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Science for Kids11 chapters | 901 lessons
Dr. Gillaspy has taught health science at University of Phoenix and Ashford University and has a degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Imagine that your school bus grew five-foot-long spines on top of its roof and learned how to swim, and you'll have an idea of what the spinosaurus was like when it was alive about 100 million years ago.
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The spinosaurus was thought to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur that ever lived. The term carnivore means that it was a meat eater. It was thought to be bigger than the T-rex, which is a big, meat-eating dinosaur that you might have heard of before.
If you break down the word spinosaurus, it will help you recall the most distinct feature of this dinosaur. The prefix spino refers to the large spiky bones on its back, and the suffix saurus is Greek for lizard, so you can think of the spinosaurus as the spine lizard.
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The bony spines that rose off the top of the dinosaur's back created a structure referred to as a sail. The bones that made the framework of the sail could grow to be five to seven feet tall, and were thought to be connected by skin.
Scientists can't determine what the sail was used for with complete certainty, but some think that the spinosaurus could flair the sail when it felt threatened to make itself look bigger and scarier. Others think it might have been something a male spinosaurus used to attract a mate; and, other scientists think the sail might have helped the dinosaur control its body temperature by gathering or releasing heat.
The spinosaurus was about 49 feet long, and weighed seven to 20 tons. It had a long, narrow snout that contained sharp teeth, kind of like the snout of a crocodile.
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By looking at fossil records, scientists think the spinosaurus may have been able to walk on land but was probably happier swimming in the water. In fact, the spinosaurus may have been the first swimming dinosaur.
This idea of the spinosaurus liking the water is supported by the fact that their favorite meal was fish.
These big dinosaurs lived during the Cretaceous Period, and fossils have been found in Northern Africa, including Egypt, where the first spinosaurus fossils were discovered.
The spinosaurus was a large carnivore, or meat eater, that lived during the Cretaceous Period about 100 million years ago. It had spiky bones rising from its back that were joined by skin to make a structure called a sail. Fossil records indicate that the spinosaurus was able to swim and ate a diet of mostly fish.
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Science for Kids11 chapters | 901 lessons