After the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, Nigersaurus was essentially the most a lot of megaherbivore. Other herbivores from the exact same formation incorporate Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, and an unnamed titanosaur. Jointly, these compose on the list of several associations of megaherbivores that has a stability of sauropods and huge ornithopods.
It additional argued which the orientation of the semicircular canals varies substantially in just contemporary species, and is particularly hence not dependable for deciding head posture.[23] This was supported via the Spanish palaeontologist Jesús Marugán-Lobón and colleagues inside a 2013 examine that instructed the procedures used by Sereno's group have been imprecise, Which Nigersaurus habitually held its head like other sauropods.[24]
Named after the region of Niger, the place its fossils have been to start with found. The identify was preferred to mirror its origins, nevertheless, the similarity in pronunciation to some racial slur has raised worries about cultural sensitivity and proper terminology.
In usually vibrant trend, Sereno explained Nigersaurus for a cross involving Darth Vader and a vacuum cleaner and also referred to as it a "Mesozoic cow" (not an inaccurate description, in case you overlook the fact that a full-grown Nigersaurus measured 30 ft from head to tail and weighed up to 5 tons!)
What dinosaur has five hundred teeth? An unorthodox herbivore, this reptile grazed in what's now the Sahara Desert 110 million a long time back. These sauropod dinosaurs gathered food which has a massive, wide mouth; the snout was wider as opposed to again with the creature's head on the first fossil cranium.
Immediately after conducting a biomechanical analysis, one group of researchers concluded that The top and muzzle were being habitually oriented sixty seven° downwards and close to the ground as a result of adaptation for ground-degree searching.
The snout was also proportionately shorter, as well as tooth row was in no way prognathous, the snout suggestion not protruding relative to the rest in the tooth series.[one] Nigersaurus was unique in that its frontal bone (which shaped Considerably of the skull-roof) was elongate (A great deal narrower than prolonged), and had a marked cerebral fossa (a despair around the area of the bone inside the head).[four] The maxillary tooth row was in its entirety transversely rotated, its regular rear 90° everted in the direction of the front. This was matched by An analogous rotation of your dentary of the decreased jaw. This transverse orientation in the upper and reduce tooth rows was distinctive towards the dinosaur. On account of this configuration, no other tetrapod experienced all of its teeth Positioned as significantly to your front as Nigersaurus.[three][four]
Nigersaurus (/niːˈʒɛərsɔːrəs, ˈnaɪdʒərsɔːrəs/) is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived for the duration of the center Cretaceous period, about one hundred fifteen to 105 million several years ago. It had been discovered while in the Elrhaz Development in an area identified as Gadoufaoua, in Niger.
A 2009 analyze by the British palaeontologist Mike P. Taylor and colleagues agreed that Nigersaurus was capable of feed Together with the downturned head and neck posture proposed by the 2007 research, but contested that this was the habitual posture with the animal. The examine famous that the "neutral" head and neck posture of recent animals isn't going to always correspond to their habitual head posture.
This bizarre, very long-necked dinosaur is characterized by its unusually wide, straight-edged muzzle tipped with over 500 replaceable teeth. The initial fossil cranium of Nigersaurus
This authorized the dinosaur to acquire a continuing source of refreshing teeth, enabling it to carry on to properly approach plant materials at what dinosaur has 500 teeth the same time as its teeth don down.
It had a short neck for just a sauropod, with thirteen cervical vertebrae. Almost all rebbachisaurids had rather small necks as well as a size of 10 m (33 ft) or a lot less. The sole member on the spouse and children that attained the scale of more substantial sauropods was
Fossils of the dinosaur have been initial explained in 1976, but it had been only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999, following even further plus more comprehensive remains ended up located and explained. The genus identify usually means "Niger reptile", and the precise identify honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who found the main stays.
This intriguing variation showcases the diverse approaches dinosaurs made to thrive of their environments. The Nigersaurus’s speedy tooth substitution, occurring every single fourteen times, is additionally amazing, setting it aside from other sauropods that experienced slower tooth turnover.