What Dinosaur Has 500 Teeth? All About “Nigersurus”
Nigersurus was an herbivorous dinosaur that lived in Africa during the Cretaceous era. It was a rarity among dinos because it had 500 teeth — more than any of its prehistoric peers, according to experts.
The Nigersaurus made headlines after a Reddit meme went viral with the line “don’t go on the internet and tell me what dinosaur has 500 teeth.”
A simple google auto-suggestion might cause strange occurrences that pique public interest in a specific area or topic. The case of the Nigersaurus is also similar.
The meme states that the meat-eating dinosaur from the Republic of Niger, a tiny nation in Western Africa, was “absolutely nothing like” the actual creature. So, what exactly did this unusual dinosaur look like when it was at its peak? And how did it come to be known? We’ll provide you with a quick rundown on this renowned “dinosaur with 500 teeth.”
Discovery
Phillippe Taquet, a French paleontologist discovered the remains of Nigersaurus in 1965-1972 during an expedition to the Republic of Niger. However, since Sereno’s discovery in 1999 yielded a more complete skeleton, his version is most widely accepted. In 2007, He and his colleague Jeffrey A. Wilson completely described Nigersaurus’ skull and eating habits after he unearthed an entirely preserved skeleton of this carnivorous dinosaur. Furthermore, he presented a model of the creature’s head to the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C.
Nigersaurus’ Anatomy
Although its name suggests otherwise, Nigersaurus did not have 500 teeth. It had roughly 500 tooth positions that contained 30-35 teeth each. These teeth were arranged in a battery-like structure and were quickly replaced as they wore down. The teeth were peg-shaped with fine serrations that were ideal for slicing through meat.
Nigersaurus was a sauropod, which is a type of long-necked, quadrupedal dinosaur. It grew to be about 30 feet (9 meters) long and weighed around 10 tons (9 metric tons). It had a small head, measuring about 2.5 feet (0.76 meters) long, that was attached to a long, S-shaped neck. Nigersaurus also had a long tail that it used for balance. It walked on all fours, but its front legs were shorter than its hind legs. This made its back appear to be slightly hunched.
Nigersaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago. It was a herbivore that fed on low-lying vegetation. It is thought to have used its small head and long neck to graze on plants that other dinosaurs could not reach.
Fossils of Nigersaurus have been found in the Sahara Desert in Niger. This area was once a lush forest that was teeming with plant and animal life. Over time, the climate changed and the forest turned into a desert. As the water dried up, the plants died and the animals vanished. The Nigersaurus is just one of many dinosaurs that once roamed this now-arid landscape. The Nigersaurus is a fascinating creature that captured the public’s attention after a meme went viral.
Discovery of Nigersaurous Fossil
“Nigersaurus, you may recall, we named for bones collected on the most recent expedition here three years ago. This sauropod (long-necked dinosaur) has a weird skull with 500 tiny teeth. The primary objective of this trip is to discover the remainder of this strange dinosaur so that we might describe and reconstruct it for everyone to see,” wrote Sereno in his online journal on September 9, 2000.
“It’s very simple,” he added. “We walked to the Lighthouse and found a single tree stump with its roots exposed at eye level. It had an altar there for Caracol that was used during the time of sacrifice. Then in April, when I returned from my world trip, we realized it was not going to happen because of circumstances beyond our control and so made another effort to try to find this man again among everyone else who may have forgotten about him. ‘What could be his name? He doesn’t even know,’ they must’ve thought at first while searching through many thousands of people until they came across him—which is what we’re doing right now over hundreds of others here too!’
Other fossils linked to this dinosaur with 500 teeth were also found in Brazil. However, a complete fossil has yet to be discovered. As a result, it was impossible to construct a full skeleton of the famous Nigersaurus. Paleontologists, on the other hand, are putting out their efforts to conduct more in-depth studies on this particular species from long ago.
Why the name?
Nigersaurus got its name from the Niger River which flows through the Sahara Desert where its remains were found. Nigersaurus’ internet fame is largely due to its unusual name. But if you take a closer look, the name is quite scientific. Nigersaurus falls under the genus “Nigersaurus”, which means “Niger reptile” or a reptile from Niger (the republic of Niger). The species’ name also pays homage to Phillippe Taqueti, who first discovered this dinosaur.
When was it discovered?
The first Nigersaurus fossils were discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger in 2000. However, it was not until 2009 that the species was formally described and named.
Did it have 500 teeth?
Yes, it did technically. Nigersaurus had a skull with 500 slender teeth. Nut, these teeth were not permanent in the strictest sense of the word. They were replacement teeth that grew in as needed. This is not uncommon in reptiles, but it is pretty strange for a dinosaur.
The total number of teeth possessed by Nigersaurus was made up of both fixed and replacement teeth!
What did this dinosaur with 500 teeth look like?
The Nigersaurus is similar to the Sauropods,9 m in height with a femur of 1m. They most likely weighed 4 tons according to paleontologists. modern elephants have a comparable height and weight due to The Nigersaurus’ having thirteen cervical vertebrae which give them their short-necked appearance.
Its skull
The skull of Nigerosaurus has four fenestras, which is considerably larger than those seen on other dinosaurs with long necks. The skull was sturdy enough to cope with the shearing of the 500 teeth, and it also had bony and elongated nostrils. The teeth Nigersaurus had 500 replacement teeth, but they were not all in its mouth at the same time. The teeth were very slender and grew in rows. When one tooth was worn down, another would take its place.
The snouts of these dinosaurs were shorter. However, the Nigersaurus had shorter snouts than prior species. Their tooth row was not prognathous, and their snot tip was in proportion to the tooth series. Another notable feature about the Nigersaurus was that its elongated skull had vanished, leaving a distinct depression in the cerebral portion. In addition, their maxillary tooth was also turned with identical lower jaw rotation, as well as their entire 500-tooth dental rack was able to accommodate all of its teeth.
Their teeth were ideally suited to their carnivorous mentality, with the bottom teeth being 20-30 percent smaller than the upper jaw teeth. Furthermore, the teeth had curving tooth crowns and asymmetrical enamels (thicker on the outside). It allowed them to rip vegetation from the ground.
Body
This dinosaur, according to Prof. Dr. Sereno, was an “ancient croc.” It had armor plates on its back for a length of one foot. The vertebral arches are deeply punctured, with thick interesting laminae between the pneumatic holes. Its tail vertebrae lacked any substantial centers. Its pelvic and pectoral problem bones were slender compared to other sauropods or elongated dinosaurs. Like other sauropods or long-necked dinosaurs, it had robust limbs in the front half of the rear legs where two-thirds of the hind legs may have been two-thirds of the hind legs were
Classification of the dinosaur with 500 teeth
In a dicraeosaurus, he initially included Nigersaurus. However, it was reclassified as a rebbachisaurid diplodocoid by Sereno. It also had shorter necks, according to him, and this was a sign of rebbachisaurid diplodocoid.
Here is its scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Superfamily: Diplodocoidea
Family: Rebbachisauridae
Subfamily: Rebecchi Suriname
Genus: Nigersaurus
Species: Nigersaurus taqueti
What did it eat?
Nigersaurus was a herbivore that fed on low-lying vegetation. Its small head and long neck allowed it to graze on plants that other dinosaurs could not reach.
Nigerosaurs were originally thought to be herbivores. However, it is now known to be similar to other sauropods in terms of diet. It has small pit-like tooth scratches on its minor parallel teeth. This is a typical occurrence among grazing animals that consume ground-level flora like ferns, weeds, and other vegetation. During this period, there was no grass available for them to eat. As a result, this dinosaur with 500 teeth survived on horsetails, angiosperms (flowering plants), ferns, and so on because of its stiff neck and height.
It resembles modern flamingoes. Nigersaurus may have brushed its teeth like a comb to remove aquatic ferns and other vegetation, much like these pink birds. However, as Sereno suggested, nigersaurus could have eaten on small conifers and other ground-level plants. Because of its tooth’s lateral orientation, it was unable to chew plants effectively. So, to guarantee a new and working one was installed in place of the rotten teeth, they required this staggering number of 500 teeth. Their dental replacement rates are far superior to those of any other herbivores!
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Where did it live?
Nigersaurus thrived in the Elhaz Formation of the Tenma group, which was located in Gadoufaoua in the Republic of Niger. This region consisted of fluvial sandstones with low reliefs and occasional dunes that had coarse to medium grains. However, during the mic-cretaceous period, this area was a floodplain. The marshland offered Nigersaurus enough food from ground-level flora to sustain it.
Conclusion
If you visit the dinosaur’s profile, though, you’ll see that it’s a pretty straightforward dinosaur who lived some 115 million years ago. Scientists will have to learn more about this creature in order to properly comprehend him! What we do know is that he was an herbivore with a staggering number of teeth, and he liked to live in floodplains where he had access to ground-level plants. He was a pretty average dinosaur, but his 500 teeth make him pretty unique! We hope you enjoyed learning about this interesting creature!
