Everyone on the planet is familiar with dinosaurs. We know the earth used to be teeming with them. Pictures of dinosaurs show that they came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. But did you know there was a dinosaur with 500 teeth? Yes, a child has 15 times the number of teeth as an adult. Nigersaurus, a 30-foot-long herbivore dinosaur, had a long neck and a 500-toothed skull. Let’s get into more detail about this one in the following sections of the article.
What Dinosaur Has 500 Teeth?
After Reddit users made a silly joke go viral, internet users have been warned not to fall for a “Don’t google which dinosaur had 500 teeth” prank. The message got viral on social media and is now one of the search engine’s autofill suggestions. Those who Google the question get Nigersaurus results.
The joke-turned-meme has gone viral on social media platforms, most notably Reddit. Juvenile jokers on the site hope to shock unsuspecting internet users by implying the name is similar to the N-word. The warning against conducting the search first began to circulate in September 2019.
“Whatever you do, don’t google ‘dinosaur with 500 teeth,'” said a Reddit user, who has since deleted their account, in /r/teenagers. Since then, a plethora of memes has been created, with captions such as “Do not look up a 500-toothed dinosaur. Worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life “. Others appear to have used the meme as a code for the racial slur itself, as evidenced by the comment: “OK dinosaur with 500 teeth.” Its name, on the other hand, is a reference to the place where it was discovered, the Republic of Niger.
The first dinosaur fossils were discovered in the landlocked West African country in 1976. It wasn’t named Nigersaurus taqueti until more complete remains were discovered in 1999 during expeditions led by American palaeontologist Paul Sereno.
Nigersaurus – Meaning
Nigersaurus, which means “Niger lizard” or “Niger reptile,” was one of the oldest dinosaurs ever discovered. Nigersaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur that stood 30 feet tall. It is a Diplodocus-like sauropod dinosaur genus. It lived between 119 and 105 million years ago, during the Aptian or Albian age, during the middle Cretaceous period.
It was revealed in the rich fossil vertebrate fauna of the Elrhaz Formation in the Republic of Niger’s Gadoufaoua area. This dinosaur’s fossils were first described in 1976, but it wasn’t named until 1999 after more comprehensive remains were discovered and described.
Nigersaurus – Size
As previously stated, the Nigersaurus belonged to the sauropod family. These dinosaurs were among the largest beasts to roam Erath. The Nigersaurus was thought to be about 30 feet long and weigh the same as a modern African elephant. As a result, we can think of the Nigersaurus as a small giant.
One of the sauropod family’s distinguishing features was their long necks. Some of the animals in this group had 15-metre-long necks. However, we cannot reach the same conclusion about the Nigersaurus.
What exactly is a Nigersaurus?
Nigersaurus is a 110 million-year-old dinosaur that lived in Niger’s the Sahara Desert. The animal preferred to live in a lush environment alongside predatory dinosaurs such as Suchomimus, Supercross, Lurdusaurus, and others. Nigersaurus had a delicate skull as well as a largemouth that was lined with teeth. The teeth aided them in browsing plants close to the ground.
In photographs, it is simple to identify a Nigersaurus. It had a long neck as well as an unusually straight-edged muzzle tipped with at least 500 replaceable teeth. The most fascinating fact about this animal is that its fossil skull was one of the first dinosaur skulls to be digitally reconfigured using CT scans.
Nigersaurus Interesting Facts:
Nigersaurus is depicted as a short-necked ‘long neck’ dinosaur
The sauropod family’s most distinguishing feature is unquestionably their long necks. Some sauropod necks in fact measured 15 meters in length, which is six times longer than the world’s longest giraffe neck. The same cannot be said for the Nigersaurus and its closest relatives (who formed a subgroup known as the ‘Rebbachisauridae.’ Almost all of the Rebbachisaurids had necks of 10 metres or less.
The ‘Niger Lizard’
The name Nigersaurus translates as ‘Niger lizard’ or ‘Niger reptile.’ Primarily as a result of its remains being noticed in what is now the Republic of Niger.
The discovery of Nigersaurus babies
Palaeontologist Paul Sereno discovered fossils from a baby Nigersaurus while on an expedition in Niger. Despite fully grown adults reaching lengths of 30 feet, the upper jaw of the uncovered baby Nigersaurus was measured to “fit on top of a silver dollar.”
Plants only
The sauropod family includes the Nigersaurus. Sauropods were any member of the Sauropoda dinosaur subpopulation. Their main distinguishing characteristics were their large size, long neck and tail, four-legged stance, and herbivorous diet (plant-eaters.)
The posture debate
Scientists have speculated on whether the Nigersaurus would slump or hold its head high on a regular basis. Initially, some scientists hypothesized that these complex creatures’ skulls would be perpetually lowered at a 67-degree angle, making food foraging easier. However, scientists have recently refuted this claim, claiming that the dinosaurs’ vertebrae allowed for a much wider range of motion. This would imply that the Nigersaurus would have behaved more like other sauropods, with their neck pointing upwards.
What dinosaur has the most teeth?
Despite its impressive tooth count, the Nigersaurus falls short of being the all-time leader in tooth count. Hadrosaurs were said to have up to 1,400 teeth. Their teeth were said to be the most complex of any living creature.
Who hasn’t looked up “What Dinausaur Has 500 Teeth?”
Don’t go looking for which dinosaur had 500 teeth—this message has been going viral on social media. It is also among the most popular autocomplete suggestions on search engines.
Ignorant and juvenile Users on Reddit speculated that the beast’s name sounded similar to the N-word. And the racist remarks prompted a warning against conducting this search, which first circulated in September 2019.
Conclusion
So, what kind of dinosaur has 500 teeth? The answer is Nigersaurus. Although it does not have the most dinosaurs, this strange and wonderful sauropod has people talking. With all those teeth at their disposal, what do you expect?