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"Only now do we know the true story- Megarachne was a giant prehistoric sea scorpion." |
Spinosaurus wasn't your typical predator from the age of dinosaurs. A tall sail on this creature's back looks like it belongs on a plant-eating dinosaur. Spinosaurus was big enough to overpowered just about any creature of its day, but instead it used its crocodile-like teeth and jaws to feast mainly on a diet of fish.
Heat Up: Spinosaurus was named for the tall spines that grew up to six feet in height out of its back. Experts think the spines formed a sail that helped gather heat, which gave the dinosaur energy so it could run after prey. At night, the sail released heat so the reptile could rest.
Rest Area: This dino's arms were longer than those of other predators, so it may have used them to grab smaller prey. Plus, spinosaurus walked on all fours from time to time in order to give its back a rest from holding up its large body.
Seafood Lover[]
A mix of colors gave spinosaurus great camouflage when it stalked prey.
Spinosaurus' teeth and jaws were very different from those of other meat-eating dinosaurs. This predator had a long snout that was lined with long teeth (like a crocodile's) and were perfect for stabbing and grabbing fish. Scientists believe that spinosaurus lived near the shores of large rivers or seas and spent most of its time knee-deep in the water spearing large fish. Of course, this huge dinosaur could also kill plant-eating dinosaurs on land with ease, and probably even feasted on any dead animals it found as well.
Camel-Saur? Some scientists think spinosaurus might not have had a sail, but rather a fatty hump on its back like a camel. Such a hump would have given the creature an extra store of energy to live on when prey was hard to find.
Gone for Good: Spinosaurus' fossils were first found in 1912 by a fossil collector named Richard Markgraf. The nearly complete skeleton stood in a German museum for nearly 30 years until it was destroyed when the museum was bombed during World War II.
All You Can Eat[]
- A hungry spinosaurus sees a defenseless ouranosaurus out in the open. Unable to resist an easy target, the predator takes a break from eating fish to attack, easily killing the plant-eater.
- On another day, the dinosaur picks up the scent of a rotting carcass on the way to the river. Using a keen sense of smell, the spinosaurus easily finds its way to the dead dino and digs in.
- Later, the spinosaurus comes across a nest of spinosaurus eggs that are starting to hatch. The predator gobbles up every hatchling, then crunches up the remaining eggs as well.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- Due to several recent discoveries, the Spinosaurus illustration the card is somewhat inaccurate now. Studies in the 2010s have found the spinosaurus might've had a tail better suited for swimming and pursuing fish, and stood hunched over or closer to a quadruped than a bipedal predator such as the T-Rex. Temperature control is no longer taken seriously as a hypothesis for the sail anymore, the debate instead being whether it was used for display or as a hydrodynamic dorsal fin. Even for the time of printing, the way the card art depicts Spinosaurus' head is wrong; instead of a more typical theropod head, its head was shaped like a crocodile's, like its relatives Baryonyx and Suchomimus (the latter of which is erroneously called a crocodile instead of a dinosaur on Spinosaurus' trading card).
- Also, while dinosaurs and crocodilians are closely related, Spinosaurus was not more or less related to Deinosuchus than any other dinosaur.
- A spinosaurus is illustrated attacking and fighting an Iguanodon on the latter's knowledge card.
- The spinosaurus is featured on several Monster Mania cards:
- It is pit against the Giganotosaurus in a Smack Down on Monster Mania 100.
- Lastly, it is featured in Animal All-Stars on Monster Mania 105.