Nizar Ibrahim: How we unearthed the Spinosaurus
نزار إبراهيم: كيف تمكنا من اكتشاف السبينوصور
Nizar Ibrahim scours Northern Africa for clues to what things were like there in the Cretaceous period. A 2015 TED Fellow, he has spearheaded the recent search for the semi-aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
are incredible creatures.
مخلوقات مٌذهلة
we know about them.
through my head
my first dinosaur book.
للمرة الأولى في كتاب.
to combine my love for animals
far-flung corners of the world.
I've led several expeditions
قمت بعدد من الرحلات الاستكشافية
on this planet, the Sahara.
إلى الصحراء.
I've been on a quest
كنت في مسعى
a bizarre, giant predatory dinosaur
لديناصور غريب، مفترس وعملاق
have been found
by a German paleontologist.
قبل 100 سنة تقريبا.
were destroyed in World War II.
في الحرب العالمية الثانية.
a few drawings and notes.
وبعض الملاحظات.
about 100 million years ago,
منذ حوالي 100 مليون سنة،
forming a magnificent sail,
ويُشكل شراعا مذهل،
a bit like a crocodile,
أقرب ما يكون للتمساح،
to catch slippery prey, like fish.
للقبض على فريسة زلقة، مثل الأسماك.
all we knew
between Morocco and Algeria,
بين المغرب والجزائر
and snakes and scorpions,
والثعابين والعقارب،
good fossils there.
في ذلك المكان.
in this part of the Sahara.
predatory dinosaurs,
of crocodile-like hunters.
ما يشبه التماسيح الصيادة.
in a river system.
في نظام نهري.
to a giant, car-sized coelacanth,
لأسماك الكُهُوفِ الشَوكيةِ العملاقة
were filled with pterosaurs,
مغطاة بالتيروصورات،
to travel to if you had a time machine.
إذا كنت تملك آلة زمن
incredible fossils of animals
لتلك المخلوقات المذهلة
to be very elusive.
a partial skeleton at some point.
من هيكله العظمي في مرحلة ما.
several bones of Spinosaurus.
عدة عظام للسبينوصور.
we collected more bones.
وجمعنا العديد من العظام
had another partial skeleton
آخر من الهيكل العظمي
Spinosaurus had a head
كان له رأس
predatory dinosaurs,
الديناصورات المفترسة،
came from the rest of the skeleton.
جاءت من بقية الهيكل العظمي.
وعظام الجمجمة،
على شكل مجداف
dinosaur has feet like this --
أن يكون لديناصور أقدام كهذه
used to walk on soft sediment,
على الرواسب اللينة
microstructure of the bone,
البنية المجهرية الدقيقة للعظم،
very dense and compact.
that spend a lot of time in the water,
التي تقضي الكثير من الوقت في الماء،
control in the water.
and built a digital Spinosaurus skeleton.
وبنينا على ذلك هيكل رقمي للسبينوصور
at the digital skeleton,
a dinosaur unlike any other.
written all over it,
وهذا ظاهر عليه بوضوح
"water-loving" written all over it --
يبدوا عليه أنه أليف للماء
and the hind limbs are reduced in size,
والأطراف الخلفية صغيرة الحجم،
we see in animals
of time in the water.
and wrapping our dinosaur in skin --
وكَسْوة جلدية للديناصور
with a river monster,
I showed you earlier on.
كما أوضحت لكم سابقًا.
an incredible discovery.
this is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
هذا اكتشاف العمر.
to discover in the world."
ليتم اكتشافه."
further from the truth.
أبعد عن الحقيقة.
still full of treasures,
no places left to explore,
أنه لا يوجد مكان لاكتشافه،
Roy Chapman Andrews,
"روي تشابمان اندروز"،
an adventure just around the corner --
wrote these lines.
تلك السطور
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nizar Ibrahim - PaleontologistNizar Ibrahim scours Northern Africa for clues to what things were like there in the Cretaceous period. A 2015 TED Fellow, he has spearheaded the recent search for the semi-aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus.
Why you should listen
Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim, a postdoc at the University of Chicago, wanted to uncover the mystery of the Spinosaurus, a gigantic predatory dinosaur whose only known remains were lost during World War II. After identifying a new skeleton at a dig in North Africa, Ibrahim made the landmark conclusion that the Spinosaurus may have been the largest carnivorous dinosaur to ever live. Its crocodile-like head, dense bones, short legs, and wide, paddle feet suggest it was a water dweller unlike any other. “The entire skeleton has water-loving river monster written all over it,” he says.
Ibrahim is a TED Fellow and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer.
Nizar Ibrahim | Speaker | TED.com