Interesting Spinosaurus Facts For Kids [Fun Facts] 2024
One of the most incredible animals to have ever walked the earth was the Spinosaurus, which existed millions of years ago. Spinosaurus is a large dinosaur with a large bony fin on its back. In Latin, Spinosaurus means “spine lizard”. Most scientists concur that the Spinosaurus was a two-legged moving dinosaur (biped). Others, though, contend that it might have occasionally traversed using all four limbs.
Our top Spinosaurus facts will fascinate any youngster who enjoys studying about dinosaurs, so scroll below to learn everything there is to know about this amazing creature.
12 Interesting facts about Spinosaurus
Here, we will be unveiling cool and interesting facts about the one of the largest species to ever existed and rule on this planet for decades:
The spinosaurus existed on Earth millions of years ago.
The Spinosaurus existed about 112-97 million years ago, in the middle of the Cretaceous era. The majority of dinosaurs went extinct during the end of the Cretaceous period, which followed the Jurassic period, which was noted for the introduction of numerous new dinosaurs. When the Cretaceous age came to a close and the earth began to warm up, the Spinosaurus vanished. This meant that their habitat, which was based on water, dried up, leaving them without enough food to consume.
Spinosaurus and Humans didn’t exist in the same timeline.
Spinosaurus lived in the Cretaceous era between the Cenomanian to Albian eras. These are epochs in the history of the earth. The Spinosaurus never interacted with humans and had vanished entirely by the time that people began to evolve. The region where Egypt, Morocco, and Niger are today was home to the Spinosaurus during its time in North Africa. Large expanses of water that stretched the length of the North African coast were where the Spinosaurus thrived. Swamps and lakes were among them. Since then, these wet places have dried up.
The Spinosaurus was a carnivore.
Normally, Spinosaurus diet mainly included meat and fish. This indicates that it was a dinosaur that both consumed fish and meat, or piscivores. Where they would seek for meals, the Spinosaurus would mostly eat fish from the water. The likes of a sawfish, lungfish, or a large shark would have made delectable meals for Spinosaurus. Much like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Spinosaurus would forage for food on land and consume the carcasses of other extinct dinosaurs.
The Spinosaurus could walk on four legs.
The Spinosaurus could walk on all four legs but preferred to use two. The Spinosaurus’ legs were shorter than its arms, and because they were built for swimming, they wouldn’t have been very graceful. While the Spinosaurus’ arms were particularly large and powerful, its legs were significantly shorter than the legs of many other dinosaurs.
The spinosaurus was a dangerous creature.
Due to its desire for carnivores and aggressive tendencies, the Spinosaurus posed a threat. Even though it mostly preyed on fish, it wouldn’t pass up the chance to devour a delectable prehistoric animal. Its enormous body is endowed with equally outstanding physical strength. Just as you wouldn’t mess with a modern crocodile, you wouldn’t mess with a Spinosaurus.
It could swim.
It’s possible that Spinosaurus could swim. The Bahariya Oasis in Egypt, where the first spinosaurus fossils were discovered, is thought by palaeontologists at the University of Pennsylvania to have been a mangrove swamp like the Florida Everglades of today. What Spinosaurus’ sail was actually employed for is subject to debate. According to one explanation, it served as a mechanism for regulating body temperature. The sun would have warmed any blood vessels close to the sail’s surface. As a result, Spinosaurus would have warmed up more quickly than other dinosaurs, providing it an advantage when hunting for prey. According to other theories, Spinosaurus males utilised their vividly coloured sail to entice females in a manner similar to how male peacocks employ their enormous, showy tails. Recent research suggests that the sail may have really been utilised for swimming.
The Spinosaurus had teeth.
The Spinosaurus possessed approximately seven teeth on each side of its upper jaw, according to Live Science. Behind them are 12 additional pieces of teeth, including a few huge ones at the tip of its nose. Unlike other predatory dinosaurs that possessed sword-shaped curved teeth, Spinosaurus had conical straight teeth. Amazingly, 1,200 fossils were found in the Kem Kem deposits of Morocco. The teeth of Spinosaurus made up half of them. These findings, according to scientists, demonstrate that this dinosaur lived in water.
The spinosaurus had a range of distinctive physical features.
Unquestionably, the Spinosaurus’ distinctive physical characteristics, which allowed it to survive in the water, are what set it apart from other dinosaurs were a long snout, like a crocodile’s, an impressive pair of limbs, a massive tail, and a slim body. These modifications are what set the Spinosaurus apart. It is the ideal aquatic predator and the dinosaurs’ King Triton. The enormous neural spines on the Spinosaurus’ back are another distinguishing characteristic. It takes the form of a sail-like structure that is unique among dinosaurs and other animals.
Spinosaurus belonged to the Theropods Group.
The Spinosauridae is a family of theropods that includes the Spinosaurus. The Spinosauridae family had members all across the globe. For instance, the Spinosauridae family included the Irritator dinosaur that inhabited Brazil and the Baryonyx dinosaur that inhabited England. The Spinosaurus has the closest living relative, the Baryonyx dinosaur.
The Spinosaurus has two recognised species. The Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus is the more popular species. Theropods existed from the Late Triassic period to the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, which resulted in the extinction of all dinosaurs. One of the tiniest dinosaurs without wings, the Microraptor, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex were all members of the theropod family, which was a fairly diversified group. Theropods generally ate meat, and the Microraptor was no exception. Theropods often have excellent vision. Along with the Carcharodontosaurus, another meat-eating dinosaur that existed during the Cretaceous period, the Spinosaurus was one of the major predators in its ecosystem.
Spinosaurus specimens have been discovered.
There have been six primary Spinosaurus fossils found. Four of these were found in the North African Kem Kem beds. This region encompasses parts of Algeria and Morocco. Snouts and parts of the bones of Spinosaurus have been discovered as fossils in the Kem Kem Beds. It might interest you to know that a German palaeontologist named Ernst Stromer made the initial discovery of Spinosaurus in 1915 in Africa. But in 1944, during World War II, Allied bombings obliterated the bones he had found.
Spinosaurus made an appearance in the film Jurassic Park 3.
The dinosaur Spinosaurus appeared in the 2001 film Jurassic Park III. In the movie, the terrifying antagonist Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park is shown defeating a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Since the two dinosaurs actually lived millions of years apart, they would not have had the opportunity to engage in combat. Tyrannosaurus Rex lived about 65 million years ago, 30 million years after Spinosaurus, and evolved much more slowly.
Spinosaurus Debate
Scientists continue to debate the exact size of this enormous Spinosaurus, and may believe that Spinosaurus have employed the sail to signal intruders with a warning. Others would be warned to back off if they didn’t want a battle when they saw the sail sticking out of the water.
Also Read: Velociraptor Facts
Conclusion
Spinosaurus was a wonderful and ferocious land animal that dominated the late years of the age of the dinosaurs. It was an Apex predator and one of the biggest carnivorous dinosaurs to ever stomp the earth. Isn’t it interesting that only six partial fossil samples provide us with all of the information we have about this Cretaceous giant? In this article, we hope you learned a lot of interesting facts about the Spinosaurus.