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Did Juvenile Spinosaurids Spend Time in the Water?

CSEF · 2016 Earth & Atmospheric Sciences (Junior Division Only) First Award

James L. Pinto · Bridges Charter School, Thousand Oaks, Ventura County

Overview

Objectives/Goals I wanted to find out if juvenile Spinosaurus dinosaurs spent a higher amount of time than most dinosaurs in ocean water. Methods/Materials Five juvenile Spinosaurus tooth fossils, one Deltadromeus tooth, one Mosasaur tooth, isotope ratio mass spectrometer, freeze dryer vacuum chamber, vacuum roaster. The ratios of oxygen isotope 16 and oxygen isotope 18 were compared in each of these teeth. Results The oxygen isotope ratios of the Spinosaurids exhibited extreme variance compared to the Deltadromeus and the Mosasaur, which implies that, depending on where they lived, Spinosaurids may have spent time in oceans and/or freshwater lakes and rivers. Conclusions/Discussion The data I obtained did not completely support my hypothesis. I thought that the Spinosaurids would all have oxygen isotope ratios closer to the oceanic creature, the Mosasaur, but they instead had extremely varying oxygen isotope ratios. This data adds to evidence about how the Spinosaurus lived, and how it fit into its ecosystem along with all of the other dinosaurs it lived with.

Summary statement

By comparing the oxygen isotope ratios of fossilized dinosaur teeth, I found that Spinosaurus dinosaurs spent varying amounts of time in oceans and rivers depending on where they lived.

Help received

Used lab equipment from the University of California, Santa Cruz under the supervision of researchers Dyke Andreasen and Colin Carney.

Awards (1)

Competition history

  • CSEF 2016 Earth & Atmospheric Sciences (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0812

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