That large muzzle with its Nigersaurus teeth was perfect for scooping up ferns, horsetails and other low-lying plants. And Along with the bountiful teeth, the dinosaur would've experienced no difficulties shearing through this vegetation.
Although it experienced big nostrils as well as a fleshy snout, Sereno and colleagues found that Nigersaurus experienced an underdeveloped olfactory region of its Mind and so did not have a sophisticated sense of smell. Its brain-to-human body-mass ratio was regular for just a reptile, and more compact than All those of ornithischians and non-coelurosaurian theropods. The cerebrum comprised about thirty% in the Mind volume, as in a number of other dinosaurs.[3] The American palaeoartist Mark Hallett and paleontologist Mathew J.
Over-all, Nigersaurus was a novel and strange dinosaur as a consequence of its dental batteries and wide muzzle, which allowed it to effectively system and Collect plant material. Its compact dimensions and herbivorous diet program ensure it is an interesting distinction on the greater, carnivorous dinosaurs which can be much more typically acknowledged to most of the people.
In typically colorful trend, Sereno described Nigersaurus as being a cross amongst Darth Vader in addition to a vacuum cleaner and also called it a "Mesozoic cow" (not an inaccurate description, should you ignore The reality that an entire-developed Nigersaurus measured 30 feet from head to tail and weighed up to 5 tons!)
Nigersaurus is believed to behave very like other herbivore sauropods. They had most likely invested most of their time in dangle-Canine positions and grazing reduced-lying vegetation.
The analyze of dinosaurs like Nigersaurus can help us to raised recognize the history of our Earth as well as the essential part that these ancient creatures performed in shaping the earth as we understand what dinosaur has 500 teeth it nowadays.
Having said that, this declare has long been contested by other scientists who believe that Nigersaurus was probably a lot more regular of other sauropods.
Nigersaurus experienced a jaw construction contrary to any other dinosaur. Its wide, squared-off muzzle housed about five hundred slender, pencil-like teeth. These teeth weren't evenly distributed but had been arranged in columns and rows, with as quite a few as 9 substitute teeth behind Each individual Energetic tooth.
Placing collectively these odd anatomical specifics, Nigersaurus seems to happen to be well tailored to lower browsing; more than likely it swept its neck backwards and forwards parallel to the bottom, hoovering up any vegetation inside of uncomplicated achieve. (Other sauropods, which had much longer necks, may possibly have nibbled on the high branches of trees, even though even this remains a subject of some dispute.)
The cranium of the Nigersaurus was made from slender bones and experienced many little openings and pores. These attributes supplied them fantastic overall flexibility in feeding on the bottom. The muzzle from the Nigersaurus was broad and very long which helped it in having modest floor-based mostly vegetation.
Its feeding style has actually been in comparison with that of contemporary grazing animals or even a vacuum cleaner, mainly because it probably swept its head facet-to-side though consuming vegetation.
The constrained idea of the genus was the results of poor preservation of its stays, which occurs in the delicate and really pneumatic construction (crammed with air Areas linked to air sacs) from the cranium and skeleton, subsequently resulting in disarticulation with the fossils. Many of the skull fossils were so thin that a powerful gentle beam was seen by them. Hence, no intact skulls or articulated skeletons have been found, and these specimens signify essentially the most entire recognised rebbachisaurid continues to be.[three][one]
The journey to uncover the secrets and techniques from the Nigersaurus commenced with the 1st fossil fragments found out from the seventies while in the Elrhaz Development of Niger, but it really wasn’t until eventually 1999 that far more full remains brought this interesting dinosaur to the spotlight. These discoveries introduced paleontologists with both equally issues and options.
Limb material in addition to a scapula uncovered nearby were also referred to the exact same specimen. These fossils are housed on the Nationwide Museum of Niger.