Ouranosaurus nigeriensis is a large herbivorous ornithopod that lived in West Africa during the Early Cretaceous.
It was added to Prehistoric Kingdom in Update 9.
In-Game[]
Description[]
Ouranosaurus is a large hadrosauriform dinosaur that stands out due to its unusually long neural spines that form the striking sail upon its back.
It differs from its relative Iguanodon in its largely bipedal locomotion in-game, a trait it shares with its more distant relative Muttaburrasaurus.
Management[]
To be announced.
In-Game Trivia[]
Nigel Marven
Just look at that! This sail-backed dinosaur is Ouranosaurus, an ornithopod related to both the thumb-spiked iguanodonts and the duck-billed hadrosaurs.
Nigel Marven
It might be difficult to imagine having to haul around such an impressive structure on your back, but the spines of ornithischian dinosaurs were stiff and strong thanks to a criss-crossing lattice that supported their vertebrae made out of ossified tendons - literally, tendons that turned into bone!
Nigel Marven
Why the long face? Even though it isn't quite a hadrosaur, Ouranosaurus has a remarkably long, hadrosaur-like face. The beak and snazzy little crest really complete the rest of the look!
Nigel Marven
I wouldn't get too close, though. Just like its iguanodontian cousins, the thumbs of Ouranosaurus sport a sharp, conical claw. When they're feeling feisty, they come out swinging like a boxer!
Paleontology[]
Ouranosaurus was unearthed from the Elrhaz Formation in Niger in 1965 and since its discovery it has become one of the most famous dinosaurs from Africa. It was named in 1972 and its name means "Brave Lizard" from a local Tuareg word. Ouranosaurus lived in a large, fertile floodplain amongst deserts, similar to parts of the modern day Nile. Other dinosaurs which lived alongside it include various ornithopods, such as Lurdusaurus and Elrhazosaurus, the spinosaurid Suchomimus, and sauropods such as Nigersaurus and an unnamed titanosaur. Predators of Ouranosaurus would have included the gigantic crocodyliform Sarcosuchus and the carcharodontosaurid Eocarcharia.
The most recognizable and striking feature of Ouranosaurus is its sail, which is formed raised neural spines. The purpose of these spines is still heavily debated. Originally it was theorized that these spines supported a colourful sail for temperature regulation and display, though the structure of these spines differs in some ways from some other sail-backed animals such as Dimetrodon. Some have stated that the raised vertebrae of Ouranosaurus resemble those of bison and camels, hypothesizing that it may be a fat store or muscular hump, though differences in how reptiles store fat and subtle differences in the dimensions of the bones make this interpretation unlikely. Some modern reconstructions choose to show it with a thicker ridge than reconstructed for animals like Dimetrodon and Spinosaurus, resembling an extension of the ridge seen in other more moderately spined related ornithopods such as Lambeosaurus and Parasaurolophus. This also seems to be the interpretation chosen in Prehistoric Kingdom. Another distinct trait is its thumb spike, similar to Iguanodon's. Like its European cousin, these spikes were likely used in combat of some kind, likely with rival Ouranosaurus and predators if fleeing proves unsuccessful.
Ouranosaurus is a hadrosauriform, meaning it is a basal member of the group that would eventually give rise to the true hadrosaurids such as Edmontosaurus, Lambeosaurus and Parasaurolophus. Like its relatives, Ouranosaurus was capable of walking both bipedally and quadrupedally depending on what the animal is doing at the time thanks to its combination of long back legs, and forelimbs with adaptations for walking. Whether Ouranosaurus in particular preferred one stance over the other is unknown, though it is likely that Ouranosaurus would walk bipedally when attempting to move at speed and quadrupedally when foraging on the ground or drinking. Some have stated that the relatively small forelimbs of this animal would preclude it from walking quadrupedally often; however, quadrupedal footprints attributed to a similarly short armed ornithopod Camptosaurus show that this would not have stopped these animals from using all four limbs in a locomotory fashion.
Paleoecology[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ouranosaurus is among the first batch of African animals to arrive in Prehistoric Kingdom, alongside Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus in Update 9.
- The vibrant colours of the male version of the "Spectrum" skin were inspired by the Black Orchid breed of Betta fish, which shares the skin's striking combination of black, green and blue, but lacks the light countershading.
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