Lifting the Lid of Spinosaurus

One of the most popular dinosaurs is the Spinosaurus, its popularity has had a resurgence since it recently appeared in episode one, (Lost World) of the recent television series “Planet Dinosaur”.  Staff at Everything Dinosaur regularly conduct a survey to find the most popular prehistoric animals in the opinion of our customers and young dinosaur fans we visit in schools.  We suspect Spinosaurus and a number of other dinosaurs featured in the recent programmes are going to be high on the list.

Spinosaurus

To read our review of episode one of “Planet Dinosaur”: Lost World (episode one) Reviewed.

We have been running a series of seminars providing members of the public with an insight into just how much (or how little), we actually know about this Albian/Cenomanian theropod.  A sort of “lifting the lid” on Spinosaurus, or should that be “looking behind the sail”.

A Snapshot of the Spinosaurus

Smile Spinosaurus please!

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Spinosaurid Dinosaur Models

To view Spinosaurus dinosaur models and other dinosaur replicas available from Everything Dinosaur, we suggest you take a look at the Papo “Les Dinosaures” model range: Papo “Les Dinosaures” Prehistoric Animal Models.

Spinosaurus is certainly a spectacular looking meat-eating dinosaur that has laid claim to being one of the biggest carnivores yet described.  Spinosaurus had a “sail” that stuck out of its back.  It was made up from spike-shaped spines of bone that stuck up from the backbone, which in life were joined together by a layer of skin.  Spinosaurus lived near the equator in a very hot environment.  The sail may have been used to help regulate the animal’s body temperature.

From the fragmentary remains so far discovered, scientists have examined the backbone of Spinosaurus and found it to be quite flexible.  Perhaps it was able to flex its back and spread out the sail like an enormous fan.  The sail may have been brightly coloured to attract a mate or to intimidate rivals.  Another dinosaur, Ouranosaurus, a herbivore that shared this habitat, may also have had a large sail on its back.

We await to see the results of our annual dinosaur and prehistoric animal survey.