HUGE FISH-EATING DINOSAUR EMERGES FROM THE SAHARA

Measuring 36 feet long and 12 feet high at the hip, the specimen is the most complete ever found of a peculiar group of fish-eating predators called spinosaurs, animals that grew to the size of Tyrannosaurus rex. In reports in the November 13 issue of Science and the December NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine, Sereno and colleagues name the new species Suchomimus tenerensis, meaning “crocodile mimic from Ténéré,” Ténéré being a remote and forbidding, dune-covered region of the Sahara in the Republic of Niger in West Africa. Sereno, a paleontologist, and a 15-member expedition spent more than 2 months in fall 1997 scouring the desert in temperatures that climbed to 120 degrees Farenheit (50 degrees Celsius). They unearthed 25 tons of bone and rock that included the remains of Suchomimus.

Team member David Varricchio spotted the huge, sickle-shaped thumb claw. Sereno said, “It was lying on the surface of the desert, completely exposed by wind and sand, and would have been visible like that for centuries to anyone who walked by.” The claw led the team to 400 pieces of the skeleton, buried just inches under the desert plain.

The discovery reveals new information about the peculiar anatomy of spinosaurs. “It was a dinosaur trying hard to be a crocodile,” Sereno said. Its four-foot-long skull has an extremely long and narrow snout with large teeth near the end, as in specialized fish-eating crocodiles. The jaws were studded with more than 100 conical teeth that functioned like hooks rather than slicing blades.

The foot-long (0.3-meter) thumb claws and powerfully built forelimbs were used to snare fish and other prey as the dinosaur waded in rivers. The thin, bony sail along its back, which reached a height of 2 feet (0.6 meters) over the hips, may have been brightly colored for display.

Suchomimus lived in Africa about 100 million years ago in what was then a forested region dissected by broad rivers. The region was home to other dinosaurs, huge crocodiles, turtles, pterosaurs, and many kinds of fish. It wouldn’t have been a friendly place, Sereno said. “If you weren’t grabbed by a spinosaur, you’d likely run into a 50-foot (15-meter) crocodile.”

Suchomimus was the largest and most common predator of its day, judging from the numerous bones Sereno’s team recovered. Its closest cousin is Baryonyx from Europe, rather than the tall, sail-backed North African spinosaurid Spinosaurus. This far-reaching link suggests that, on at least one occasion, spinosaurs crossed the broad Tethyan Seaway that separated northern and southern land masses at that time.

Spinosaur fossils were first discovered in Niger’s Ténéré Desert some 50 years ago and were collected in earnest 25 years ago by French paleontologists. The region’s fossil-rich rock provides the best opportunity to unearth clues to plants and animals that thrived in Africa 100 million years ago, as the continent was drifting into geographic isolation.

The expedition and laboratory work on the fossils were supported by the National Geographic Society, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Pritzker Foundation, and the Women’s Board of the University of Chicago.

Tune in to National Geographic Channel’s Dinosaur Week, Monday, November 16 through Friday, November 20 beginning each night at 8:00 p.m. to watch the never before seen program that highlights Paul Sereno’s amazing dinosaur discovery.

Narrated by Juliet Stevenson, National Geographic Channel’s Dinosaur Week delves into the mystery of the disappearance of dinosaurs. The week of programming features such exciting shows as “Renaissance of the Dinosaurs,” “Land of the Giants,” “The Killer Elite,” “And Then There Were None,” and finally “Curse of T.Rex.”

Highlighted during Dinosaur Week is “Colossal Claw,” a new film about Paul Sereno’s dinosaur discovery, airing at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, on the National Geographic Channel.

Watch and find out everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about dinosaurs.