After the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, Nigersaurus was essentially the most quite a few megaherbivore. Other herbivores with the identical formation consist of Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus, and an unnamed titanosaur. Together, these compose one of the number of associations of megaherbivores that has a harmony of sauropods and huge ornithopods.
Though going for walks across an extremely flat area, Gabe built a extraordinary come across—the bones of a whole new meat-consuming dinosaur lay partially uncovered at her ft. She brushed absent the sand through the upper jaw.
Nigersaurus is assumed to have lived in large herds and could possibly have migrated above long distances in search of food stuff.
Nigersaurus is a crucial discovery for paleontologists because it really helps to get rid of gentle to the evolution and variety of sauropods through the mid-Cretaceous period of time.
Inspite of its limited head and compact neck, it experienced an extended tail and teeth that were adapted for grazing on plants. Nigersaurus is thought to have been a quadrupedal herbivore and could have fed on smooth vegetation employing its prolonged neck and a small head.
In 2019, Mannion and colleagues identified that because Nigersaurus was observed to be the sister taxon of all other nigersaurines in certain scientific studies, a Rebbachisaurinae clade may well not necessarily contain Nigersaurus by itself (together with the proven fact that the placement of Rebbachisaurus could improve in long term analyses), and supported the continued use in the identify Nigersaurinae around Rebbachisaurinae for all rebbachisaurids much more carefully relevant to Nigersaurus than to Limaysaurus.
As we’ve viewed, Nigersaurus experienced a wide muzzle and diverse teeth flawlessly fitted to consuming small-lying crops. This diet regime and Way of life would've demanded the creature to have a regular offer of substitution teeth, since it might have worn out its tooth crowns speedily. A analyze posted while in the journal PLOS A person
Nigersaurus had a jaw construction not like some other dinosaur. Its wide, squared-off muzzle housed over five hundred slender, pencil-like teeth. These teeth were not evenly dispersed but had been organized in columns and rows, with as several as 9 replacement teeth guiding Each individual Lively tooth.
Putting collectively these odd anatomical aspects, Nigersaurus seems to have already been properly tailored to minimal searching; most certainly it swept its neck back and forth parallel to the ground, hoovering up any vegetation inside straightforward get to. (Other sauropods, which had for much longer necks, may perhaps have nibbled over the high branches of trees, although even this remains a make a difference of some dispute.)
The skull of a Nigersaurus was made of slender bones and had several little openings and pores. These attributes delivered them excellent flexibility in feeding on the ground. The muzzle with the Nigersaurus was vast and extended which served it in eating Nigersaurus little floor-primarily based vegetation.
[thirteen] Because of the lateral orientation of the teeth, it possibly wouldn't are already in a position to chew.[1] Nigersaurus wore its tooth crowns down more quickly than other dinosaurian herbivores,[3] and its tooth substitute price was the highest of any recognized dinosaur. Each and every tooth was replaced when each 14 days; the speed experienced Earlier been approximated reduced. In contrast to Nigersaurus, sauropods with reduce tooth substitution premiums and broader tooth crowns are considered to are already canopy browsers.[12]
Nigersaurus lived in what has become the Sahara Desert in the course of the mid-Cretaceous period, somewhere around 115 to 105 million decades in the past, in a very lush, riverine habitat with considerable plant life.
Fossils of this dinosaur were to start with explained in 1976, but it was only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999, just after even more and more finish stays had been identified and described. The genus title indicates "Niger reptile", and the precise name honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who found out the primary remains.
Nigersaurus was likely a browser, and fed with its head near the ground. The location of its brain that detected scent was small, Even though its Mind dimension was corresponding to that of other dinosaurs. There's been discussion on regardless of whether its head was habitually held downwards, or horizontally like other sauropods.