Ouranosaurus nigeriensis

Overview

Ouranosaurus nigeriensis is an Early Cretaceous dinosaur distinguished by its tall back structure. Descriptions include a low, long head, a broad snout, and hind limbs longer and stronger than the forelimbs. Different features extend from the head through the back and limbs.^[1]

Key facts

Elongated neural spines form the basis of the tall back structure. Long bones extending from the back to the front of the tail provide clues to its distinctive outline.^[1]

Time and place

This Early Cretaceous dinosaur is known from present-day Niger. The Cretaceous as a whole spans roughly 140–66 million years ago. Museums present its time, locality, and tall back structure together.^[1][3]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

A beak occupies the front of the low, long head, with teeth farther back. Long neural spines run along the back and front of the tail. The hind limbs are described as longer and stronger than the forelimbs.^[1][2]

The Natural History Museum in London gives a body length of approximately 7 m in its account of the genus Ouranosaurus.^[4]

Habitat and reproduction

How were the front and rear of the head arranged differently? Museum accounts distinguish the beak at the front from the teeth farther back. Food-processing structures can be examined as several regions within the head.^[2]

Fossil discovery

Museum descriptions in Fukui and Venice discuss the head, limbs, and tall back structure. The Venice display account is associated with MSNVE-3714. Records from several institutions reveal different features of the same dinosaur.^[1][2]

References

1. Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum — Ouranosaurus
2. Natural History Museum of Venice — Ouranosaurus skeleton
3. International Commission on Stratigraphy (2024) — Geological time chart
4. Natural History Museum, London — Ouranosaurus
5. Natural History Museum — Udanoceratops
6. Sereno2000 — Asian ceratopsians and pachycephalosaurs

Research questions

What flesh and skin lay over the long neural spines along the back? Soft-tissue outlines such as a sail or hump are discussed based on the tall bony structure. It is an intriguing question connecting hard bones with appearance in life.^[1]

Observation

Move your gaze from the low, long head to the rising back. Examine the structure continuing onto the front of the tail and the differences between front and rear limbs to reveal several body features.^[1]