Nigersaurus and its closest relations are grouped inside the subfamily Rebbachisaurinae (previously regarded as grouped during the eponymous Nigersaurinae) with the loved ones Rebbachisauridae, that's part of the sauropod superfamily Diplodocoidea. Nigersaurus was possibly a browser, and fed with its head near the ground. The location of its brain that detected smell was underdeveloped, Even though its brain sizing was comparable to that of other dinosaurs.
As we keep on to review this interesting creature, we've been reminded with the intricate and varied paths that evolution can take.
Feeding on like that can be tough on the dental health and fitness unless you've got a syteady provide of alternative teeth. Nigersaurus must have worn out its tooth crowns at a quick-hearth rate.
Once the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, Nigersaurus was one of the most several megaherbivore. Other herbivores in the exact same formation involve Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, and an unnamed titanosaur. Jointly, these compose among the few associations of megaherbivores that has a stability of sauropods and large ornithopods.
Nearby lay Component of the backbone and the hip bones. This was a suggest shopper—the bones are from a skeleton that might evaluate about 30 toes very long! We hope to search out far more evidence of this sharp-toothed creature as the field time goes on.
This strange, extensive-necked dinosaur is characterized by its unusually broad, straight-edged muzzle tipped with a lot more than five hundred replaceable teeth. The initial fossil skull of Nigersaurus is without doubt one of the very first dinosaur skulls to be digitally reconstructed from CT scans.
In 2019, Mannion and colleagues pointed out that considering the fact that Nigersaurus was observed to generally be the sister taxon of all other nigersaurines in some experiments, a Rebbachisaurinae clade may well not essentially consist of Nigersaurus itself (in addition to the incontrovertible fact that the place of Rebbachisaurus could modify in long term analyses), and supported the continued use from the title Nigersaurinae more than Rebbachisaurinae for all rebbachisaurids extra carefully connected to Nigersaurus than to Limaysaurus.
These jaws held some thing under no circumstances right before noticed inside a sauropod dinosaur: It had been one of several 1st dinosaur skulls with tooth, or "dental," batteries.
Skeletal diagram exhibiting acknowledged aspects and size comparison Sereno and also the American palaeontologist Jeffrey A. Wilson furnished the 1st specific description in the cranium and feeding adaptations in 2005.[1] In 2007, a far more comprehensive description with the skeleton was published by Sereno advert colleagues, according to a specimen learned ten many years before. The fossils, along with a reconstructed skeleton mount and a plastic model of the head and neck, were subsequently introduced on the National Geographic Culture in Washington.
Nigersaurus is actually a genus of sauropod dinosaurs that lived about one hundred fifteen to 105 million several years ago over the Early to Mid-Cretaceous interval. It belonged on the rebbachisaurids, a subgroup of Diplodocoidea, a clade of long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs.
But that’s not all for Nigersaurus. Chris took us all into a flat region of purple-colored sandstone wherever he had Situated the higher jaw what dinosaur has 500 teeth of the infant Nigersaurus—1 that could match on top of a silver dollar!
One of the myriad of dinosaurs that after roamed our World, the Nigersaurus stands out, not for its sizing or ferocity, but for its exceptional dental structure.
On the other hand, as mentioned, Nigersaurus had a constant provide of recent teeth since they had been replaced once the prime tooth within a column wore out.
Diplodocus cranium for comparison Its cranium was incredibly distinctive from Diplodocus, suggesting a distinct feeding approach. It had many fenestrae (openings) and thin bones. It had a broad muzzle stuffed with over five hundred teeth.