SPINOSAURUS

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Etymology: Egyptian spine lizard

Nickname: "Spino" or "Slice"

Classification: Carnosauria, Spinosauridae

Diet: Carnivore

Size: 15 meters long

Provenance: Bahariya Formation, Egypt - Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian stage, 100 - 95 million years ago

Movie appearances: Jurassic Park III (2001); Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, meaning "egyptian spined lizard" is a species of spinosaurid carnosaur theropod dinosaur that hails from what is now northern Africa back in the Cretaceous period. It is a dinosaur previously known from incomplete fossil specimens, with a lot of fossil material tentatively assigned to this species, often resulting in abnormal size estimates of up to 18 meters and nearly 10 tonnes, but now, with the resurrection of the real animal, its maximum size is now estimated at around 15 meters long and 9 tonnes in weight. In similarities with other spinosaurids, Spinosaurus had large, powerful arms with curved claws to grab prey like a bear. The now destroyed holotype of the species was found in the early 20th century, and it would only be almost six decades later that new later material, assigned to Spinosaurus, would be recognized. The resurrection of Spinosaurus revealed a far stranger physique than one would have expected, such as short legs with webbed feet, an adaptation for excellent mobility in the water. Although the species is only definitively known from Egypt, other fossils spread across northern Africa, and even the south american Oxalaia, have been tentatively assigned to this species. At least the large muscular paws of the animal were largely correctly predicted.

Upon resurrection, Spinosaurus was revealed to have surprisingly strong jaws, powerful arms, a thick hide and a more terrestrial lifestyle than expected, in spite of its apparent aquatic adaptations, as well as a shorter sail (though this may be due to the immaturity of the specimen, as the sail would grow larger as it matured). Although its hind legs are surprisingly short, it is nevertheless a surprisingly efficient walker and even runner. The only Spinosaurus generated in Isla Sorna was a male individual. As the Spinosaurus matured into a much older adult, its grey coloration transitioned into a tan-colored body with peach color hints on its pattern, and its sail's coloration transitioned towards a brown and tan color with some dark patterns. The sail of this species is rectangular in shape, like that of a sailfish, and it may occasionally have a row of very small "spikes" or protuberances along parts of the sail and most prominently on the base of its paddle-like tail. Its head resembles the elongated skulls of crocodiles, and fittingly, it has conical unserrated teeth, like a typical crocodilian.

Spinosaurus is a very aggressive animal, easily disturbed; in 2001, the resident male of Isla Sorna proceeded to show extreme aggressive behavior towards the people that were in a fallen jet, acting in response to injury or threat caused by the jet's crash. This dinosaur is a surprisingly adaptable predator, comfortably going after prey both on land and in the water. It has been shown to have a very aggressive approach to campers, hunting them in what would appear to be a territorial response. This aggressive response might be inherent to its paleohabitat, where resources were often scattered and changing between seasons, forcing the animal to be opportunistic and competitive. Spinosaurus has been recorded to enter into confrontations with Tyrannosaurus rex, quite often. However, Spinosaurus may promptly retreat from conflict, especially if its opponents are working in a group. A pair of Tyrannosaurus rex, for instance, can easily suffice to scare away a Spinosaurus. Spinosaurus has also shown to surprisingly form a sort of benefitial and rather symbiotic interaction with Shonisaurus, helping the giant ichthyosaur to hunt prey and defend its territory, in exchange for protection in oceanic waters. Spinosaurus may hunt in packs, when they can, mainly in aquatic environments, such as oceans, lakes and rivers.

Spinosaurus is a formidable predator with unexpected strength, being capable of engaging in combat with even adult Tyrannosaurus rex. Spinosaurus has historically been shown to have even been able to take down a grown Tyrannosaurus rex, using its jaws to get a hold on the tyrannosaur's neck, before using its clawed arms to wrestle and deliver strength to take it down. In Mantah Corp, Spinosaurus was subjected to maipulation through a electronic chip in its skull, that controls its stimuli, and even in such a controlled situation, it was shown to be able to stand against a Tyrannosaurus rex in battle. The results of this later conflict, however, were manipulated artificially, so they don't exactly reflect a true natural outcome for such a battle.

In early 1998, Spinosaurus was successfully generated, illegally, in Isla Sorna, alongside other illegal dinosaurs, such as Ankylosaurus, Corythosaurus and Ceratosaurus. Soon after hatching, it was released to the ecosystem, and every trace of its creation in the island was covered up. Spinosaurus shows to have an immensely fast growth rate for a non-avialan theropod, and already by 2001, it grew to 12 meters long; in that year, the Spinosaurus suffered a mild injury after faintly colliding with a jet that was illegally taking off in the island, before it crashed down in the surrounding tree-filled jungle. The Spinosaurus followed the crashed plane and proceeded to roll the damaged aircraft, flattening it with its foot and ramming its head inside in an attempt to reach the surviving humans that were inside. The humans, led by Alan Grant, managed to escape the plane while the theropod was busy scavenging on its remains. However, the Spinosaurus followed them, only to be interrupted by a neighbouring Tyrannosaurus rex; the two theropods clash, only for the Spinosaurus to defeat the tyrannosaur and roar triumphantly at its kill. The Spinosaurus had eaten, previously, the pilot of the aircraft, M.B. Nash, who had Paul Kirby's satellite phone, which remained intact, still ringing in the dinosaur's stomach, conveniently allerting the humans who were being pursued by it. The Spinosaurus chased Alan Grant and a stranded Eric Kirby, who were trapped on the other side of the aviary observatory's perimeter fence, away from the rest of the human group, but the duo managed to escape the spinosaur through a hole on the fence. However, the Spinosaurus broke through the perimeter walls and proceeded to chase the humans towards an abandoned field lab. The group, while rafting on a boat, later found a pile of Spinosaurus dung, where the satellite phone was found; the threatening smell of the spinosaur dung was powerful enough to disincourage a neighbouring Ceratosaurus from potentially attacking the humans. The Spinosaurus later attacked the boat, so Alan Grant and the Kirby family lock themselves in a cage to protect from the theropod. However, the Spinosaurus simply tossed the cage into the water, nearly drowning them. They manage to escape the cage, however, and Alan Grant shoots a flare gun in an attempt to scare away the Spinosaurus, eventually igniting the leaked petroleum from the boat, flaming the water, and scaring away the giant theropod. The Dinosaur Protection Group would later find out about the illegal generation of Spinosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Ceratosaurus and Corythosaurus in Isla Sorna, clarifying why they never were on InGen's list. Eventually the individual Spinosaurus from Isla Sorna would be relocated to the Mantah Corp island, being designated "Asset 87", with the intent of it being used in fighting rings. The Spinosaurus would later be chipped, in order for its actions to be artifically manipulated. The operation to chip him was delicate, with the action being done while the animal was asleep. Darius Bowman was tasked to do so, but the Spinosaurus eventually woke up and started chasing him down. Darius, however, managed to escape. The Spinosaurus was eventually put the sleep via tranquilizing gas. Spinosaurus was being held in an artificial desert-like biome, where the dinosaur's survival capabilities were being tested; it was also a biome that was suspected to be a potential ideal spot for the hybrid Spinoceratops to inhabit. With the chip implanted in the Spinosaurus, his actions could finally be artifically manipulated. There, Spinosaurus goes out to fight against a Tyrannosaurus rex. The Spinosaurus would also be controlled by Mantah Corp to block other people from denouncing the company's nefarious schemes. In Mantah Corp, Spinosaurus would also enter into conflict with Carnotaurus. Spinosaurus also was controlled to actively kill people. Eventually, as a Tyrannosaurus rex rams against the Spinosaurus, the controller for his chip is lost, and the spinosaur is finally freed from control. The Spinosaurus, at that moment, would retreat, once he was facing two Tyrannosaurus rex at once. Mantah Corp island would eventually be discovered, and the dinosaurs there, including Spinosaurus, would be taken by the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife, towards an uncertain future. In 2022, Alan Grant is still reminded of his encounters with Spinosaurus, keeping a small replica of its skeleton as a reminder of the tragedy that involves the resurrection of extinct species to the present.

FILM vs. REALITY

The film Spinosaurus is substantially different from its real life counterpart. While the elongated skull, large clawed arms, and large sail on its back are correct characteristics for the real life animal, there are many other details that go in opposition with reality. The wrists of Spinosaurus were incapable of pronation, so even though it might have been able to grab prey strongly with its clawed digits, its motion would be relatively more restricted. The sail of the real life Spinosaurus was likely not of a perfect round shape, and instead had a more rectangular form. The back legs of the film's Spinosaurus are depicted as long, typical for terrestrial theropods, but, in reality, this animal would have had surprisingly much shorter back limbs, perhaps with webbed feet, and a first digit that touched the ground, indicating limited terrestrial motion, and perhaps a greater adequacy for moving in water. It also possessed a large laterally flattened paddle-shaped tail, instead of a normal theropod tail, which might have given it limited benefits at swimming and/or be used for display purposes. The integument of Spinosaurus is entirely unknown, however given the potential assignment of the feathered Sciurumimus to the megalosauroid group, to which Spinosaurus belongs to, it might be more easily inferred that Spinosaurus was covered in simple feathers, instead of the traditional scaly hide shown in the film.

Spinosaurus, in the film, is depicted as an agile terrestrial hunter, and although that may appear inconsistent with the real animal's physique, studies conclude that Spinosaurus was likely semi-aquatic, so comfortable on both land and water and, like other spinosaurids, probably hunted in both mediums. Although the short legs of Spinosaurus denounce poor capacities for long distance running, its feasible that such a large theropod would still be capable of moving fast in short distances, even keeping up to the pace of a human if needed, if we compare it to other short-legged semi-aquatic animals in the modern day that are capable of such fast terrestrial motions, such as hippos. Less accurate would be the depiction of the film Spinosaurus using its jaws to break the neck of a Tyrannosaurus rex; although Spinosaurus would have had strong jaws to take down large fish, its conical teeth and slender jaws would be ill-equipped for such stress enducing actions, being made more for holding prey than crunching them, so their robust clawed arms would be the only feasible weapon they could use to have any chance against other large theropods. Swimming, in Spinosaurus, is a controversial topic, and although the film Spinosaurus is shown swimming, the real life one may not have been as dedicated to it, being more of a wading animal. However, considering Spinosaurus was a large semi-aquatic theropod, with an elongated torso, enormous flattened tail and flattened, potentially webbed, feet, it would still be a competent swimmer if needed, be it to opportunistically pursue a slow-moving target in the water surface or to cross portions of deeper water to reach the preferred shallows. Spinosaurus is said to be larger than Tyrannosaurus rex, and size estimates of material referred to the largest Spinosaurus suggests that it may have been at least longer, not necessarily heavier, than that tyrannosaur species.