University of Chicago paleontologist, Paul Sereno, unveiled the life-size model of a very strange dinosaur this week. Nigersaurus taqueti was discovered by Sereno in 1997 and excavated in Niger approximately three years ago, where parts of five skeletons were found, including one that was eighty percent complete. Nigersaurus is an elephant-sized dinosaur, but the bones of its skull are almost translucent and protect a brain the size of a walnut.
The amazing revelation of Nigersaurus is that its discovery offers a new view of the behavior of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs, what they looked like, and how they behaved. Until now, it was believed that this type of dinosaur behaved like a giraffe, holding its head high overhead and eating vegetation from the tops of trees. When it roamed the earth 110 million years ago, Nigersaurus spent its life with its head hanging down, using its wide mouth to "graze" on ferns and other vegetation.
Paleontoligists now believe that long-necked plant-eaters behaved more like cows than giraffes. This theory is supported by some of the dinosaur's features which are extreme versions of features seen in other grazing animals. Nigersaurus' mouth is wider than its skull, and all its teeth are incisors lined up to form an efficient clipping mechanism, ideal for cutting grass.
Photographs of the life-size model and skeleton of Nigersaurus taqueti are accessible at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/.
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