Spinosaurus: "Spined Lizard." Presently believed to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur known, an adult Spinosaur had a 5.7 foot long crocodile like skull full of conical teeth on a body measuring 50 to 60 feet in length. The weight of this massive theropod is variously estimated to range from 7.5 to 9 tons. Spinosaur outweighed Tyrannosaurus rex by two tons!
Spinosaur was a predator of Cretaceous coastal mangrove swamps that was biased toward fishing but scavenged anything he could take including pterosaurs and other small to medium sized animals. Spinosaur sported a large sail on its back. The purpose of the sail is not known but could have served as a temperature regulator or sexual display (or both). Spinosaur lived during the Cretaceous Albian Age and into the early Cenomanian Age about 100 million years ago.
Two species have been named: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and Spinosaurus marocannus. These are probably the same species and should be considered synonyms. The species name aeqyptiacus has priority as it was first named in 1915 from a specimen found at Bahariya Oasis in Egypt. The teeth presented here are from near Taouz, Kem Kem Basin, Morocco.
Note: We canvassed the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show this year for collection grade fossil teeth. We didn't find any collector grade specimens. Indications are that collectible spinosaur specimens are getting pretty rare, these may be the last we will be able to offer.