The Spinosaurus — the villainous dinosaur from “Jurassic Park III” — used to swim in a river and has been identified as a “river monster,” according to TWC India.
What happened:
University of Portsmouth researchers recently found fossilized remains from a river bed in Morocco.
- After an analysis, the group identified the fossils as the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
- This is the same dinosaur seen in “Jurassic Park III.”
- The creature likely swam in the Kem Kem river system, which cut through the Sahara Desert about 100 million years ago.
David Martill, professor of palaeobiology at the University of Portsmouth, said in a statement that researchers discovered the creature’s tail was set for aquatic life. They also found teeth that told of a similar story.
- “From this research, we are able to confirm this location as the place where this gigantic dinosaur not only lived, but also died. The results are fully consistent with the idea of a truly water-dwelling, ‘river monster.’”
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Thomas Beevor, a student pursuing his masters degree in paleontology at the University of Portsmouth, spoke about the importance of the dinosaur.
- “The Kem Kem river beds are an amazing source of Spinosaurus remains. They also preserve the remains of many other Cretaceous creatures including sawfish, coelacanths, crocodiles, flying reptiles, and other land-living dinosaurs. With such an abundance of Spinosaurus teeth, it is highly likely that this animal was living mostly within the river rather than along its banks.”