Lynx Studio / Field study

Spinosaurus

Species: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
Period: Late Cretaceous
Setting: River systems of North Africa

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus lived in the Late Cretaceous of North Africa, around 95 million years ago. It is the largest known meat-eating dinosaur, possibly longer than T. rex, with a tall sail of skin along its back. Its body shows real adaptations to water: long jaws, a flattened tail, dense bones. How much of its life it spent swimming is one of the great ongoing arguments in paleontology.

The trail starts here

Scene 01 / 03

First light

The morning starts slow in the swamp. Half buried in mud, warming up in the sun, barely moving. It lies the way a crocodile lies, patient, almost invisible. Then it decides the day has started, and it gets up, and the mud comes with it.

Scene 02 / 03

Into the river

Watch how carefully it enters the water. No splash, no rush. It steps in and the river accepts it, body disappearing gradually, mud trailing, until only the sail stays above the surface. There is no animal that size that moves through water like this one.

Scene 03 / 03

A challenge

Something came up from the deep today, and it did not back down. Look at the tail, the scars from past meetings. This is not a first fight. It roars, and for a moment the whole river goes quiet, waiting to see which one is going to back down first.

End of the trail

Thanks for walking through this one.

Hover the scenes again, or follow the trail to another animal.

Next study: Dilophosaurus