnivore. It is almost as popular as T-Rex (almost), but doesn't always come out on top over Rex in the game. More often than not, these confrontations end in one or the other standing down and fleeing, after which, the loser will always flee when it gets too close to the victor.[4][5][6]
[edit] References
- ↑ Spinosaurus at JP Legacy's Dinosaur Information
- ↑ Spinosaurus at Wikipedia's Spinosaurus Article
- ↑ Jurassic Park 3 at Wikipedia's JP3 Article
- ↑ Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis at Jurassica's About Zone
- ↑ Spinosaurus at Jurassica's Large Carnivores Zone
- ↑ Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis at Wikipedia's Operation Genesis Article
