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Nigersaurus (/niːˈʒɛərsɔːrəs, ˈnaɪdʒərsɔːrəs/) can be a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived for the duration of the middle Cretaceous period, about 115 to 105 million many years ago. It had been found during the Elrhaz Development in an area named Gadoufaoua, in Niger.
Fossils of the dinosaur have been 1st explained in 1976, but it absolutely was only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999, following further more and much more entire stays ended up discovered and explained. The genus identify indicates "Niger reptile", and the particular identify honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who discovered the primary stays.
It really is thought that these sauropod dinosaurs collected food applying their huge, wide mouths, comparable to grazing in modern day cows. They would probably have been “nonselective” inside their diet plan. 2. Nigersaurus was one of many initially dinosaurs to get a CT scan
It lived through a time if the area was covered in forests and braided rivers, and would've needed to watch out for that presence of Sarcosuchus, a large relative of contemporary crocodiles.
Nigersaurus didn't exhibit the identical modifications witnessed from the jaws of other dinosaurs with dental batteries, or mammals with elaborate chewing capabilities. The reduce jaw was L-shaped and divided to the subcylindrical transverse ramus, which contained the teeth, along with the again ramus, which was more lightweight and was the location for many of the muscle attachments. It was distinct in that the tooth row expanded to the sides in the plane of the key ramus in the decrease jaw.
Determined by this biomechanical Evaluation, the staff concluded that the head and muzzle had been habitually oriented 67° downwards and shut to floor amount, being an adaptation for floor-level browsing. This is certainly unlike the way in which other sauropods are restored, with their heads held more horizontally.[3]
They consisted of vertically stacked what dinosaur has 500 teeth columns of replaceable teeth. Whenever the highest tooth wore out in any specified column, the a single appropriate beneath it would shift upwards and go ahead and take old tooth's location.
The teeth’s one of a kind shape and arrangement ended up perfectly suited for its feeding behavior. The slender, chisel-like teeth could proficiently snip off comfortable vegetation, as well as their immediate replacement ensured that the dinosaur could continually feed without the need of awaiting new teeth to expand.
Nigersaurus was named once the West African state wherever its fossils are actually observed: The Republic of Niger. Again when this animal roamed, forests and braided rivers covered the landscape. (Nigersaurus would've had to watch out for Sarcosuchus, a tremendous relative of recent crocodiles.)
After the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, Nigersaurus was probably the most several megaherbivore. Other herbivores through the similar development involve Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, and an unnamed titanosaur. Alongside one another, these compose one of several several associations of megaherbivores by using a balance of sauropods and enormous ornithopods.
The constrained understanding of the genus was the result of inadequate preservation of its continues to be, which arises from your sensitive and very pneumatic building (full of air spaces linked to air sacs) in the skull and skeleton, consequently triggering disarticulation on the fossils. Many of the cranium fossils ended up so thin that a solid light beam was visible through them. Thus, no intact skulls or articulated skeletons have already been identified, and these specimens symbolize one of the most full identified rebbachisaurid stays.[3][1]
The journey to uncover the tricks on the Nigersaurus started with the primary fossil fragments learned during the nineteen seventies during the Elrhaz Development of Niger, but it wasn’t until 1999 that additional entire continues to be introduced this interesting dinosaur into your Highlight. These discoveries introduced paleontologists with both equally worries and alternatives.
The fragile character from the Nigersaurus’s slender teeth and delicate skull built excavation and preservation specially tricky. Yet, these difficulties have been fulfilled with impressive techniques in fossil recovery and 3D reconstruction, permitting researchers to piece collectively the intricate facts of its jaw as well as astonishing assortment of five hundred teeth.