The massive sail-back dinosaur, Spinosaurus, might have hunted in shallow waters similar to a heron, rather than in deep waters as previously believed. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was among the largest predators to roam the Earth during the Cretaceous period, the final era of the dinosaurs. As per a study published in PLOS ONE, these species, originating from Africa, weighed around seven tonnes, surpassing the weight of a bull African elephant. Nathan Myhrvold, one of the authors of the study, mentioned, “It’s a very distinctive-looking dinosaur due to its enormous ‘sail’ on its back.”
Palaeontologists generally agree that Spinosaurus was a fish-eating dinosaur. However, there has been ongoing debate about its lifestyle and hunting methods. Some studies propose that these dinosaurs waded or swam in shallow waters near the shore to capture prey. Other studies suggest that Spinosaurus was an aquatic predator that pursued prey by diving deep into the waters.
The authors of the new study conducted a fresh analysis, re-evaluating the bone density of the dinosaur to determine its aquatic habits. They also referenced an earlier study supporting the idea that Spinosaurus dove into deep waters to hunt its prey.
The study in question, led by Matteo Fabbri of the Field Museum of Natural History, was published in the journal Nature in 2020. In the new study, the authors argued that the 2020 study may have notable flaws. “We demonstrated that the dataset they utilised for their method was not suitable- many statistical methods only function effectively if the data possesses specific characteristics. The data in Fabbri et al did not exhibit the required characteristics,” explained Myhrvold.
Myhrvold and his team stated that this hypothesis is biologically implausible. They pointed out that Spinosaurus, like many other dinosaurs, had air sacs in the bones of their spine, providing so much buoyancy that diving would have been impossible. “Therefore, the density of thigh and rib bones doesn’t indicate whether a dinosaur could dive,” explained Myhrvold. While the new study does not definitively settle the debate, Myhrvold stated that they aimed to disprove the notion that Spinosaurus hunted underwater. Their findings suggest that the dinosaur was not a swimming or diving predator in pursuit of fish.
“We find no evidence from bone density to suggest that Spinosaurus was anything other than what we have inferred from numerous other lines of evidence in previous research—a semi-aquatic, fish-eating predator that prowled shorelines and shallow waters, ambushing prey of various sizes,” remarked Paul Sereno, another author of the PLOS ONE study affiliated with the University of Chicago.
“It may have lurked in shallow water to ambush fish, similar to how a heron does,” added Myhrvold. In response, Fabbri stated, “We don’t believe their data substantiates their conclusions.” He further explained, “Myrvhold et al. suggest that high bone density is only present in the legs, but this is incorrect: we detected high density in the spines of the sail and tail, in the ribs, and even in the bones forming the hand.”
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