He found several fossils from Elrhaz formations in Niger. Among the People fossils, he identified fossils of a whole new dinosaur species that is called Nigersaurus (“Niger Reptile”). He as well as other paleontologists collected quite a few bony parts of Nigersaurus separately and assembled a rough skeleton.
cranium bones. Two expeditions afterwards, adequate materials was uncovered to reconstruct 80% from the beast’s skeleton. In 1999, the invention of a lot more fossils gave paleontologists a primary glimpse in the dinosaur’s advanced dental batteries and vacuum-like mouth.
Fossils of this dinosaur were initially described in 1976, but it was only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999, just after even further and even more complete continues to be had been discovered and described. The genus identify signifies "Niger reptile", and the specific title honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who discovered the primary continues to be.
In Nigersaurus' case, the higher jaws contained sixty columns of modest, needle-shaped upper teeth. And no less than 68 quite sharp teeth were existing on the lower jaws. Tallied with each other, upper jaw and decrease jaw, the beast experienced greater than five hundred specific teeth.
The Sahara Desert in the Cretaceous period of time was a good location for supporting distinct dinosaur species. Fossil proof suggests that Nigersaurus shared their habitats with other dinosaurian herbivores, i.
Nigersaurus, a rebbachisaurid sauropod from the middle Cretaceous interval, was found from the Elrhaz Formation in Niger. Its name, meaning “Niger’s lizard,” was given adhering to the invention of more full stays in 1999, Whilst its fossils had been initially described in 1976.
Nigersaurus's feeding tactic was in contrast to a number of other dinosaurs. Its wide, flat jaw was tailored for grazing near the bottom, earning it the nickname "Mesozoic Cow."
Nigersaurus is ideal recognized for its unique skull and jaw, which contained around five hundred slender teeth organized in tightly packed rows. These teeth ended up specialized for grazing on small-lying vegetation, building Nigersaurus a hugely economical herbivore.
The swift alternative of its teeth, just about every fourteen days, suggests which the Nigersaurus faced important evolutionary pressures to keep up a continuing provide of practical teeth Nigersaurus to cope with abrasive plant content. This adaptation underlines the evolutionary critical to enhance feeding efficiency in an ecosystem where by food stuff resources various and competition was intense.
The authors therefore cautioned versus working with semicircular canals as proxy to infer the precise orientation of skulls. They discovered that diet program correlated strongly with semicircular canal orientation, but not with head posture, although head posture and semicircular canal orientation were being strongly correlated with phylogeny.[25]
Its distinctive dental structure implies that it could have experienced a special feeding strategy compared to other sauropods, and its existence in Africa suggests that most of these dinosaurs had been more popular than previously believed.
This bizarre, extensive-necked dinosaur is characterised by its unusually broad, straight-edged muzzle tipped with much more than five hundred replaceable teeth. The original fossil cranium of Nigersaurus
The journey to uncover the secrets and techniques in the Nigersaurus started with the initial fossil fragments learned during the nineteen seventies in the Elrhaz Development of Niger, but it wasn’t until finally 1999 that far more comprehensive stays brought this intriguing dinosaur in the Highlight. These discoveries offered paleontologists with equally difficulties and chances.
[13] Due to lateral orientation of your teeth, it likely wouldn't have already been able to chew.[one] Nigersaurus wore its tooth crowns down speedier than other dinosaurian herbivores,[three] and its tooth substitute price was the highest of any recognized dinosaur. Every tooth was replaced when each 14 times; the speed experienced Formerly been estimated lessen. In distinction to Nigersaurus, sauropods with decreased tooth alternative charges and broader tooth crowns are thought to have been Cover browsers.[twelve]