The enamel on the teeth of Nigersaurus was remarkably asymmetrical, 10 times thicker around the outwards facing side than within the interior aspect.
Its head is what truly stands out about Nigersaurus, however. The jaws, that have a flat entrance, are lined with about five hundred teeth, which Sereno suggests were being replaceable. These teeth had been all the identical in dimensions, and he estimates they almost certainly only lasted about a month or so ahead of they ended up worn down.
Its feeding type has been as compared to that of contemporary grazing animals or even a vacuum cleaner, since it likely swept its head side-to-facet whilst consuming vegetation.
In Nigersaurus' scenario, the upper jaws contained 60 columns of tiny, needle-shaped upper teeth. And no much less than sixty eight incredibly sharp teeth had been present on the lower jaws. Tallied with each other, upper jaw and lower jaw, the beast had over 500 person teeth.
Therefore as just one tooth wore down or broke off, A further was prepared to choose its area. This swift tooth substitution cycle, transpiring about each and every 14 times, ensured that Nigersaurus often had purposeful teeth to course of action its food.
In 2020, the French palaeontologist Julien Benoit and colleagues tested lateral semicircular canal correlation to head posture on contemporary mammals, and located that even though there was significant correlation among the reconstructed and actual head postures, the aircraft with the semicircular canal wasn't held horizontally within the resting pose as inferred.
What's additional, the same as grazing cows nowadays, these creatures have been plentiful all through their heyday. Once the Original discovery, Sereno located One more Nigersaurus specimen in the course of an expedition in 2000.
These teeth have been also replaceable (like sharks’ teeth), that means Nigersaurus consistently necessary refreshing teeth as older ones were worn down or missing.
The teeth’s one of a kind condition and arrangement were completely suited to its feeding practices. The slender, chisel-like teeth could successfully snip off tender vegetation, and their fast substitution ensured that the dinosaur could continuously feed without having watching for new teeth to mature.
“It’s something which genuinely can take the cake for awesome cranial adaptations With this group, the extended-necked dinosaurs,” says Sereno, a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago. “It’s simply a majestic illustration of evolution.”
Its exceptional dental composition implies that it could possibly have experienced a different feeding strategy when compared with other sauropods, and its presence in Africa signifies that a lot of Nigersaurus these dinosaurs were being a lot more prevalent than previously believed.
Skeletal diagram showing acknowledged elements and dimension comparison Sereno along with the American palaeontologist Jeffrey A. Wilson supplied the 1st comprehensive description of the cranium and feeding adaptations in 2005.[one] In 2007, a more specific description on the skeleton was posted by Sereno advert colleagues, based upon a specimen discovered ten a long time previously. The fossils, in addition to a reconstructed skeleton mount and also a plastic design of The top and neck, had been subsequently presented with the Countrywide Geographic Modern society in Washington.
Using an astonishing five hundred teeth, this dinosaur delivers a unique glimpse into your evolutionary adaptations of prehistoric creatures. Enable’s check out the world with the Nigersaurus and its intriguing dental anatomy.
‘ funny-looking cranium, battery of teeth, and smaller dimension for your sauropod have undoubtedly received it a place while in the annals of dinosaur oddities.