#FIB-RW-23000351Reading & Writing: Fill in the BlanksCore & AcademicMedium

Spinosaurus

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The largest predatory dinosaur to ever walk on Earth sported a massive sail that rose from its back. Its bony, muscular tail wouldn't have had the same [blank] of a whale or fish, and the heavy sail might have been more of an obstacle than a useful tool. If Spinosaurus was plunked down in deep water, the results wouldn't have been very pleasant. This anatomical clue suggested Spinosaurus was "semiaquatic" and [blank] into the shallow waters along river banks for its prey. Similar to some lizards today that have spine-supported sails, Spinosaurus likely used its sail during competition and courtship. Intriguingly, the dinosaur likely lived along marine and freshwater [blank] like other semiaquatic reptiles, but it's not something that any other extinct or extant large aquatic vertebrates like ichthyosaurs or sea turtles [blank] . So Spinosaurus would have prowled along coastal and inland waterways, ambushing prey as it waded into shallow waters.

Sample Answer & Audio Transcript

The largest predatory dinosaur to ever walk on Earth sported a massive sail that rose from its back. Its bony, muscular tail wouldn't have had the same flexibility of a whale or fish, and the heavy sail might have been more of an obstacle than a useful tool. If Spinosaurus was plunked down in deep water, the results wouldn't have been very pleasant. This anatomical clue suggested Spinosaurus was "semiaquatic" and waded into the shallow waters along river banks for its prey. Similar to some lizards today that have spine-supported sails, Spinosaurus likely used its sail during competition and courtship. Intriguingly, the dinosaur likely lived along marine and freshwater habitats like other semiaquatic reptiles, but it's not something that any other extinct or extant large aquatic vertebrates like ichthyosaurs or sea turtles did . So Spinosaurus would have prowled along coastal and inland waterways, ambushing prey as it waded into shallow waters.
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