Iconic dinosaur featured in Jurassic Park III spent most of its life underwater, study finds

Key Points:

• A new study using artificial intelligence reveals that Spinosaurus, the dinosaur featured in Jurassic Park III, spent most of its life submerged underwater, supporting the idea that it hunted underwater like modern seals or penguins.
• Researchers analyzed over 11,000 fossil measurements and scans from numerous institutions to better understand how prehistoric animals adapted to aquatic environments, overcoming conflicting evidence in fossil records.
• The study also found that mesosaurs, ancient marine reptiles previously believed to be fully aquatic, regularly moved between land and water, similar to modern alligators or platypuses.
• Findings suggest that many early marine reptiles, even those highly adapted to water, maintained amphibious lifestyles and regularly returned to land before the extinction of dinosaurs.
• The AI model developed in the study helps predict aquatic adaptations in extinct species by identifying relationships between skeletal proportions and lifestyle, offering new insights into prehistoric animal behavior.