New Spinosaurus Species Unearthed in the Sahara Rewrites the Predatory Dinosaur's Inland History
Spinosaurus mirabilis, the first new spinosaurid species in over a century, has been identified from fossils in Niger's Sahara, challenging the view that these predators were coastal.
A Century-Long Wait Ends in the Desert
A previously unknown species of spinosaurid dinosaur has been identified from fossils excavated in a remote region of Niger’s central Sahara, marking the first new species in the spinosaurid family to be formally described in more than a century. The findings, published in Science on February 23, 2026, introduce Spinosaurus mirabilis — a large, fish-eating predator distinguished by an enormous scimitar-shaped crest atop its skull.
The discovery was led by Paul Sereno, professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago, who directed a 20-person international research team across two expeditions to the fossil site known as Jenguebi. When paleontologists first spotted fragments of the crest and several jaw pieces on the desert surface in November 2019, they did not immediately recognize the significance of what they had found. It was only after a return expedition in 2022, which uncovered two additional crests, that the team confirmed they were dealing with an entirely new species, according to the University of Chicago.
The ‘Hell Heron’ of Inland Rivers
The most striking anatomical feature of S. mirabilis is its blade-shaped cranial crest. CT scanning revealed a network of vascular canals running through the crest’s interior, and the texture of the bone surface indicates it was sheathed in keratin — the same protein found in human fingernails and animal horns. Researchers believe the keratin covering was likely brightly colored during the animal’s lifetime, as reported by Phys.org.
The skull also displayed a specialized tooth arrangement in which the lower jaw teeth protruded outward and interlocked between the upper teeth when the jaws closed, forming an effective trap for gripping slippery fish. This feature, combined with the animal’s sturdy hind limbs, led Sereno to coin a vivid description of its lifestyle.
“I envision this dinosaur as a kind of ‘hell heron’ that had no problem wading on its sturdy legs into two meters of water but probably spent most of its time stalking shallower traps for the many large fish of the day,” Sereno said in a statement released by the University of Chicago.
Challenging the Coastal Hypothesis
Perhaps the most significant scientific implication of the discovery is the location where the fossils were found. The Jenguebi site sits 500 to 1,000 kilometers from the nearest ancient marine shoreline, deep within what were once forested inland environments dissected by river systems. Previous understanding of spinosaurid ecology had largely placed these predators in coastal or fully aquatic habitats.
The inland river deposits at Jenguebi also contained fossils of long-necked sauropod dinosaurs, further indicating a forested terrestrial environment rather than a marine or coastal one. The research team described S. mirabilis as “one of the last-surviving species of a spinosaurid radiation some 50 million years in the making,” representing the culmination of a long evolutionary lineage, as reported by NBC News.
The fossils were cleaned and digitally assembled at the South Side Fossil Lab in Chicago, where researchers used solar-powered 3D scanning equipment during fieldwork in Niger. The specimen will be displayed at the Museum of the River in Niamey, Niger’s capital, while replicas have been featured at the Chicago Children’s Museum since March 1, 2026, according to ScienceDaily.
Strengthening Niger’s Paleontological Record
The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence establishing the central Sahara as one of the world’s most significant paleontological regions. The Science paper, titled “New scimitar-crested Spinosaurus species from the Sahara caps stepwise spinosaurid radiation,” was published with the DOI 10.1126/science.adx5486. A Tuareg guide on motorbike led the research team to the remote Jenguebi site, navigating nearly a full day’s journey into the desert to reach the fossil locality.
“This find was so sudden and amazing, it was really emotional for our team,” Sereno said of the moment when the team first recognized the scale of the discovery at the site, as reported by the University of Chicago.