Spinosaurus mirabilis: The 3-Crest Discovery and What It Means
Spinosaurus mirabilis (Sereno et al., 2026) is out, and for this episode I’m focusing on the feature that made me do a double take: the head crest.
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A team led by Paul Sereno and Daniel Vidal worked in two localities in Niger and documented a new Spinosaurus species. One of the three key characters they use to separate mirabilis is the crest anatomy, and the best part is that they didn’t find just one. They found three crests. Three independent examples built the same way is exactly what you want to see when evaluating an unusual structure.
Here’s what stands out:
The crest is extremely pronounced, unlike anything previously described for Spinosaurus.
It appears to be formed from two bones, and it shows vascular features consistent with a keratinous covering.
The authors suggest the crest may have reached roughly 20 inches tall in a fully grown adult.
The three crests show variation, which could reflect sexual dimorphism, ontogeny, or both.
The crests are asymmetrical, bringing to mind modern cassowary casques.
The paper also makes a strong case that these animals lived hundreds of miles inland in a riparian (river-associated) habitat, which the authors argue is hard to reconcile with a marine-style aquatic pursuit predator. Instead, they lean toward an aquaphilic shoreline hunter that loved water, without needing to be a fast open-water swimmer.
It’s exciting to see a new Spinosaurus species enter the conversation, and this one raises big questions about display, communication, ecology, and how weird spinosaur diversity really was.
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Thumbnail artwork by Jonathan Metzger commissioned by Fossil Crates.
✅ Check out Dr. BC's video that Delves Deeper into the Cranial Elements Here: • Spinosaurus mirabilis Skull Deep Dive: Cra...
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✅ Check out Dr. BC's Overall Review of the Paper Here: • NEW Spinosaurus Species! S. mirabilis Ente...
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