This morning I sketched a Nigersaurus toy skull and talked through its unusual features.
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Nigersaurus lived about 110 million years ago in what is now Niger. It was a small sauropod, about 30 feet long and 8 feet tall, roughly the size of an African elephant, the length about 120 rubber ducks or half of a Sphinx (anything but metric).
The thing that sets Nigersaurus apart is its jaw. It had a squared off muzzle with more than 500 tiny teeth. Those teeth were constantly being replaced in a conveyor like system, which is why people call it the vacuum cleaner dinosaur. Only one mostly complete skull has ever been found, with a few dozen partial specimens making up the rest. Its bones were fragile, paper thin in places, so CT scans had to be used to reconstruct it. That was the first time CT imaging played a central role in dinosaur paleontology.
The fossils were found in floodplain deposits, alongside crocodile relatives and fish eating theropods like Suchomimus. That tells us the environment was a lush river system with seasonal flooding. Still, it is possible that floods moved the fossils around, so paleontologists have to be careful about assuming too much. What we do know is that Nigersaurus kept its head low to the ground, sweeping for plants instead of browsing tall trees.
I wrapped up with a look at paleoartistry and fossil replicas. Artists and modelers worked with scientists to put Nigersaurus back together from those CT scans. There is also a market for replicas, like Bone Clones selling the Taung Child skull. That raises questions about how local communities benefit, but it also shows how fossils reach classrooms and museums around the world.
Click here to watch this episode of Sketch & Coffee!
Also, if you or a teacher friend would like a 20-30 minute lesson plan about Nigersaurus, feel to download and share this one:
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