33ft-Long New Species of Dinosaur That Looked Like A Crocodile and Constantly Grew Teeth Discovered in Portugal

A new study revealed that Portugal was once home to a huge 33ft-long dinosaur that may be a new species of a spinosaurus. A reanalysis of its fossils showed a crocodile-like skull and spiny back. It likely roamed the Earth about 130 million years ago.

Initial studies suggested that the fossils belonged to Baryonyx walkeri, but the reanalysis said otherwise. The team has renamed the new species of spinosaurus Iberospinus natarioi. The team considered it one of the most complete specimens of spinosaurus they found, says Professor Octavio Mateus of the NOVA School of Science and Technology.

(Photo : OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP via Getty Images)
A 100-million-year, eight-meter long Spinosaurus (meaning lizzard spines) skeleton is displayed in Paris on November 27, 2009, four days before being auctionned off.

New Spinosaurus Species Possibly Originated in Western Europe

The fossils of the new spinosaurus species were first discovered 21 years ago in 1999. According to MailOnline, it was unearthed by amateur paleontologist Carlos Natario and was initially identified as an already known spinosaurus. But in 2019, a team of scientists studying it noticed some differences not seen in Baryonyx. So, a reanalysis was conducted that revealed it was a new species.

The new species' fossils, including several razor-sharp teeth and skull bones, were found in a dinosaur graveyard around 30 miles south of Lisbon. Researchers digitally reconstructed the bones in 3D and made the scans available for other researchers to help paleontologists, museums, and enthusiasts learn about them.

Professor Mateus said the study's findings indicate that the clade could have originated in Western Europe.

They named it Iberospinus natarioi after the Iberian peninsula and the long neural spines found in spinosaurids. The choice of name also aims to honor amateur collector Natário, who first made the discovery.

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Iberospinus natarioi Constantly Replace Its Damaged Teeth From Hunting

Scientists scanned the teeth, and various bones, including a shoulder blade, femur, a foot bone, some parts of the jaw, a pubic bone, and several vertebrae to identify what species it is, according to New Scientist. Since they realized the fossils did not match the description of a previously known spinosaurus, they renamed the species.

According to them, it had a flatter lower jaw that resembled a crocodile. It also came with distinctive grooves in the jaw where complex nerves were located, which probably helped the dinosaur sense its prey.

More so, the species had a unique pattern of nearly constant tooth eruption wherein teeth that grew in the jaw were ready to replace those used or damaged as a result of hunting. Although teeth replacement is quite common among spinosaurus, it has a much quicker turnaround time for the said species.

Study author Dario Estraviz-López said some tooth sockets had two replacement teeth in development next to the one in use, which means they were shedding teeth too quickly. They also noted that the new species have serrated teeth similar to those in crocodiles.

Gizmodo reported that the new species was not too different from other spinosaurus species in terms of ecology because this two-legged dinosaur spent most of its time in or around water, most likely in an estuary or lagoon with brackish water based on stratigraphic and sedimentary evidence researchers gathered.

The results of the study titled "The addition of yet another taxon to the diversity of spinosaurids in Iberia indicates the clade possibly originated in Western Europe" are published in PLOS One.