Fossil remains of a sail-backed, predatory dinosaur named Spinosaurus, bigger than T. rex, were excavated in Egypt in the 1930s. The dinosaur had a long snout, cone-shaped teeth like a crocodile, and could walk on two legs, with shorter arms at the front. It must have been an awesome creature when fully grown. Many of its fossil remains were destroyed by bombings in Munich during World War 2. But recently a team of scientists found more fossils at a site in Morocco and were able to determine that the tail of Spinosaurus was similar to a crocodile’s, shaped like a broad paddle.

Since crocodiles swim very well, it is believed Spinosaurus likewise was a great swimmer and predator in water, and was at least semi-aquatic. “This tail is unambiguous”, says paleontologist and team member Samir Zouhri. “This dinosaur was swimming.”

It’s therefore the first undeniably swimming dinosaur that’s been found. Extinct marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, for instance, although excellent swimmers, weren’t dinosaurs. Up until now, all dinosaurs have been seen as essentially land dwellers. If Spinosaurus spent most of its time in the water it’s likely Noah didn’t need to include a pair of these on the Ark, even as juveniles.

• Jaggard, V., The monster could swim; nationalgeographic.com, 29 Apr 2020.
• Ibrahim, N. and 16 others, Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur, Nature 581:6770, 29 Apr 2020.