Researchers discover evidence that Spinosaurus is 1st known swimming dinosaur

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Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Two Spinosaurus hunt Onchopristis, a prehistoric sawfish, in the waters of the Kem Kem river system in what is now Morocco.
Davide Bonadonna

For the first time in history, researchers say they have convincing evidence that a dinosaur lived mostly in water.

An international team of researchers, supported by the National Geographic Society, reported that the Spinosaurus, the longest predatory dinosaur known, could swim.

Based on a multidisciplinary investigation of the Spinosaurus skeleton, scientists determined that the dinosaur used tail-propelled swimming locomotion to hunt for prey in a massive river system.

While the dinosaur was first discovered in the early 1900s, a team led by Dr. Nizar Ibrahim, a National Geographic Explorer, found its only existing skeleton in the Moroccan Sahara in 2014. This discovery revealed that the Spinosaurus was 50 feet long, longer than an adult T-rex.

Ibrahim, looking to support his theory that the Spinosaurus was a semi-aquatic dinosaur, returned to Morocco in 2018. His team recovered many more fossils of the skeleton, including a remarkably complete, fin-like tail capable of extensive lateral movement

Click here for National Geographic's full coverage.

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