Spinosaurus

spiny

{| class="infobox" style="width: 21em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;"

|- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Jurassic Park III Dinosaur |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | |- ! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: larger; background-color: #001; color: #ffa;" | Spinosaurus |- ! Scientfic Name | Spinosaurus aegyptiacus |- ! Diet | Carnivore (Meat-Eater) |- ! Name Means | "Spined Lizard" |- ! Length | 59ft (18m) |- ! Height | 20ft (6m) |- ! Weight | 7-9 tons |- ! Birth Type |Unknown |- ! Time | Middle Cretaceous - 110 million years ago |- ! Location | Egypt |- ! Taxon | Theropoda, Tetanurae, Spinosauroidea, Spinosauridae |}

Spinosaurus (meaning "spine lizard") is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in what is now North Africa, from the Albian to early Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous Period, about 100 to 93 million years ago. This genus was first known from Egyptian remains discovered in the 1910s and described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer. These original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional skull material has come to light in recent years. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the described fossils. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species, S. marocannus, has been recovered from Morocco.

The distinctive "spines" of Spinosaurus, which were long extensions of the vertebrae, grew up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and were likely to have had skin connecting them, forming a sail-like structure, although some authors have suggested that they were covered in muscle and formed a hump or ridge. Multiple functions have been put forward for this structure, including thermoregulation and display. According to recent estimates, Spinosaurus is the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs, even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex and Giganotosaurus. These estimates suggest that it was around 16 to 18 meters in length (52.5 to 59.1 ft) and 9 tonnes (9.9 tons) in weight, although these figures have not been universally accepted.

File:SPINOSAURUS.jpg

==Description==

Although Spinosaurus is well-known to dinosaur enthusiasts due to its size, sail, and elongated skull, it is mostly known from remains that have been destroyed, aside from a few more recently discovered teeth and skull elements. Additionally, so far only the skull and backbone have been described in detail, and limb bones have not been found. Jaw and skull material published in 2005 show that it had one of the longest skulls of any carnivorous dinosaur, estimated at about 1.75 meters long (5.75 ft). The skull had a narrow snout filled with straight conical teeth that lacked serrations. There were six or seven teeth on each side of the very front of the upper jaw, in the premaxilla bones, and another twelve in both maxillae behind them. The second and third teeth on each side were noticeably larger than the rest of the teeth in the premaxilla, creating a space between them and the large teeth in the anterior maxilla; large teeth in the lower jaw faced this space. The very tip of the snout holding those few large anterior teeth was expanded, and a small crest was present in front of the eyes.

The sail of Spinosaurus was formed of very tall neural spines growing on the back vertebrae. These spines were seven to eleven times the height of the vertebrae from which they grew. The spines were slightly longer front to back at the base than higher up, and were unlike the thin rods seen in the pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon.

In Jurassic Park

Seen in Jurassic Park III as the main dinosaur, replacing Tyrannosaurus and lives in Isla Sorna, fans often wonder why the people in The Lost World: Jurassic Park did not encounter Spinosaurus. The answer is simple: The Lost World took place in the southeastern part of the island, while JP3 took place in the northwestern part. The Spinosaurus's range didn't cover the southeastern part of the island, so the characters in TLW didn't encounter it. When Dr. Grant and Billy where talking about what dinosaur it was Billy said he didn't remember seeing Spinosaurus on the list of dinosaurs Hammond had cloned and Dr. Grant said that it interesting that Hammond left Spinosaurus' off of Ingen's list.

When the people first encounter it on the island, it eats the two mercenaries the Kirbys hired for protection on the island and chases them, where they eventually run into a Tyrannosaurus, which chases them right back towards the Spinosaurus. The two massive predators then fight, and the Tyrannosaurus bites on the Spinosaurus' neck, though it manages to get it's neck free, it is then headbutted by the Tyrannosaurus, but as its foe tries to ram it again, the Spinosaurus dodges it and bites down the Tyrannosaurus' neck, and sinks it's claws into it, and breaks it neck. The Spinosaurus is later met again, where the people had been attracted by hearing a cellphone call, which they realize too late was last in the possession of someone that was eaten by the Spinosaurus, leading to another chase. It's last scene towards the end of the movie, attacking the people when they are on raft, but it's frightened off when gasoline split from the engine is ignited by a flare.

In Operation Genesis

Spinosaurus may be seen in all of its neck-snapping glory in Operation Genesis as a five-star large carnivore. It doesn't always come out on top over Rex in the game. More often than not, these confrontations end in one or the other standing down and fleeing, after which, the loser will always flee when it gets too close to the victor.

Jurassic Park: DNA factor

A Spinosaurus appears as the final boss of the game, though it's actually in the penultimate stage (the final stage being one where the player must escape from the island when it's being bombed). It appears to be far larger then it was in real life, dwarfing the Tyrannosaurus. During the stage, the player is running through the tops of several trees, and the Spinosaurus chase the player and attempt to bite it, which will take off close to half their health. To damage it, the player must pick some the bombs in the area and throw them at the Spinosaurus. There are an unlimited number of bombs to pick up, so running out isn't an issue. At some points, the Spinosaurus where get down underneath the tree tops and attack by lunging up with its sail, which does the same damage as its bite.

Jurassic Park: Island Attack

Spinosaurus appears twice in this game, but it's more of a stage hazard then an enemy. It can't be killed, and will just chase the player until a certain point in the stage is reached. It is first encountered at the beginning of the game, and then later at the end.

External Links

• Spinosaurus aegptiacus at DinoData.net
• Spinosaurus at the Dino Directory
• The Biggest Carnivore: Dino History Rewritten
• Spinosaurus Jaws
• Discover Magazine
• Spinosaurus on Wikipedia