Overview
- The team led by Paul Sereno formally describes Spinosaurus mirabilis in Science as the first secure new Spinosaurus species reported in more than a century.
- Fossils from central Niger date to roughly 95–100 million years ago and were preserved 500–1000 kilometers from the contemporaneous Tethys coastline, indicating a riverine habitat far inland.
- Distinctive cranial features include a curved skull crest approaching half a meter in height and interlocking upper and lower tooth rows consistent with fish-catching.
- Researchers interpret the predator as a large, semi‑aquatic wader—Sereno’s “hell heron” model—capable of moving through deeper water but likely hunting mostly in shallows.
- Fieldwork combined a 1950s tooth report and guidance from a local Tuareg with modern 3D digital reconstruction in camp and lab to assemble the skull and diagnose the species.