This so-called river monster lived about 97 million years ago, measured about 50 feet (over 15 meters) in length

Sep 16, 2014 11:38 GMT  ·  By

Just a few days ago, scientists announced the discovery of a new dinosaur species dubbed Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. This ancient beast roamed the Earth about 97 million years ago. Unlike other giants of its time, it lived not on land, but in rivers.

This past September 15, National Geographic released a video detailing this so-called river monster's appearance. The video, available below, comprises footage of a Spinosaurus aegyptiacus replica created by paleontologists.

At the time they went public with the news concerning the discovery of this previously undocumented dinosaur species, paleontologists explained that, according to evidence at hand, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus weighed about 44,000 pounds (nearly 19,960 kilograms).

However, I for one have to admit that it was only after watching this video showing some random guy standing next to the river monster replica that I finally figured out just how big Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was.

As detailed in a paper published in the journal Science towards the end of last week, an analysis of fossil remains belonging to one such creature revealed that, to navigate aquatic environments, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus relied on a rudder-like tail and flat feet fairly similar to paddles.

By the looks of it, this ancient beast had teeth not very different to the ones modern crocodiles sport. The creature used these teeth to catch and eat fish, some of which were about the size of a car.