A huge dinosaur that looked like a crocodile has been unearthed in Portugal.
The prehistoric river monster had a spiny back and waded into the water to prey on fish, say scientists.
It was about 33 feet long and weighed over three tonnes. The new species belonged to a group known as spinosaurs – the largest carnivorous dinosaurs.
Prof Octavio Mateus, of the NOVA School of Science and Technology, Caparica, said: ‘Spinosaurs are some of the most enigmatic theropod dinosaurs due to their unique adaptations to aquatic environments and their relative scarcity.
‘Their diet mainly included fish, although other food items, such as pterosaurs, were consumed.’
Spinosaur teeth have been found inside the fossilised bones of the legendary flying reptiles.
They are not as well-known as other meat eating theropods – which include T rex.
This is due to a combination of the fragmentary nature of their fossil record, mainly based on isolated teeth, and their unusual body plan.
Prof Mateus said: ‘This is related with their ecology, particularly linked to aquatic environments, either as specialised pursuit aquatic predators in some cases or as wading-ambush hunters, like herons.’
The creature has been named Iberospinus naturoioi.
In the Jurassic Park 3 movie, a spinosaur controversially killed a T Rex by snapping its neck. But scientists ridiculed the scene, saying the ‘king of the dinosaurs’ was too strong.
However, Iberospinus was still terrifying. Its remarkably preserved remains included razor sharp teeth and skull bones.
They were dug up at a famous dinosaur graveyard 30 miles south of Lisbon.
Prof Mateus said: ‘It is one of the most complete spinosaurid specimens in the world.
‘The addition of yet another taxon to the diversity of spinosaurids in Iberia indicates the clade possibly originated in Western Europe.
Although the recovered remains are fragmentary, enough remained to digitally reconstruct the animal in 3D.
Prof Mateus added: ‘Spinosaurids are some of the most enigmatic theropod dinosaurs due to their unique adaptations to aquatic environments and their relative scarcity.’
Iberospinus, decribed in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, was a medium sized spinosaur. Some were up to 50 feet long – and weighed six tonnes.
First discovered by palaeontologists in 1915, they could swim – but mainly hunted on the shoreline and river banks for animals and fish.
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