Madrid. European paleontologists reproduced the strange appearance of a spinosaurus with a very sloping snout that lived in Brazil.
Irritator challengeri was a two-legged carnivorous dinosaur. Knowledge of the species is based on the most complete known fossil skull of this group, which is kept at the Staatliches Museum für Naturkun in Stuttgart.
With the help of X-ray CT scanners typically used in the context of medicine or materials science, paleontologists from Greifswald and Munich, Germany, as well as Alkmaar, the Netherlands, and Friborg, Switzerland, thoroughly investigated the fossil and made amazing discoveries.
It is presumed that irritant it hunted relatively small prey with a strongly sloping snout that evolved to close quickly. A big surprise for the experts was when the hunter observed that the lower jaws opened to the sides, widening the throat region. The study was published in Electronic Palaeontology.
Spinosaurus are among the largest terrestrial predators to have lived on the planet. Their peculiar anatomy and scant fossil record make them mysterious compared to other large carnivorous dinosaurs. They have relatively long, slender snouts with numerous nearly conical teeth, stout arms with impressive claws, and very long processes on their spines.
The most complete fossil skull of a spinosaurus is represented by Irritator challengeri Found in sedimentary rocks from 115 million years ago in eastern Brazil. Although the species, estimated to have been about 6.5 meters in length, represents the largest animal in its ecosystem, paleontologists have also found fossils of other dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodile relatives, turtles and various species of fish there.
For their latest study, the scientists reconstructed every bone in the fossil’s skull and put them back together in their original position to find out what makes spinosaurs so special. With the help of computed tomography, they found that irritant it probably kept its muzzle tilted about 45 degrees in situations that required special attention to its surroundings. This position facilitated a three-dimensional viewing area in front, since no structure, such as the long muzzle, obstructed the field of vision produced by both eyes.
Furthermore, the skull of irritant it had an evolutionary shape that produced a relatively weak, but very quick bite. Due to the shape of the lower jaw joint, when this predator opened its muzzle, the lower jaws extended to the sides, thus widening the pharynx. This is somewhat similar to what pelicans display, but is accomplished by different biomechanical processes. These are indications of the preference of irritant by relatively small prey, including fish, which were torn off and seriously injured with rapid movements in order to immediately swallow them.
The study offers new insights into the lifestyle of that species and shows that, relative to its closest relatives, it acquired many new anatomical features in a geologically short period, eventually making them the most highly specialized and rare dinosaurs. that we know today, reports the German Ministry of Education and Research in a statement.
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