Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus, Stromer, 1915

number on the map: 23

Superorder: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia

Spinosaurus was one of the largest known theropods with long processes of the vertebrae. It owes its name to this dorsal structure resembling a sail. Either muscles or well-blood-supplied skin was stretched over the spine, thus forming a hump. Spinosaurus lived in North Africa at the turn of early and late Cretaceous. The most characteristic feature of this dinosaur, the “sail” on its back, could be used for thermoregulation, or for deterring predators. Its head was elongated, and the skull could measure as much as 175 centimetres in length. Its front limbs were where Spinosaurus differed from other theropods: they were small but quite substantial for a theropod.

body length: 15–18 m
body mass: 7 000–9 000 kg
temporal range: 112–93 mya