New information on the skull of the enigmatic theropodSpinosaurus, with remarks on its size and affinities

Spinosaurid Dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of North Africa and Europe: Fossil Record, Biogeography and Extinction

“…However, the monograph published by Stromer (1915) is well illustrated, so on the basis of the figures alone it is possible to observe the many diagnostic features of S. aegyptiacus. More recently, several new specimens of S. aegyptiacus have been reported from Northern Africa, which confirm many of Stromer's observations and provide a more complete picture of what this strange animal would have looked like (e.g., Dal Sasso et al, 2005;Ibrahim et al, 2014). However, a complete or nearcomplete skeleton of S. aegyptiacus has yet to be found, meaning that many ideas about the body size, posture, locomotion, and behaviors of this famous dinosaur are still uncertain, despite much attention surrounding recent discoveries (see discussion in Evers et al, 2015).…”

The socio-sexual behaviour of extant archosaurs: implications for understanding dinosaur behaviour

“…While evaluating the cranial ostelology of T. rex, Molnar (1991) made note that the presence or absence of a horn-like rugosity on the postorbital might be representative of a gender difference, though no claim was made as to which gender might have sported this character. Perhaps the most unique structure among theropods is the elongated spinous processes or neural spines of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and the associated dorsal crest or 'sail' (Dal Sasso et al 2005). It has long been thought that the structure served as a heat dissipation mechanism, though Bailey (1997) argued that instead of 'sails', the long spines would have supported for energy storage similar to those seen in extant 'humpbacked' mammals such as bison, in addition to a possible heat exchange function.…”

A new sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Tunisia with extreme avian-like pneumatization

“…Diverse vertebrate faunas are known from calcareous platforms, islands and xeric coastal plains, often inhabited by endemic forms. Although the fossil record from these deposits consists mostly of incomplete specimens, diagnostic elements document unique characters interpreted as a reflection of special adaptations to exceptional combinations of ecological and climatic factors 2,7,[12][13][14] .…”