Palaeontology

Huge meat-eating dinosaur was 'heron from hell', claims new study

By T.K. Randall
March 10, 2024

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) This gargantuan predatory dinosaur, which prowled the waterways of what is now North Africa around 93-99 million years ago, was the longest terrestrial carnivore ever to walk the face of the Earth - measuring up to 46ft in length and weighing in at nearly 7.4 tons.

Whether or not it was actually a strong swimmer remains unclear, but it was thought to have spent a lot of its time in or around rivers and lakes a bit like crocodiles and alligators.

It was also thought to have feasted on both aquatic and terrestrial creatures.

One of the longest running mysteries surrounding Spinosaurus concerns whether it was adept at diving into the water after its prey or if it remained in the shallows and snatched its prey from the water like a heron, but now a new study headed up by experts at the University of Chicago may finally have the answer.The key to understanding this was to analyze the creature's bone density, revealing that - in all likelihood - Spinosaurus was more of a "heron from hell" than a diving bird.

"We think Spinosaurus, one of the largest predatory animals ever to have evolved, needed extra bone strength to support its weight on its relatively short hind limbs," said lead author Paul Sereno.

"Spinosaurus was able to wade into waterways more than six feet deep without floating, where it could ambush fish of any size with its claws and jaws."

"But all while keeping its toes firmly anchored in the mud."

Source: Eurekalert.org

Tags: Dinosaur