Nigersaurus was named once the West African nation where its fossils have already been observed: The Republic of Niger. Back when this animal roamed, forests and braided rivers included the landscape. (Nigersaurus would've needed to watch out for Sarcosuchus, an enormous relative of modern crocodiles.)
Nigersaurus and its closest relations are grouped throughout the subfamily Rebbachisaurinae (previously thought to be grouped within the eponymous Nigersaurinae) in the loved ones Rebbachisauridae, that's Element of the sauropod superfamily Diplodocoidea. Nigersaurus was probably a browser, and fed with its head near to the ground. The area of its brain that detected scent was underdeveloped, Whilst its brain size was similar to that of other dinosaurs.
Named after the region of Niger, the place its fossils were being initially observed. The identify was preferred to replicate its origins, on the other hand, the similarity in pronunciation to your racial slur has elevated considerations about cultural sensitivity and ideal terminology.
Comparable to other Sauropods, Nigersaurus have been herbivores. They'd grazed near the ground and ate reduced-lying vegetation. That they had a wide muzzle which aided them in cropping additional vegetative product in just one bite. You may Believe they possibly ate grass, but the grass hadn’t evolved all through that point.
What dinosaur has five hundred teeth? An unorthodox herbivore, this reptile grazed in what's now the Sahara Desert 110 million years ago. These sauropod dinosaurs gathered meals having a huge, broad mouth; the snout was wider as opposed to back again in the creature's head on the original fossil skull.
Reconstructed skeleton of Nigersaurus, showcasing the dinosaur's one of a kind 500-tooth jaw construction and elongated overall body.
Judging via the LSC orientation in Nigersaurus, Sereno and corporation hypothesized that the animal normally walked all around with its snout pointed to the bottom at a 67-degree angle. Photograph a moping teenager and you will get The thought.
This speedy tooth substitute, with new teeth developing every fourteen times, ensured it taken care of sharp edges for grazing on gentle vegetation. The distinctive dental arrangement built it really economical at processing reduced-lying plants, contributing to its reputation to be a specialized herbivore.
These well known dinosaur reconstructions from the 1960s are no longer scientifically accurate. Can you notice the glitches?
Just about the most distinct characteristics of Nigersaurus was its mouth, which was Outfitted with many small, tightly packed teeth organized in rows. This permitted it to successfully crop and grind tough plant issue, for instance ferns and horsetails.
Teeth at diverse development levels, Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia The slender teeth had slightly curved tooth crowns, which have been oval in cross-portion. The crowns ended up distinct in owning well known ridges on the margins in their midline and sides. The teeth inside the lower jaw may perhaps have been twenty–thirty% scaled-down than People in the higher jaw, but number of are regarded, and they're of uncertain maturity. Apart from this, the teeth 500 teeth dinosaur were similar.[4] Below Just about every Lively tooth there was a column of nine substitution teeth within the jaw.
The dental buildings of Nigersaurus also recommend they ate tender plants in large amounts to satisfy their nutritional necessities. They primarily ate angiosperms, horsetails, and ferns as food. A lot of paleontologists also feel that their 500 intently packed teeth arrangement also functioned like a comb. This comb-like teeth arrangement could have also helped them in filtering and feeding on aquatic plants.
Even though the nasal bones are usually not entirely regarded, it appears the front margin of your bony nostril was nearer for the snout than in other diplodocoids. The snout was also proportionately shorter, as well as tooth row was by no means prognathous, the snout suggestion not protruding relative to the rest from the tooth sequence. The maxillary tooth row was in its entirety transversely rotated, its normal rear 90° everted toward the entrance. This was matched by An analogous rotation of the dentary of your reduced jaw. Consequently, no other tetrapod had all of its teeth Positioned as far on the entrance as
Its limited neck would've also been an adaptation to this ground-level feeding habits, mainly because it would not are already ready to reach higher into trees like Several other sauropods.