Dinosaurs. Everybody loves them. When you were a kid, these incredible animals likely kept you glued to your screen, watching hours of National Geographic with David Attenborough.
Even now, when you’re an adult, you likely think there is absolutely nothing cooler than these prehistoric beasts. However, there actually is something cooler than a dinosaur —a dinosaur that has 500 teeth.
Yes, you heard that right. What dinosaur has 500 teeth you may wonder? Keep reading to find out everything about this incredible but little-known animal.
Meet the Dinosaur That Has 500 Teeth
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Jurassic Park made dinosaurs like the T-Rex, the Velociraptor, and Triceratops pop culture icons. However, paleontology or the study of dinosaurs actually researches a whole host of other lesser-known dinos that are even more exciting than the big three. One of these is a very obscure dino known as Nigersaurus.
Its name translates as Niger reptile since it was first discovered around the Niger river region in Africa. Paleontologists unearthed it in the Elrhaz Formation in an area called Gadoufaoua in the Republic of Niger. The impressive fossil consisted of 30-foot-long vertebrae.
After carefully excavating it, paleontologists exported the fossil in 1976. After spending decades studying and reconstructing the fossils, scientists finally defined it in 1999. They determined that the dino belonged to the Diplodocus family—the same family as other sauropods like Brontosaurus.
As a sauropod, this dino was herbivorous and lived during the middle Cretaceous period. That means that it’s roughly 119 to 105 million years old! However, as impressive as this dinosaur’s age is, it’s actually not the most interesting thing about it. That honor goes to its impressive jaw.
The Skull That Can House 500 Teeth
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T-rex may have one of the most impressive bite forces of prehistoric fauna. However, the carnivore’s skull has nothing on that of the Nigersaurus. Though this dino was a herbivore, it sported a pretty impressive noggin.
Like most dinos, the Nigersaurus’ skull was specialized for feeding. It had very thin skull bones, with four large openings on the side of its head. These openings supported a broad muzzle that could house over 500 teeth! Unlike T-Rex’s teeth, which were long and sharp, Nigersaurus’ teeth were flat and tightly packed.
Because the dino survived on a diet of tough, fibrous plants, the coating on the teeth was thick and highly asymmetrical. This protected the teeth from becoming too worn down. However, munching on fibrous parts still wore down the tooth plaque, so the sauropod replaced these teeth every 14 days.
The teeth in the upper jaw were around 20–30% bigger than those in the lower jaw. That means that this dinosaur had something like 68 columns of teeth in the upper jaws and 60 columns in the lower jaws. Not only that, but under each active tooth, the sauropod had nine replacement teeth that would grow when the active tooth became too worn down.
The combination of active and replacement teeth results in an impressive jaw that played host to over 500 chompers. With gear like that, it’s no wonder many paleontologists refer to this dinosaur as a prehistoric lawnmower.
Other Characteristics
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Apart from its jaw, the Nigersaurus had a very interesting body composition as well. Like all of its sauropod cousins, this dinosaur was quadruped, with thick, hind legs and a very long, very prominent tail. While sauropods are notoriously large and imposing, Nigersaurus was relatively small in comparison. It had a body length of just 30ft and weighed around 4 tons.
What’s more, paleontologists classify it as a ‘short-necked’ long-neck dinosaur. Sauropods are famous for their impressive necks. Certain specimens boasted necks that could reach up to 33ft in length, and house something like 19 cervical vertebrae. That’s enough to put even the tallest giraffe to shame.
In contrast, the Nigersaurus neck was relatively short for its size. It had 13 cervical vertebrae which made its neck only 13 ft long. Not only that, but its skull was also surprisingly delicate. Though its head supported a very impressive jaw, the Nigersaurus had very thin cranial bones. That means that even a minor bump to the head could deal some serious damage.
However, the dino made up for these disadvantages by having better eyesight than most of its sauropod cousins. Long necks meant that most sauropods could see at greater distances. But, since the Nigersaurus’ neck was short, it compensated by having eyes at the front of its skull. This is similar to the binocular vision predatory animals have, meaning that the herbivore had greater spatial awareness.
Intelligence
Sadly, like most dinos, this bad boy wasn’t particularly intelligent. Don’t get us wrong — the idea that sauropods were these huge, lumbering dummies that didn’t even notice when a predator was nibbling on their tails is a gross exaggeration. These animals were active on dry land and very social. This by itself requires a lot of intelligence.
However, the reason why we say they’re a bit slow is that we’re comparing them to today’s mammals. And compared to today’s prey animals, the Nigersaurus’ brain was tiny.
Infamously Famous
Though this dino sat in the obscure category for years, it’s recently garnered quite a lot of attention — for all the wrong reasons.
Namely, the sauropod has become a racist prank, turned internet meme. First shared on Reddit, the prank involved getting people to google ‘what dinosaur has 500 teeth’, because this dinosaur’s name bears a certain resemblance to the N-word. The joke became so popular, many now use it as a code word for the racial slur itself, by saying things like ‘Ok, dinosaur with 500 teeth’.
As a result, many people now shy away from learning about this incredible beast. This is unfortunate, since this animal is quite interesting, and definitely deserves a place in the dino house of fame. Therefore, if you have a passion for paleontology, don’t let internet trolls stop you from spreading the knowledge.
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