Buried beneath the scorching sands of Niger's Sahara for 95 million years, a spectacular new dinosaur has finally been given its name — and it has a crest unlike anything palaeontologists have ever seen.
Meet *Spinosaurus mirabilis*, the 'Wondrous Spine Lizard.' Officially described in February 2026, it is the first unequivocal new species of *Spinosaurus* to be identified in more than a century — and its discovery is rewriting what we thought we knew about these giants.
**The Discovery: A 'Hell Heron' in the Desert**
The fossils were unearthed by a team led by Professor Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago in the remote Jengueb region of Niger — first spotted in 2019, with further excavations in 2022. What emerged from the rock was extraordinary: a massive skull bearing a towering, scimitar-shaped blade of bone rising from its head.
Sereno and his colleagues nicknamed it the 'Hell Heron' — a nod to how they imagine it lived: wading through ancient rivers and shallow lakes, much like a giant, terrifying version of a modern heron, plucking enormous fish from the water with its elongated jaws.
'This crest is unlike anything we've ever seen on a spinosaurid. In life, we believe it was covered in brightly coloured keratin — likely used for display, the way a modern bird uses plumage to attract mates or intimidate rivals.' — Professor Paul Sereno, University of Chicago
**What Makes It So Unusual**
Most spinosaurid fossils have been found in coastal or estuarine deposits — environments near ancient seas. But *Spinosaurus mirabilis* was discovered hundreds of kilometres inland, in what 95 million years ago was a forested, river-laced landscape deep in what is now the Sahara.
This challenges the assumption that spinosaurids were tied to coastlines. *S. mirabilis* was clearly at home far from the sea — wading in inland rivers and forest waterways. It raises fascinating questions about how many other spinosaurid species may still await discovery in landlocked desert regions.
The species is also remarkable for the size and shape of that crest — a massive, blade-like structure researchers believe would have been brilliantly coloured in life. No other spinosaurid has anything quite like it, making *mirabilis* (meaning 'wonderful' in Latin) a very fitting name.
**The Fossils Stay in Niger**
In a decision that has drawn wide praise, Sereno's team is committed to keeping the original fossils in Africa. The remains are destined for the Museum of the River in Niamey, Niger — while replicas of the spectacular skull are on display at the Chicago Children's Museum as part of Sereno's 'Dinosaur Expedition' exhibit, which opened March 1, 2026.
Sereno is also working to establish two dedicated natural history museums in Niger itself, and plans to train Nigerian museum professionals to curate the fossils long-term.
**A Century in the Making**
The genus *Spinosaurus* was first described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The science of spinosaurids has been painstakingly rebuilt since — with *Spinosaurus mirabilis* now representing a genuine, confirmed new branch on the family tree. The Age of Dinosaurs still has secrets to give. 🦕
Sources: Natural History Museum London · ScienceAlert · El País · earthsky.org