What Dinosaur Has 500 Teeth?

Language can be misleading sometimes, especially when it comes to dinosaurs. For example, the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s name translates to Tyrant Lizard King despite this dinosaur being not the king of anything. Theres a question raised here about what dinosaur has 500 teeth and today, we will be discussing this dinosaur with an incorrect name, one that shares its moniker with an entirely different creature, Nigersaurus. While we may not be able to change the name of this massive creature, we can certainly learn more about what makes this dinosaur so special and why it has 500 teeth. Let’s get started!

What dinosaur has 500 teeth?

This prehistoric reptile roamed present-day Niger during what is known as Africa’s age of dinosaurs and weighed almost 11 tons, making it one of the largest land animals that ever lived. But despite its massive size, it didn’t have much to fear from predators because researchers say, it had 500 teeth crammed into its mouth far more than any other known creature. 

Researchers at University College London and Imperial College London in England recently discovered six well-preserved specimens of Nigersaurus taqueti (pronounced nee-JUR-ooh-SOR-us tay-KAY) while on an expedition to Niger. The fossils are nearly complete skeletons ranging in size from a few inches to about 10 feet long. Nigersaurus was bigger than anything else that has ever walked on Earth, said lead researcher Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert at London’s Natural History Museum. It really would have been something to see. It is part of a group called sauropods, the large plant-eating dinosaurs with small heads and long necks, including Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus. So, after reading this you know that what dinosaur has 500 teeth.

What did the Nigerraosaurus eat?

The Nigerraosaurus was a meat-eater and had more than 500 sharp teeth in its jaws. It would have preyed on larger dinosaurs, such as Ankylosaurus. The Nigerraosaurus lived between 112 and 97 million years ago. The Nigerraosaurus is one of many other dinosaurs that lived during that time period in Africa. The Deinonychus (which is also found in North America) was an active hunter, like today’s carnivores. Like most therapods (meat-eating dinosaurs), it probably used its sickle-shaped claws for ripping pieces of flesh from their prey instead of biting them in their entirety like many giant reptiles do today.

Why does it have so many teeth?

The dinosaur in question, Nigerinosaurus, belongs to a group of dinosaurs called sauropods. These dinosaurs were enormous and incredibly long-necked. Some of them had necks over 20 feet (6 meters) long! Scientists believe that they had such long necks because they could get much higher up food than other dinosaurs—like tree leaves and fruits. Some even think these animals ate only vegetation, although there is no way to know for sure. Also, scientists don’t know much about their skulls or how many teeth each animal had in its mouth. 

That said, some experts estimate that Nigerinosaurus may have had more than 500 teeth! We know that one thing sets it apart from other dinosaurs: It belonged to a subgroup called nigersaurids. Most nigersaurids lived during the Late Cretaceous period and were particularly common in what is now Africa. For example, fossils suggest that an nigersaurid was buried along with dinosaurs like Spinosaurus and another dinosaur known as Trigonosaurus. Although most nigersaurids didn’t live so close together, it might be possible that Nigerosaurus died near these two other species because it was scavenging for food on their kill when something else attacked all three of them.

Where did they find this dinosaur in Africa?

The dinosaur was found in a desert area of northern Africa called Niger. Since dinosaur fossils are not as common in Africa as they are in other parts of the world, scientists were excited to study them more closely. It’s believed that Nigersaurus probably lived on grasses and shrubs during its lifetime. The dinosaur was most likely a very slow walker, similar to many other plant-eating dinosaurs when they were alive. They’re still trying to figure out exactly how long it took for each creature in its family tree (the hadrosaur family) to grow up and become adults. A close relative to Nigersaurus is Hadrosaurus Foulkii which weighed over 6 tons!

Could I see one of these dinosaurs alive today?

Much of what we know about dinosaurs is based on fossils, but there’s no denying that scientists would love to have a few still around today. Sure, it’s a fantasy, but some dinosaurs come closer than others. Have you ever heard of Nigersaurus? This extinct reptile roamed Africa during the Cretaceous period. While it might not be roaming around today, paleontologists did recently describe an absolutely complete skull for one fossil found in Niger. Although its name isn’t catchy, and everyone knows T-Rex as being one of history’s most famous dinosaurs, scientists believe that Nigersaurus is actually one of Earth’s closest relatives to Tyrannosaurus rex!

What kind of lizard do you think it was related to?

The dinosaur, however, was not a lizard at all; it was a distant relative of current-day birds. Unlike lizards and other reptiles who have teeth that constantly fall out and are replaced by new ones as they grow throughout their lifetime, dinosaurs grew one set of teeth that never fell out. There are some species of modern-day birds with similar traits, so it’s not surprising that Nigerosaurus may have had additional oral tools to help it process food. Nigerosaurus had around 500 conical teeth arranged in several batteries or clusters in each jaw, Paul Barrett from London’s Natural History Museum said. These batteries seem to have been formed by replacing smaller teeth with larger ones over time.

Conclusion

Now that you know what dinosaur has 500 teeth, it’s important to note that scientists are constantly digging up new discoveries about dinosaurs. In just a few short years, who knows what else we’ll discover. Maybe our next discovery will have even more teeth. Either way, if you’re looking for a fun and informative afternoon activity for kids of all ages – gather them around their laptop and search what dinosaur has 500 teeth on Google Images! You’ll be sure to find some great photos with detailed descriptions (in fact, they’re all over my site!) And be sure to click through and read those answers, too – I’m sure they’ve got lots of great facts in there! Now get searching and enjoy your day learning with Dinosaurs! 🙂