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The ferocious predatory dinosaurs of Cretaceous Sahara - Nizar Ibrahim

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In Cretaceous times (around 100 million years ago), North Africa was home to a huge river system and a bizarre menagerie of giant prehistoric predators -- including the Spinosaurus, a dinosaur even more fearsome than the Tyrannosaurus rex. Nizar Ibrahim uses paleontological and geological data to reconstruct this “River of Giants” in surprising detail.


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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Nizar Ibrahim
  • Director Silvia Prietov
  • Producer Silvia Prietov
  • Senior Animator William Cifuentes
  • Storyboard Artist William Cifuentes
  • Animator Daniela Rueda
  • Designer Andrés Landazábal
  • Art Director Andrés Landazábal
  • Editor Julian Andrés Sánchez
  • Compositor Julian Andrés Sánchez
  • Sound Designer Manuel Borda
  • Composer Manuel Borda
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
Additional Resources for you to Explore
What would it be like to find these fossil remains? TED fellow Nizar Ibrahim discusses his expedition to the Moroccan Saharan desert in search of dinosaur fossils in this blog post and his TED Talk, How we unearthed the Spinosaurus.

An article from National Geographic also provides tons of information about the Moroccan expedition and its discoveries: Paleontologist Finds Dinosaur Paradise, Including First Dino Known to Swim.

How big is the Spinosaurus? This National Geographic article, Mister Big, will provide some answers. Meet the Mighty Spinosaurus, the First Dinosaur Adapted for Swimming is another great resource to find more information about this massive dinosaur.

The BBC also has some interesting videos on dinosaurs. 

For more on fossils and dinosaurs, visit the TED-Ed Blog post and TED-Ed lessons listed below:
How to become a dinosaur hunter
How to fossilize...yourself - Phoebe A. Cohen
How do we know what color dinosaurs were? - Len Bloch

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Nizar Ibrahim
  • Director Silvia Prietov
  • Producer Silvia Prietov
  • Senior Animator William Cifuentes
  • Storyboard Artist William Cifuentes
  • Animator Daniela Rueda
  • Designer Andrés Landazábal
  • Art Director Andrés Landazábal
  • Editor Julian Andrés Sánchez
  • Compositor Julian Andrés Sánchez
  • Sound Designer Manuel Borda
  • Composer Manuel Borda
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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