First new Spinosaurus species since 1915 named in new report, had a scimitar-shaped crest

The Spinosaurus is undoubtedly one of the most popular dinosaurs, but also one of the most controversial. The classic image of a huge, ferocious and bipedal monster, larger and stronger than a T. Rex, popularised in Jurassic Park 3, has been debated and debunked by most palaeontologists, but they continue to disagree on how aquatic the animals were, their hunting habits or if they were quadrupedal or bipedal.

From February 19, 2026, a new discovery will add new information into the Spinosaurus lore, as a new species, called Spinosaurus mirabilis, has just been officially named for the first time in a newly published article on Science (via El País).

The Spinosaurus mirabilis is only the second Spinosaurus species to be named, after the original Spinosaurus egypticus, first found in 1915, whose original fossils were destroyed in Munich in World War II.

The Mirabilis' most striking feature is a crest in the shape of a scimitar, a feature never before seen in these types of theropod dinosaurs, and depicted for the very first time in the illustrations by Paleo-artist Daniel Navarro.

The initial studies describe the Mirabilis close to a heron than a crocodile in its habits, living and hunting in shallow waters, and quite far from the sea. They lives in what is now the North of Africa around 95 million years ago, measuring around 13 meters, 6 or 7 tons, and with jaws that acted as "cages" for fishes. Other dinosaurs, including two sauropods (those with the long necks) were found nearby.

Paul Sereno, the lead palaeontologist of the expedition, first found some Spinosaurus fossils in the Sahara desert in 2019. He returned in 2022, in an arduous excavation with 29 palaeontologists from five countries, and their findings have been announced today. The fossils are now in Chicago, but will be returned to Niger, where Sereno plans to open two museums and a paleontological institute.