Paleontologists have pinpointed the inaugural, irrefutable new species of fish-eating dinosaur belonging to the Spinosaurus genus, a revelation not seen in over a century.
Spinosaurus mirabilis represents one of the final surviving members of the spinosaurid lineage. Image attribution: Dani Navarro.
Designated Spinosaurus mirabilis, this newly identified species inhabited Earth during the Cretaceous period, approximately 95 million years ago.
The fossilized remains of this creature were unearthed in the secluded paleontological site of Jengueb, situated deep within Niger’s central Sahara, by Professor Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and his research associates.
A defining and exceptionally prominent characteristic of Spinosaurus mirabilis is its substantial, scimitar-shaped cranial crest, a feature entirely unprecedented within this taxonomic group.
“The scimitar-shaped cranial adornment of Spinosaurus mirabilis was so colossal and unanticipated that our initial assessment, upon extracting it and several mandibular fragments from the desert terrain in November 2019, failed to correctly identify its nature,” the researchers elaborated.
“Subsequent expeditions with an expanded team in 2022, which yielded two additional crests, solidified our comprehension of the distinctiveness of the novel species we had uncovered.”
“Analysis of the crest’s surface morphology and internal vascular channels leads us to infer that the crest was encased in keratin.”
“This ornamental feature was likely vibrant in coloration during its living state, curving skyward like a blade-like emblem.”
Spinosaurus mirabilis depicted capturing the coelacanth Mawsonia approximately 95 million years ago from a fluvial environment in **northern Africa**, within the present-day Sahara Desert region of Niger. Image attribution: Dani Navarro.
The discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis compels a reevaluation of established hypotheses concerning the habitat and lifestyle of spinosaurid dinosaurs.
Until this finding, the majority of spinosaurid fossil evidence had been recovered from marine coastal strata, fostering the theory that these apex predators might have been entirely aquatic organisms.
However, the current fossil discovery site in Niger is located between 500 and 1,000 kilometers inland from the closest ancient oceanic shoreline.
According to the study’s authors, Spinosaurus mirabilis most likely inhabited a forested terrestrial environment intersected by river systems.
“My conceptualization of this dinosaur is akin to a ‘terrestrial heron’ that navigated water bodies up to two meters deep with ease, thanks to its robust limbs, but probably spent a considerable portion of its existence ambushing prey in shallower aquatic zones frequented by the abundant large fish of that epoch,” stated Professor Sereno.
This significant scientific breakthrough is detailed in a scholarly article published today in the esteemed journal Science.
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Paul C. Sereno et al. A novel scimitar-crested Spinosaurus species from the Sahara represents a pivotal stage in spinosaurid diversification. Science, released online on February 19, 2026; DOI: 10.1126/science.adx5486
