A new ‘hell’ dinosaur discovered in the remote Sahara 70 years after the first clue
Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new species of Spinosaurus – a carnivorous dinosaur that may have rivaled T. rex in size.
The new species, called Spinosaurus mirabilis, lived 95 to 100 million years ago. The remains of fossils were found in the Sahara Desert, in a remote area called Jenguebi, in the country of Niger.
Recently described in the journal Science, the discovery was years in the making – researchers found the jaw fragments in 2019 and two more in 2022.
Spinosaurus mirabilis was a shallow-water predator that ate fish, although its habitat was 600 miles inland from the ancient Tethys Sea.
Researchers believe that the dinosaur’s skull – the large bony skull that rises from the top of the dinosaur’s skull – was brightly colored and covered in keratin.
The leader of this study, Professor Paul Sereno, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, described Spinosaurus mirabilis as a type of “hell elephant.”
The dinosaur “didn’t have a problem walking on its strong legs in two meters of water, but it probably spent a lot of time hunting many of the big fish of the time,” the professor said, as reported by the SWNS news agency.
Sereno was tipped off to the site by a French geologist’s note describing a fossilized tooth similar to that of a similar predator.
With the help of a local, he was led to the fossil site with the rest of his team – where they found teeth and jaw bones.
“It was really touching for our team.”
“No one has been back to that dental clinic in over 70 years,” Sereno said.
“It was a long and a half trip wandering around the sandy beach to find this place and find the most remote fossil site with new species.”
Sereno described the findings as “sudden and surprising.”
“It had a big impact on our team,” he said.
“I will forever cherish the time at camp when we loaded up on a laptop to look at new species for the first time, after a member of our team produced 3D digital models of the bones we found that make up the skull – solar powered in the middle of the Sahara.”
He added, “That’s when the importance of adoption really registered.
The fossil remains will be displayed at the Museum of the River in Niamey, Niger.
The replica, meanwhile, will be on display at the Children’s Museum of Chicago.
“Letting children feel the joy of new discoveries – that is the key to ensuring the next generation of scientists will discover many more things about our precious planet that must be preserved,” said Sereno about the children’s exhibition.
The discovery follows other dinosaur-related discoveries in the past few months.
In November, Australian researchers announced that they had found footprints of a dinosaur that may have been limping 150 million years ago in Colorado.
Earlier in 2025, scientists discovered a new dinosaur – and its ancient remains – in a hot spot in Argentina.
