Nizar Ibrahim Dinosaurs Are Still Alive

Published: June 25, 2021, 9 a.m.

Dinosaurs may be extinct, but they never go extinct with kids. While these huge dangerous reptiles disappeared from the earth over 65 million years ago, they are still very much alive in the imagination of countless toddlers and kids. Vertebrate paleontologist and dinosaur expert, Nizar Ibrahim shares his love of these fascinating creatures. He has scoured the deserts of North Africa for clues to life in the Cretaceous period, when the area was a large river system teeming with a profusion of diverse life. His team has unearthed giant dinosaur bones and footprints as well as remains of prehistoric fishes, crocodile-like predators, and giant flying reptiles. He is renowned for his decades long work tracing Spinosaurus, one of the most unusual dinosaurs yet found: a predator that was longer from snout to tail than an adult T.rex, and that had a six-foot tall sail on its back. Ibrahim’s multi-disciplinary research projects shed light on a period of major changes for our planet including extreme climate fluctuations and the breakup of the supercontinent.