Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus ("Spine Lizard") is the name given to a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian to upper Turonian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, about 99 to 93.5 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species, S. maroccanus, has been recovered from Morocco. 
Spinosaurus is the longest known terrestrial carnivore; other large carnivores comparable to Spinosaurus include theropods such as Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. The most recent study suggests that previous body size estimates are overestimated, and that S. aegyptiacus reached 14 metres (46 ft) in length and 7.4 metric tons (8.2 short tons) in body mass. It had a skull resembling that of a modern crocodilian, and bore straight conical teeth with no serrations. It would have had large, robust forelimbs bearing three-fingered hands, with an enlarged claw on the first digit.
The distinctive neural spines of Spinosaurus, which were long extensions of the vertebrae (or backbones), grew to at least 1.65 meters (5.4 ft) long and were likely to have had skin connecting them, forming a sail-like structure, although some authors have suggested that the spines were covered in fat and formed a hump (Molina-Pérez & Larramendi 2016. Récords y curiosidades de los dinosaurios Terópodos y otros dinosauromorfos, Larousse. Barcelona, Spain p. 259).
Spinosaurus is known to have eaten fish, and most scientists believe that it hunted both terrestrial and aquatic prey. Evidence suggests that it was semiaquatic; how capable it was of swimming has been strongly contested. Spinosaurus's leg bones had osteosclerosis (high bone density), allowing for better buoyancy control. Multiple functions have been put forward for the dorsal sail, including thermoregulation and display; either to intimidate rivals or attract mates. It lived in a humid environment of tidal flats and mangrove forests alongside many other dinosaurs, as well as fish, crocodylomorphs, lizards, turtles, pterosaurs, and plesiosaurs.
The creature went extinct alongside the rest of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous era, but was suddenly resurrected in the year 1999 thanks to genetic manipulation. During this time, the Spinosaurus was subjected to a series of cruel experiments for 9 months as part of a top secret genetic engineering project on Isla Gemido (Groaning Island). The aim of the project was to transform the dinosaurs into living weapons.
Unfortunately, a whistleblower exposed the project to the world, and in a panic the project was terminated, resulting in the staff members releasing the dinosaur into the wild. 
Around 2023, an attempt was made by animal rights activists to relocate the Spinosaurus before another organization could exploit him. Unfortunately, the attempt ended in partial failure thanks in part to the events of Operation Citadel: a drone swarm blockading the Auroa archieplago from outsiders attacked the vessel and its escorts. The vessel sank, but not before one of the crewmen set the dinosaur free, and the Spinosaurus, as well as many other formerly extinct reptiles, managed to escape onto Golem Island.
== History ==
=== Creation and early life ===
In 1999, several scientists were deployed to Isla Gemido as part of a top secret project, known as Operation Resurrection, and successfully resurrected several species of dinosaurs for use as military weapons, with one of them being Spinosaurus Aegypticus. After being cloned and experimented on for 9 months in 1999, the scientists in charge of Operation Resurrection released the animal into the wild following the public exposure of Operation Resurrection, where it lived until 2023.
=== Auroa ===
In 2023, an attempt was made by animal rights activists to relocate the Spinosaurus to an area where he could live in peace before more organizations could exploit him. However, by sheer coincidence this operation was launched the same day as Operation Citadel, a takeover of the archipelago of Auroa by rogue US special forces operators calling themselves Wolves, with help from a private military company called Sentinel. 
As a result, the transport barge taking the Spinosaurus and other rescued dinosaurs to their new home was attacked. In desperation, the animal rights activists set the creatures loose, specifically unleashing the Spinosaurus against the drone swarm in a bid to buy time to evacuate the vessel. Now free, the Spinosaurus and other formerly extinct creatures proceeded to attack the drones before escaping onto Golem Island, a remote volcanic island to north-east of the Auroa archipelago, which was also coincidentally home to a drone weapons project known as Project Titan. 
The sudden arrival of a formerly extinct reptile on Golem Island surprised Sentinel PMCs, the Wolves, and (eventually) even the Ghosts, the Stone brothers, and the Outcasts. Numerous attempts to terminate the animal were ordered both by Trey Stone and Cole Walker, but they ended in failure. With Cole Walker and Trey Stone's deaths during the events of the First Battle of Auroa, both Sentinel PMCs and the Wolves mutually decided to simply avoid the animal and to lock down any facility in the creature's territory in the event someone sighted him. 
The creature was sighted numerous times by the Stone brothers during an expedition to Golem Island, with all of them ending in the Stone brothers either fighting the creature, fleeing for their lives, or both. 
Category:Animals
Category:Dinosaurs