The sail-backed Spinosaurus is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, able to reach nearly 15 m long! The exact purpose of its distinctive spines that give it its name is unknown – some scientists believe it was used to regulate temperature, while others believe it may have been used for display to make the dinosaur more attractive to potential mates. Some even believe it may have had a large hump instead of a sail!
History: Spinosaurus was first discovered in 1915 - However, it was only known from a few bones, so other than the large spines on its back, it wasn’t really known what the rest of it looked like. Later material discovered in the 1990s and early 2000s gave more insight into this Cretaceous predator, including parts of the head that showed its snout was long and narrow like that of a crocodile. A partial skeleton described in 2014 radically changed the way Spinosaurus was viewed, as it showed very different body proportions than previous reconstructions, including much shorter hind limbs, which seemed to indicate that Spinosaurus was more suited to an aquatic lifestyle with a body built for swimming.
Scientific Name: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus (Spine Lizard from Egypt)
Characteristics: This Spinosaurus figure is sculpted in a swimming pose, fitting its likely aquatic lifestyle. Its mouth is wide open, showing of its many teeth as it searches for a fish to chomp. This highly detailed and scientifically researched figure features the distinctive crocodile-like snout and the highspined sail.
Size: This Spinosaurus toy figure is quite large, befitting one of the biggest meat-eating dinos of all time. This figure measures 36.8 cm long from its snout to the tip of its tail, and just under 13 cm tall to the top of its sail. That makes this Spinosaurus toy a little longer than a standard ruler and about as high as a soda can.