Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
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Long-standing dispute settled: Spinosaurus was a true aquatic predator
Whether an extinct animal lived on land or in water is often surprisingly difficult for palaeontologists to determine. Bones alone do not always reveal whether a creature swam, walked or did both. Researchers at Yale University have now used modern computational methods to settle one of the most famous disputes in dinosaur research and have come to a clear conclusion: Spinosaurus was not merely a shore hunter, but was predominantly at home in the water.
Animals returned to the water several times
Life on Earth began in water and later conquered the land. But evolution did not follow a straight path. Time and again, groups of animals returned to the water long after their ancestors had been living on land. Whales are considered the best-known example of this development. The lifestyle of species living today is easy to understand, but that of fossilised animals can only be inferred indirectly.
For their study, published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers analysed hundreds of fossils from the Yale Peabody Museum and other international collections. More than 11,000 measurements were included in the evaluation. Using machine learning, the researchers combined anatomical data with statistical models, including an analysis method originally developed for evaluating radar signals during the Second World War.
The focus was on characteristics that indicate adaptation to life in water, such as special structures between the bones of the front limbs.
Spinosaurus was a specialised aquatic hunter
The new analysis brings clarity to a long-running debate. The Spinosaurus, which lived in what is now North Africa around 113 to 94 million years ago, already showed anatomical features that indicated a fish-rich diet. However, it was unclear whether it merely hunted on the shore or actively lived in the water.
‘We were able to determine with a high degree of certainty that Spinosaurus had a highly aquatic lifestyle,’ explains lead author Caleb Gordon of the Florida Museum of Natural History. The data evaluated suggests that the dinosaur spent much of its time in the water and hunted there specifically – similar to today’s seals or penguins.
Mesosaurs did not live permanently in water
The picture is different for mesosaurs, an early group of reptiles from the Permian period that lived in what is now South Africa and South America around 290 to 274 million years ago. For a long time, they were thought to be entirely aquatic. However, the new study suggests that mesosaurs regularly ventured onto land.
According to Gordon, mesosaurs did not leave the land completely. Their lifestyle was more similar to that of modern alligators or platypuses, which are active both in water and on land.
Evolution finds similar solutions
According to the researchers, the new method allows the lifestyle of fossil species to be classified with over 90 per cent certainty. At the same time, the results provide an impressive example of convergent evolution. Independently of each other, different animal groups developed similar adaptations to swimming, such as fin-like limbs or streamlined bodies.
‘These secondary aquatic groups adapted to their environment in very similar ways,’ says Gordon. Such parallel developments show that evolution often finds comparable solutions to the same challenges. This applies to swimming as well as flying or running.
- Researchers discover a ‘prehistoric motorway’ for dinosaurs in Bolivia - 6. December 2025
- Long-standing dispute settled: Spinosaurus was a true aquatic predator - 5. December 2025
- Palaeontology: Schoolboy in the USA discovers 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossil - 4. December 2025
