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Cover image for post Irritator, by Harry_Situation
Profile avatar image for Harry_Situation
Harry_Situation in Education
786 reads

Irritator

No, I’m not making this one up.

That is literally this dinosaur’s name.

This bipedal theropod was part of a family of dinosaurs called the Spinosaurids, a cousin of the famous Spinosaurus of Jurassic Park 3. It lived in the marshy lands of South America during the Early Cretaceous (approximately 110 million years ago). Growing up to 26 feet in length, this dinosaur, like its North African cousin, likely hung around the waters to eat fish for its diet. This is also the first, and so far the only, Spinosaurid to have been discovered in South America.

The reason why this dinosaur was named Irritator is a funny story. Its skull was badly obscured in plaster by fossil-poachers, who illegally stole it in hopes of making look more complete to earn a profit. When it was found that there had been some modifications made to the fossil, the paleontologists called it an 'irritation' to reconstruct its original features.

#dinosaurs #paleontology #education #learning #science #JurassicJune

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