“It’s something that genuinely usually takes the cake for incredible cranial adaptations in this group, the very long-necked dinosaurs,” states Sereno, a professor of paleontology with the College of Chicago. “It’s simply a majestic illustration of evolution.”
The nickname "dinosaur with 500 teeth" comes from Nigersaurus's distinctive dental battery. Its jaw held roughly 500 slender teeth, arranged in tightly packed rows, and these teeth ended up continuously changed throughout its everyday living.
Over-all, Nigersaurus was a singular and unusual dinosaur as a consequence of its dental batteries and vast muzzle, which authorized it to successfully course of action and Assemble plant materials. Its modest measurement and herbivorous diet regime allow it to be a fascinating contrast on the much larger, carnivorous dinosaurs that are more usually regarded to most of the people.
The remains of Nigersaurus were being to begin with explained by Taquet in 1976 as belonging to the dicraeosaurid, but in 1999 Sereno and colleagues reclassified it to be a rebbachisaurid diplodocoid.[4] These researchers speculated that considering that short necks and little dimension was recognized amongst basal diplodocoids, it could suggest these were being ancestral features of your group.
The genus Nigersaurus was formally named in 1999 by American paleontologist Paul Sereno and his team, next the invention of additional complete remains that allowed for an in depth description in the species.
This sauropod (lengthy-necked dinosaur) has an unconventional skull that contains as numerous as 500 slender teeth. A significant objective of this expedition is to seek out the rest of this unusual dinosaur so we could describe it and reconstruct it for everyone to discover.
Following the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, Nigersaurus was probably the most quite a few megaherbivore. Other herbivores from the similar development include Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, and an unnamed titanosaur. Collectively, these compose on the list of number of associations of megaherbivores having a balance of sauropods and enormous ornithopods.
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Nigersaurus is Just about the most archaeologically important dinosaurs since it is helping scientists to higher have an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of other sauropods. It's also Among the most totally known rebbachisaurids, with over 200 bones of at the least seventeen various dinosaurs uncovered.
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Teeth at unique growth levels, Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia The slender teeth had somewhat curved tooth crowns, which were being oval in cross-portion. The crowns were being unique in owning outstanding ridges to the margins of their midline and sides. The teeth while in the decreased jaw might are actually 20–thirty% scaled-down than People within the higher jaw, but few are recognised, and they are of uncertain maturity. Aside from this, the teeth were being similar.[four] Beneath Each individual Lively tooth there was a column of nine substitute teeth throughout the jaw.
Regardless Nigersaurus of the memes, Nigersaurus stays a rare illustration of evolution and adaptation, deserving recognition for its exclusive attributes as an alternative to Web controversy.
Diplodocus skull for comparison Its cranium was extremely distinct from Diplodocus, suggesting a unique feeding process. It had several fenestrae (openings) and slim bones. It experienced a large muzzle full of over five hundred teeth.
skull bones. Two expeditions later, adequate content was located to reconstruct 80% of your beast’s skeleton. In 1999, the discovery of much more fossils gave paleontologists a first glimpse from the dinosaur’s sophisticated dental batteries and vacuum-like mouth.