/ 12 November 1999

FOSSILS UNEARTHED IN NIGER

FOSSIL remains of two new types of herbivorous dinosaur dating back more than 100-million years have been discovered in Niger, nearly intact. The largest of the two dinosaurs, named Jobaria tiguidensis, unknown until its recent discovery by an international team, is 17 meters long and had spatula-like teeth which enabled it to munch on small branches. An international team of paleontologists discovered one specimen’s fossil skeleton which was 95% intact, and which revealed that Jobaria lived some 135-million years ago. The proportions of Jobaria were elephant-like, and its bones could have supported its body mass when rearing during feeding or in courtship contests. The second dinosaur, dubbed Nigersaurus taqueti, was also a vegetarian, was much smaller, measuring about 13m in length, and was younger, dating back 110-million years.