New 'hell heron' Spinosaurus species found in remote Sahara 70 years after fossil clue

Recently detailed in the journal Science, the discovery was years in the making - with researchers finding jaw fragments in 2019 and two additional crests in 2022.

Spinosaurus mirabilis was a shallow water predator that preyed on fish, though its habitat was 600 miles inland from the ancient Tethys Sea.

Researchers believe the dinosaur's crest - a large bony ridge rising from the top of the dinosaur's skull - was brightly colored and covered in keratin.

The study's leader, professor Paul Sereno, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, described Spinosaurus mirabilis as a sort of "hell heron."

The dinosaur "had no problem wading on its sturdy legs into two meters of water, but probably spent most of its time stalking shallower traps for the many large fish of the day," said the professor, as news agency SWNS reported.

Sereno was tipped off to the site by a French geologist's monograph describing a fossilized tooth resembling that of a similar predator.

"No one had been back to that tooth site in over 70 years," Sereno said.

"It was an adventure and a half wandering into the sand seas to search for this locale and then find an even more remote fossil area with the new species."

Sereno described the find as "so sudden and amazing."

"It was really emotional for our team," he said.

He added, "That's when the significance of the discovery really registered."

A replica, meanwhile, will be shown at the Chicago Children's Museum.

The discovery follows other dinosaur-related discoveries in the past several months.