Spinosaurus' Towering Sail: A Dinosaur Story for Kids
Spinosaurus is the longest meat-eating dinosaur ever found, and it went fishing! Wade into its ancient African river. For kids 3–7+, free to preview.
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Splash! The ground here is soft and squelchy. We've traveled back to a steamy world of wide rivers and swamps, long, long ago. Wade in close, quiet now, and peek through the tall reeds. Something ENORMOUS is standing in the water!
This is Spinosaurus. Say it with me — SPY-no-SAWR-us! Its name means "spine lizard," and now you can see why. A huge sail rises right off its back! It lived in Africa, in a land of rivers, a hundred million years ago.
Now watch what it does. It doesn't stomp off into the trees like other big hunters. It stays right here, wading in the shallow water. This giant LOVES the water — and it's the only dinosaur we've followed that fishes! Whoa.
So much to see! Do we take a closer look at that towering sail — or those long fishing jaws?
What Was the Largest Meat-Eating Dinosaur?
By length, it was Spinosaurus: the longest meat-eating dinosaur ever found, at around 45 to 50 feet (14 to 15 meters), longer than T. rex. By weight, it's less clear. T. rex and Giganotosaurus were bulkier and may have been just as heavy, or heavier. And because Spinosaurus is known from incomplete fossils, scientists are still working out its exact size.
What Happens in the Story
In Spinosaurus' Towering Sail, your child follows a Spinosaurus through the rivers of North Africa, about 100 million years ago, and chooses where it goes next. Four paths lead to four different endings:
Walk its whole length, nose to tail, and meet another giant on the riverbank
Discover why its sail is still one of the biggest mysteries in dinosaur science
Watch it stand perfectly still in the shallows, waiting for fish
Wade into a river full of life, from lungfish to a giant sawfish
More Spinosaurus Facts
Spinosaurus means "spine lizard."
It lived in great rivers in the place where the Sahara Desert is today.
Its long, narrow jaws were full of smooth, cone-shaped teeth, perfect for gripping slippery fish.
Its nostrils sat high up on its snout, so it could rest its jaws in the water and still breathe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Spinosaurus sail for?
Nobody knows for sure. The sail was made of long spines growing up from its backbone, some taller than a child, with skin stretched between them. Skin almost never fossilizes, so the leading idea, that it was for display, is still unproven.
Could Spinosaurus swim?
It spent much of its life in and around water, and chemicals in its teeth match those of water animals rather than land animals. But how well it swam, and whether it hunted underwater, is still being debated.
More Dinosaur Stories
See how it measures up against T-Rex's Big Stomp, or browse all our dinosaur stories for kids.
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