The largest carnivorous dinosaur was aquatic

Italian Matteo Fabbri was a child when he saw Jurassic Park. Since then, he dreamed of becoming a paleontologist. His life is dedicated to the study of dinosaurs. For, he made interesting findings. For example, he discovered that the largest carnivorous dinosaur was aquatic.

The largest carnivorous dinosaur was aquatic. It is the Spinosaurus.
The largest carnivorous dinosaur was aquatic. It is the Spinosaurus.

Long discussion

Fabbri now works at the Field Museum in Chicago, in the United States. He studied dinosaurs that lived in aquatic environments 100 million years ago. They are the Spinosaurus, which were the largest carnivorous dinosaurs. They published the finding in the journal Nature.

The first Spinosaurus fossils were found in Egypt in the 1910s. They had long, narrow skulls like today’s crocodiles. Their spines were shaped like a sail. Some researchers argued that Spinosaurs had been able to move in water.

In 2020 a huge number of isolated Spinosaurid teeth appeared in the Sahara Desert in Africa in river deposits. “It generated an important debate on whether Spinosaurs were aquatic,” Dr. Diego Pol told Infobae. He is a Conicet researcher.

The tail of a Spinosaurus that was unknown was also found. It showed a shape similar to that of aquatic crocodiles that use it for locomotion in water. The team of Fabbri, Pol and other researchers set out to find answers.

The first fossil of this dinosaur turned up in Egypt more than 100 years ago.
The first fossil of this dinosaur appeared in Egypt more than 100 years ago.

Moving in the water

“There was an idea that the bones of animals moving underwater are denser than those of land animals. We compiled a database of over 200 species to develop a statistical method. It predicts with more than 90% certainty whether the animal is aquatic or terrestrial,” Pol emphasized.

“The only group of dinosaurs that has a bone density like that of aquatic animals were the Spinosaurs,” Pol commented, “As far as we know they are more freshwater.”

what happened 100 million years ago, and why did they invade the aquatic environment? Many questions remain up in the air.

“A whole group of dinosaurs were able to swim underwater. The largest carnivorous dinosaur was aquatic. We underestimate the diversity of ecologies that characterize the evolution of non-avian dinosaurs.”

Click to rate this entry!
(Votes: 0 Average: 0)
Share!

Leave a Comment