Dinosaur genus

Spinosaurus

Stromer 1915

Spinosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 125.8–93.9 million years old, in 5 countries, most often Morocco and Algeria.

Also calledes espinosaurioja スピノサウルスzh 棘龍

medium

medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?6 high19 medium4 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 4 October 2026

125.8–93.9 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 125.8–93.9 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 125.8–72.2 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Stromer 1915
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: E. Stromer (1915). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharîje-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 3. Das Original des Theropoden Spinosaurus aegyptiacus nov. gen., nov. spec. Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse Abhandlung 28(3): 1–31.
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Stromer 1915), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Type species: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Lived: Barremian to Campanian, 125.8–72.2 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Omnisaura calculation125.8–93.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 27 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: Morocco
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Algeria
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Egypt
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (5 records).
Niger
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (5 records).
Tunisia
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Kem Kem Beds
high
high: An Omnisaura editor ruled on it.
Aïn el Guettar
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Baharîje
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Douira
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Echkar
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Farak
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Grès rouges
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Ifezouane
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (5 records).
Quseir
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Continental Intercalaire
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Gara Samani
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Gara Sbaa
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Spinosauridae
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Spinosaurini
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Saurischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Named after: Lacertilia; vertebral column
medium
medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Wikidata. How it was chosen: Wikidata leads.
Species named in its records: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, Spinosaurus marrocanus, Spinosaurus mirabilis
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: carnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Theropoda, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling, solitary (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Theropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Held back: 14 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Held back: 1 fossil record left out: identified as a related genus rather than this one.
Held back: 8 fossil records left out: identified only to a broader group, not to this genus.
Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); common names (Wikidata); named after (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Spinosaurus meet ?

No. Spinosaurus had gone at least 10.3 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Spinosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 9

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Carcharodontosaurus Deltadromeus Aegyptosaurus Bahariasaurus Megalosauropus Ouranosaurus Paralititan Rebbachisaurus Spinostropheus

Same family: Spinosauridae 5

Other genera in Spinosauridae with a full profile.

Angaturama Baryonyx Camarillasaurus Ceratosuchops Suchomimus

Named by Stromer 3

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Aegyptosaurus Bahariasaurus Carcharodontosaurus

Found in Morocco 3

Other genera found in Morocco, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Carcharodontosaurus Rebbachisaurus Deltadromeus

Where its fossils were found

23 fossil sites, with present-day and ancient positions

Open the map at this time

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Spinosaurus. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/spinosaurus. Data as of 4 October 2026.

What's changed

No changes since the change log started (11 Oct 2026).

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Also recorded in: Paleobiology Database · Wikipedia (English) · GBIF · Wikidata Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

5 openly licensed pictures of Spinosaurus on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

FSAC-KK-11888.jpg
3blindMies, CC BY-SA 4.0
Spinosaurus Model (2).png
Petr Menshikov (https://twitter.com/Petr75113553; https://vk.com/prehistoricproduction), CC BY-SA 4.0
Spinosaurus in Japan Expo.jpg
★Kumiko★, CC BY-SA 2.0
Spinosaurus new skull.jpg
Mike Bowler from Canada, CC BY 2.0

The rest are listed in the JSON download.

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.