Spinosaurus

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* Evolution 2
* Evolution

***Spinosaurus*** is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur in the *Jurassic World Evolution* series. Originating in Late Cretaceous Africa, *Spinosaurus* is one of the largest species of theropod dinosaurs.

In Evolution, *Spinosaurus* is first encountered during Campaign Mode as a wild animal on Isla Sorna. *Spinosaurus* fossils can then be excavated from the Bahariya Formation and Chenini Formation. In the *Secrets of Dr. Wu* expansion pack, *Spinosaurus* can be fused with *Velociraptor* to create the *Spinoraptor* hybrid.

## History

After the San Diego Incident in 1997, which brought the existence of dinosaurs on Isla Sorna to public knowledge, the failing InGen, which had all but collapsed in the wake of the disaster, was purchased by Masrani Global. Only one hundred days after the deal was finalized, and in violation of the Gene Guard Act, which banned access to Isla Sorna and the cloning of prehistoric species, an InGen team incubated several new species of dinosaur, including *Ankylosaurus*, *Ceratosaurus*, *Corythosaurus*, and most notably, *Spinosaurus*. Bred covertly in 1999 under "Amalgam Testing", the *Spinosaurus* was experimented on over a period of nine months before being abandoned on the island.

In 2001, the only *Spinosaurus* known to have been cloned by InGen was encountered on numerous occasions by the survivors of a plane crash on Isla Sorna and was responsible for the deaths of numerous individuals, as well as a *Tyrannosaurus* which had entered its territory. Reports of the *Spinosaurus* was later reported to the authorities by the survivors, but it was covered up by "bribed officials" and went undisclosed until 2015.

The introduction of the *Spinosaurus*, and to a lesser extent the other illegal species, had a profound impact on the ecosystem of Isla Sorna, resulting in a considerable population drop which mystified the scientific community until 2015. In 2004, the surviving dinosaurs on Sorna were transported to Jurassic World on Isla Nublar, it is confirmed that the *Spinosaurus* was not among them.

## Characteristics

Heavily built and fearsome with a broad snout bearing two head crests on each side and a large sail on its back, *Spinosaurus* is one of the largest, if not, the largest known theropod dinosaur and land carnivore to have ever existed, measuring at around 15 meters in length and up to four tons in weight. Native to North Africa, *Spinosaurus* lived around 95 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Its name translates to "*Spine Lizard*", in reference to the distinctive long spines on its back vertebrae that form a sail, which researchers believe helped *Spinosaurus* to regulate its temperature as well as attract mates. It has an elongated snout, more like a Gharial's compared to other theropods. It is believed that they lived and hunted in water as well as on land.

The base genome of the *Spinosaurus* is primarily gray with distinctive patterns of red across the body, blue circular patterns across its impressive sail.

## Gameplay

### *Evolution*

#### Behaviour

A territorial carnivore, *Spinosaurus* is among the largest predators available to the Hammond Foundation. In comparison to carnivores such as *Tyrannosaurus* and the *Indominus rex*, *Spinosaurus* is more tolerant of its own kind, and can happily coexist with another member of its species. The species also tolerates up to thirteen other dinosaurs in its enclosure, of various species. Like other spinosaurids such as *Baryonyx* and *Suchomimus*, *Spinosaurus* have a wetland need, requiring enclosures containing at least 5,114m² of water to avoid becoming stressed. In addition to the Carnivore and Live Bait feeders, *Spinosaurus* also feed from Fish Feeders.

### *Evolution 2*

The *Spinosaurus* mechanics are very similar to that in the first game. However, after Update 7, the *Spinosaurus* uses its claws to stand and has a unqiue neck-snapping animation with the *Tyrannosaurus* as well as the other theropod dinosaurs.

#### Skins

 NULL

 JUNGLE

 RAINFOREST

 STEPPE

 VIVID

 WETLAND

## Paleontology

Described as being potentially the largest theropod dinosaur ever discovered and recognizable by the large sail on its back, *Spinosaurus* remains have been found in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Niger. The first *Spinosaurus* remains were discovered in 1912 by Austrian fossil collector Richard Markgraf, when he uncovered a partial skeleton in the Bahariya Formation of western Egypt consisting of ribs, vertebrae and multiple spines that grew up to 1.65 meters long. Three years later, German paleontologist Ernst Stromer brought the remains to a museum in Much and confirmed Markgraf's find as a new genus. Unfortunately, these fossils were destroyed during a bombing raid in World War II. Other specimens have been recovered from other sites in North Africa including Morocco and Niger.

For decades, *Spinosaurus* was thought to have had an overall head design similar to dinosaurs such as *Megalosaurus*. However, in the 1990s, new discoveries emerged revealing a crocodile-like snout, as well as bones indicating that *Spinosaurus* was among the largest theropods ever found. From the 1990s to the early 2010s, *Spinosaurus* was depicted as a primarily terrestrial carnivore with a body plan similar to that of other theropods. However, discoveries in 2014 and 2020 have revealed the animal had relatively short hind-limbs, and a long tail with neural spines, forming a flexible fin or paddle-like structure thought to be for swimming. A 2021 study however found that the degree of aquatic behavior attributed to *Spinosaurus* is not consistent, and the theropod could be a shoreline generalist. Another 2022 research has published in agreement with the 2021 research, concluding that *Spinosaurus* was not adept at swimming and there are several *Spinosaurus* fossil recoveries throughout inner Africa, away from any significant body of water; even at early to mid cretaceous. The previous researchs interpretation for *Spinosaurus* unlikeliness to dive is also further supported by additional publications.

The sail of *Spinosaurus* has also been a point of discussion, like that of *Ouranosaurus*, with some claiming it is a large sail for display or thermoregulation like *Dimetrodon*, others arguing it is a fat-filled hump like that of a camel for dry periods, while some believe it acted like a dorsal fin to help in swimming. The only species of *Spinosaurus* discovered was *S. aegyptiacus*. However, a potential second species was uncovered in Morocco in 1996, called *S. moroccanus*.

### Paleoecology

*Spinosaurus* lived in what is now northern Africa, preferring a warm, humid climate, and tended to live near swamp flats and marshes in coastal wetland regions covered with mangrove forests. It lived alongside similar large predatory theropods such as *Carcharodontosaurus* and *Bahariasaurus*, smaller theropods such as *Rugops* and *Deltadromeus*, the ornithopod, *Ouranosaurus*, the titanosaur sauropods *Paralititan* and *Aegyptosaurus*, large crocodylomorphs, pterosaurs, as well as plesiosaurs.

## Behind the scenes

The design of the *Spinosaurus* in *Evolution* is based on its appearance in 2001's *Jurassic Park III*. The audio files used in the film were provided by Universal Pictures, in order to help the development team create the most authentic representation of the dinosaur. It received a Species Profile on May 11, 2018.

At launch, the *Spinosaurus* was notably smaller than the *Tyrannosaurus*, but the latter was eventually slightly downsized and the former's size was in turn increased in Update 1.4. The Jungle skin was added to the game with Update 1.6.1 on December 19th, 2018 as a reward for community hitting donation reward for the 24h Frontier Charity Stream.

## Gallery

VideosSpecies Profile - Spinosaurus
ImagesBehind the ScenesThe scale of the *Spinosaurus* increased in Update 1.4
## References

1. ↑ Spielberg, Steven. (Director). (1997). *The Lost World: Jurassic Park* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *What Killed the Gene Guard Act?*. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
3. ↑ Masrani Backdoor. (2015). Retrieved March 20, 2021.
4. ↑ Johnston, Joe. (Director). (2001). *Jurassic Park III* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
5. ↑ Lueras, L., Kreamer, S., Spielberg, S., Trevorrow, C., Marshall, F. (Executive Producers). (2020–present). *Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous* [TV series]. Universal Pictures; DreamWorks Animation Television.
6. ↑ Greshko, Michael. (April 29, 2020). Bizarre Spinosaurus makes history as first known swimming dinosaur. *National Geographic*. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
7. ↑ Hone, Dave. (January 26, 2021). *The evidence for Spinosaurus being a specialist aquatic predator and good swimmer is weak*. Dave Hone's Archosaur Musings. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
8. ↑ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.25.493395v1
9. ↑ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.04.539484v1.full.pdf
10. ↑ Krupa, Daniel (May 16, 2018). HOW JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION MADE ITS T.REX - IGN FIRST *IGN*. Retrieved June 14, 2018
11. ↑ Frontier Developments. (May 11, 2018). *Species Profile - Spinosaurus* [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
12. ↑ Marit, Bo. [Bo\_Frontier]. (August 16, 2018). *Important News about Dinosaur Sizes* [Online forum post]. Reddit. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
13. ↑ Steggall, Mark. [Steggs]. (December 13, 2018). *Update 1.6.1 and Cretaceous Dinosaur Pack is live for PS4!* [Online forum post]. Frontier Forums. Retrieved April 9, 2021.