S17 - Spinophorosaurus nigeriensis Basal Sauropod Dinosaur Tooth Jurassic Irhazer Fm

Scientific name: Spinophorosaurus nigeriensis, (Remes et al., 2009)

Location: Téneré Desert, Niger.

Geological Formation: Irhazer Fm

Age: Middle Jurassic, Bathonian stage ( 167 million years)

Size (long): 3.4cm = 1.33 Inch

REF.: S17


DESCRIPTION:
Here we introduce this exceedingly rare sauropod dinosaur tooth from Irhazer Fm. It is an authentic tooth of Spinophorosaurus nigeriensis. Spinophorosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Niger during the Middle Jurassic period. The subadult holotype specimen is estimated to have been around 13 m (43 ft) in length, whereas the paratype was about 14 m (46 ft) long. The shoulder height reached by these individuals was estimated at around 4 m (13 ft), and the weight at about 7 metric tons (7.7 short tons). Spinophorosaurus has been classified as either a very basal sauropod, or inside Eusauropoda, a more derived group.

About the identification: The exact and accurate taxonomic identification of this type of teeth is not an easy task. On the one hand, there is the problem of knowing with certainty to which geological formation they belong, since the Jurassic outcrops of Niger are very close and the information provided by the suppliers is scarce and sometimes doubtful. However, only two Sauropods have been described in the Jurassic of Niger, on the one hand the genus Jobaria of the Tiouraren Fm and on the other hand the genus Spinophorosaurus of the Irhazer Fm. There is little bibliography about remains from these places. However, we know that the genus Jobaria does not have serrations on the crown while Spinophorosaurus does. In this tooth, the remains of serration can be seen in the top of the crown, so we can assume that it is a Spinophorosaurus tooth from the Irhazer Fm.
It has a fracture that has been glued but not restored.