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| More Dinosaur Fact Sheets | EnchantedLearning.com Spinosaurus Fact Sheet |
Dinosaur/Paleontology Dictionary |
| NAME: | Meaning - Spinosaurus means "spiny lizard" because it had large bony spines on its back Pronounced SPINE-o-SAWR-us Named By - Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach When Named - 1915 |
| DIET: | Carnivore (meat-eater). Spinosaurus probably ate plant-eating dinosaurs and large fish. |
| SIZE: | Length - 40-50 feet (12-15 m) long Weight - 4 tons or more |
| WHEN IT LIVED: | Middle Cretaceous period, about 97.5-95 million years ago |
| WHERE IT LIVED: | Fossils have been found in Egypt and Morocco, Africa. |
| FOSSILS: | Incomplete fossils have been found, including blade-like neural spines up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long. The original fragmentary fossil specimen from Egypt (found in 1912) was destroyed in World War 2. |
| CLASSIFICATION: |
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| INTERESTING FACTS: |
Spinosaurus' sail may have been for heat dissipation - it lived in a swampy environment near the equator during the warm Cretaceous period. The sail may have also been used to attract mates or seem bigger than it was. |
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