With its unusual set of teeth designed for grazing, Nigersaurus taqueti is a distinctive sauropod in the fossil record. The plant-eating dinosaur was about 30 feet long and lived 115 to 105 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous period. Initially found in Niger, an area that had once been green and supportive of an herbivore of its type, the bones were identified in the Elrhaz Formation. The genus name means “Niger reptile” after the location it was found and the specific name honors French paleontologist Philippe Taquet, one of the first explorers to discover it. Nigersaurus presents remarkably important morphological and ecological data that can be linked to the diversity of the dinosaur fauna at the time in the Cretaceous.
However, Nigersaurus is most differentiated from these other dinosaurs by its unusual dentition, which features over 500 teeth on a replaceable basis. Unlike other dinosaurs, the
Nigersaurus had dental batteries – structures made of columns of stacked teeth that wore down but were replaced almost continuously – so could take incredible punishment. That could be a major reason why they specifically evolved for processing a diet that was mainly low-lying plants like ferns and horsetails. From its skull, the animal clearly had a big wide flat jaw that scientists say would have opened wide like a vacuum cleaner. The oddly shaped jaw allowed for grazing at ground level where the dinosaur would easily shred through soft vegetation.
Habitat and Lifestyle of Nigersaurus
While it lived, the Sahara Desert was a lush green space with overflowing rivers and an abundance of plants to feed this mighty herbivore. Like the grazing animals of today, Nigersaurus would have probably been a herd animal and an abundance of plant material would have enabled large herds to range these lands. During its time, the Nigersaurus likely filled up the ecological function of the cows as suggested by the researchers, as it halted the vegetation landscape in ensuring the amount. Nigersaurus lived alongside numerous other predators, including the long-snouted Spinosaurus Suchomimus, yet thrived in this ecosystem, providing this time in earth’s history with a creative writing of biodiversity.
Nigersaurus’ paleontological history dates back to the mid-20th century, with its first findings taking place between 1965 and 1972. However many of these skeletal remains were badly preserved, needing a closer examination. The most important discoveries came from the expeditions led by Paul Sereno in 1997 and 2000, which revealed a much more complete sequence of bones that provided insight into this particular dinosaur. Significantly, these finds showed off the otherwise elusive complex dental structures. Nigersaurus fossils are extremely fragile — many of its bones are very thin — so they don’t preserve well and are very difficult to study, Tafforeau said.
Nigersaurus has also achieved some level of fame in popular culture, becoming the subject of numerous memes and social media posts in recent years. However, some of this has crossed the line, with people coming up with racially charged jokes building off the dinosaur name. This inaccurate image has eclipsed Nigersaurus’s real scientific significance, and this case illustrates the need for scientific education and outreach to ensure that the popular understanding of a fascinating organism reflects reality. A huge diversity of life existed during the Cretaceous period and more dinosaurs are currently being discovered, like Nigersaurus, which remains an interesting subject for palaeoecological research.
