Overview
- A peer-reviewed Science paper names the Niger discovery Spinosaurus mirabilis based on skull and crest material excavated in 2019 and 2022 by a University of Chicago–led team.
- CT-based 3D reconstructions reveal a prominent scimitar-shaped crest likely sheathed in keratin and tightly interlocking teeth adapted to trapping slippery fish.
- The fossils were found in fluvial deposits 500–1,000 km from ancient shorelines, challenging interpretations that spinosaurids were strictly coastal or fully aquatic.
- Paul Sereno says this is the first Spinosaurus skull material reported in over a century, providing rare anatomical detail for the group.
- Replicas of the skull and crest will be on public display at the Chicago Children's Museum starting March 1, with additional fieldwork and museum-building efforts planned in Niger.