Spinosaurus Tooth | Cretaceous | Kem Kem Beds, Morocco
Spinosaurus Tooth
Late Cretaceous Period 100 million years ago
Phosphate Deposits, Taouz, Kem Kem Basin, Morocco
Specimen size: approximately 1.75" in length
Some restoration has been done. Upon mining of these Spinosaurus teeth, they often come out of the ground broken.
Thanks to Spinosaurus' aquatic style sail and it's crocodile-like look and lifestyle—not to mention it's famous cameo in Jurassic Park III—Spinosaurus is hastily gaining on Tyrannosaurus Rex as the world's most famous meat-eating dinosaur. Also, Spinosaurus currently holds the world's record for Largest Carnivorous Dinosaur; full-grown, 10-ton adults outweighed Tyrannosaurus Rex by about a ton and Giganotosaurus by about half a ton.
The specific function of the Spinosaurus sail is still debated. This shape grew on a scaffold of "neural spines," long, skinny projections of bone—some of which attained lengths of almost six feet—that had been connected to the vertebrae constituting this dinosaur's backbone. These spines aren't simply hypothesized; they have been preserved in fossil specimens.
The snout of Spinosaurus was long, slender and distinctly crocodilian in profile. From lower back to front, this dinosaur's cranium measured a whopping six feet in length.