The Spinosaurus (Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus, or Spinosaurus Marroccanus) is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in the Early Cretaceous Period around 100-94 million years ago in areas of Egypt.
The Spinosaurus had two different species. S. Aegyptiacus and S. Marroccanus, but it's believed that S. Marroccanus is a juvenile specimen of S. Aegyptiacus. The species names were named after where they were found, as S. Aegyptiacus was found in Egypt and S. Maroccanus found in Moracco.
Unlike most depictions of the Spinosaurus, it did not always walk on four legs. It is believed that the Spinosaurus can walk on two legs, and had webbed feet. Spinosaurus is most known for it's enormous 7ft (2.1m) tall sail! The sail's purpose is unknown. It may have been used to help it swim, regulate it's temperature, or for a display. The Spinosaurus has a huge, bulky tail as well. It's teeth were smooth at the edges so it could grasp fish easily. It's bones were also very dense, meaning it likely was an animal that fully submerged itself like a hippo. Spinosaurus likely was a clumsy walker on land, due to it's immense weight and dense bones.
Spinosaurus had large claws and arms. It's claws were smooth like it's teeth, to help it grab, impale and stop fish from squirming away. While the Spinosaurus was more adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, it also sometimes hunted in land, but it wasn't a very efficient land predator.
Spinosaurus is the largest carnivore dinosaur, at over 42 feet long. Recent studies suggest that Spinosaurus aegyptiacus had a length of over 14 meters (46ft). Spinosaurus sails were also more than 5 ft tall at its highest point. Spinosaurus skulls were very long and narrow, very similar to a crocodile. It had smooth, straight, conical teeth that had little to no serrations (sharp, small jagged edges.) Spinosaurus had 3 fingers on each claw, and an enlarged claw on the first finger. Spinosaurus had a long and narrow tail at the base, but grew more deep and formed a paddle like structure which helped Spinosaurus swim.
Spinosaurus was originally found in 1912, and named by paleontologist Ernest Stromer in 1915. The first, original fossils of Spinosaurus was destroyed in bombings during WW2. Spinosaurus's body structure was built for swimming and an aquatic lifestyle, such as high bone density, allowing for better buoyancy in water, and the paddle fin. Spinosaurus lived in warm, humid environments of bodies of water, like tidal flats, rivers, and lakes.