Genus

Valid Extinct

Nigersaurus

Sereno et al. 1999

Etymology Niger reptile

Nigersaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived during the middle Cretaceous period, about 115 to 105 million years ago. It was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in an area called Gadoufaoua, in Niger. Fossils of this dinosaur were first described in 1976, but it was only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999 after further and more complete remains were found and described. The genus name means "Niger reptile", and the specific name honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who discovered the first remains.

Temporal range

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

Paleogene

Neogene

252 201 145 66 0 Ma

PBDB occurrences

Group

Dinosaures

Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial

click to enlarge

Nigersaurus - 01 (possibly National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo) © Kabacchi · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia

PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗

Classification

Dinosauria Unranked clade

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Saurischia Unranked clade

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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade

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Massopoda Unranked clade

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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade

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Sauropoda Unranked clade

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Gravisauria Unranked clade

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Eusauropoda Unranked clade

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Neosauropoda Unranked clade

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Diplodocoidea Unranked clade

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Diplodocimorpha Unranked clade

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Rebbachisauridae Unranked clade

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Khebbashia Unranked clade

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Rebbachisaurinae Unranked clade

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Nigersaurus Genus

Measurements

Length

15 m ⓘ

10 m ⓘ

Nigersaurus taqueti

Mass

1 900 kg ⓘ

Nigersaurus taqueti

Did you know?

Its mouth held up to about 500 teeth, replaced roughly every 14 days by estimates — one of the fastest replacement rates known in any dinosaur.
Its broad, square muzzle was wider than the rest of its skull, with all its teeth lined up at the front: a real lawnmower that cropped vegetation at ground level.
The bones of its skull were so thin that some are almost translucent.
Named after Niger, where it was found, it was described in 1999 by Paul Sereno's team; it lived about 115 to 105 million years ago.

Fossil sites 3 geolocated sites

Distribution

Top countries

🇳🇪 Niger

Geological formations

Elrhaz

Temporal distribution

Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)

Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)

Species (1)

Nigersaurus taqueti 121 Ma

Images 6

Bibliography

Original description

P. C. Sereno, A. L. Beck, and D. B. Dutheil, H. C. E. Larsson, G. H. Lyon, B. Moussa, R. W. Sadleir, C. A. Sidor, D. J. Varricchio, G. P. Wilson, J. A. Wilson. 1999. Cretaceous sauropods from the Sahara and the uneven rate of skeletal evolution among dinosaurs. Science 286:1342-1347 DOI ↗

Bibliography (2)

R. Lefebvre, R. Allain, and A. Houssaye. 2023. What’s inside a sauropod limb? First three-dimensional investigation of the limb long bone microanatomy of a sauropod dinosaur, Nigersaurus taqueti (Neosauropoda, Rebbachisauridae), and implications for the weight-bearing function. Palaeontology DOI ↗

Nigersaurus

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