Another possible largest dinosaur predator

[shunyadragon]

Er, Late Cretaceous not Triassic.

OK

[rogue06]

Er, Late Cretaceous not Triassic.

[shunyadragon]

The semi-aquatic coastal Spinosaurus aegyptiacus is possible the largest Triassic predator, but the article is not clear on its size.

Source: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/mega-predator-likely-wasnt-underwater-hunter-researchers-argue

Mega-predator likely wasn’t underwater hunter, researchers argue

New evidence from UChicago paleontologists suggests that Spinosaurus, the largest known predatory dinosaur to roam the Earth, was adapted for hunting along shorelines instead of venturing deep underwater.
Illustration by James Gurney U Chicago paleontologists help unearth evidence that suggests the dinosaur giant was the scourge of the shoreline, but not a deep-water killer


The hunting habits of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, the largest known predatory dinosaur to roam the Earth, have been subject to intense scientific debate since detailed descriptions of its most complete fossils to date were published in 2014.

At the time, Spinosaurus was described as a “semiaquatic” predator that prowled the shoreline of Cretaceous-era rivers, wading into the muddy banks to ambush fish with its massive, crocodilian jaws and interlocking teeth.

More recent discoveries have pushed Spinosaurus further from the shore, with some researchers suggesting it was well-suited to pursuing prey out of the shallows and hunting deep underwater. These arguments are based on new fossils that suggest Spinosaurus had a fleshy, paddle-like tail for swimming and dense bones to help submerge it underwater.

A new paper by paleontologists from the University of Chicago and colleagues elsewhere, however, rejects this “aquatic hypothesis” as far-fetched. Using updated virtual reconstructions of its skeleton and body mass based on its fossils, they analyzed its ability to propel its prodigious bulk underwater and found that while Spinosaurus was indeed the scourge of the shoreline with many adaptations for life at the edge of the water, it would fail as a fully aquatic, agile, underwater predator.

Spinosaurus likely stood on its hind legs, with dense bones suited for walking upright.
Illustration by James Gurney

“Do I think that this animal would have waded into water on a regular basis? Absolutely, but I don't think it was a good swimmer, nor capable of full submergence behavior,” said Paul Sereno, a professor of organismal biology and anatomy at UChicago and lead author of the new study who co-led the initial Spinosaurus discovery in 2014. “This is simply not an animal that in your wildest dreams would be dynamic above water as a swimmer, much less underwater.”

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus has been an elusive creature since German paleontologist Ernst von Stromer discovered its skeleton in Egypt in 1915. With its elongated jaws and large sail protruding from the spine, Stromer initially proposed Spinosaurus as a bipedal, fish-eating predator. He put the fossils on display in Munich’s Paleontological Museum, but they were destroyed during Allied bombing in World War II. All that was left were Stromer’s notes and drawings. The giant Spinosaurus seemed lost in time.

Decades later, miners in southeastern Morocco unearthed what appeared to be another Spinosaurus skeleton buried in sandstone rocks. Those fossils formed the basis of the 2014 study, published in Science, in which Sereno and his team analyzed the new fossils plus a partial skull and other specimens gathered from museums around the world, along with Stromer’s original records and journal articles.

Their findings brought the team worldwide acclaim. They depicted Spinosaurus as a nearly 50-foot-long monster, with giant, interlocking slanted teeth for snatching fish, a long neck and trunk, short hind legs with muscular thighs, and enormous dorsal spines covered in skin that created its signature sail. The skull had small nostrils located farther back on the skull to allow it to breathe when partially submerged and crocodile-like neurovascular openings on its snout that may have been for receptors to sense movement in the water. Yet the researchers still viewed the beast as “semiaquatic,” an animal best suited for land while venturing into shallow waters to feed.

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