The top predator of North America, the Bulbsnout has no natural enemies.
Description[]
The Bulbsnout is generally a robust animal, with a heavyset upper body and a thick tail. The sail on its back is triangular and colored hot pink. The hide is thick and, according to explorers, feels very similar to alligator or crocodile skin, with large, diamond shaped scales. The thing that gives it its name is the large bony knob on the end of its snout. It’s arms are shorter in proportion to its body than other spinosaurids, especially compared to the Brazilian Hookmouth, whose arms are actually longer than its legs. It is colored similarly to an alligator, with a green upper body and a yellowish to light green underbelly. The toes have slight webbing between them.
Bio[]
When the majority of North America began converting into a massive swamp in the mid Pliocene, the Bulbsnout was able to bring back the glory spinosaurs had in South America. Unlike most other spinosaurids, which are either strictly terrestrial or strictly semi aquatic, the Bulbsnout uses the best of both worlds, it’s front teeth are perfectly adapted for tearing apart flesh, while the back teeth are better at holding on to slippery fish. It also has partially webbed feet for swimming while also being quite agile on land. Oddly, fossils of Bulbsnouts often have bones inside the ribcage, obviously from the creatures last meal. It’s possible that while they were eating, the fish was still alive and it’s struggling ruptured an organ on the way
An illustration of LAR-15.
down. One such fossil, called LAR-15 (or Larry by some) was exceptionally well preserved, even though it is missing its limbs and most of its lower jaw, it is easy to see the fish it ate as a last meal. The absence of the skull and most of its ribs indicate that the fish was at least partially digested at the moment that Larry died. It is thought that Larry got into a territorial dispute shortly after consuming the fish, and, judging by the way the skull connects to the neck, the opponent broke his/her neck and left him/her for dead. Even more oddly for a spinosaurid, it’s arms are small, this is likely due to the fact that its jaws can clamp down with almost 8 tons of pressure, meaning that the arms don't need to be used as much. Explorers have noted how robust and tough Bulbsnouts are, during territorial fights, individuals sometimes get slammed full force into trees with enough force to kill most other animals, but they shrug it off and hit back. Fights often leave these creatures with pretty deep slashes and bite marks, but these same animals are seen years later with barely any evidence that they were even injured in the first place. If they trip up during a chase, they simply get up and walk away, showing mild irritation at worst, whereas other theropods would be seriously injured by a fall.. A test showed that the thick scales of the animal would break a spear's tip off when thrown at it. And spears that did manage to get past wouldn't get deep enough to cause any lasting harm to the animal's internal organs.
Behavior[]
Bulbsnouts are territorial animals, and females will hold large territories that can cover hundreds of miles. When two bulbsnouts meet, it usually ends with one retreating before anything serious happens. However sometimes, as in the case of Larry, there are fatal results.
Use of the Knob[]
The bony knob that gives Bulbsnouts their name was a mystery for quite a while. Originally, it was though that the knob was used for vocalizations, amplifying calls similarly to the bulb on a gharial. However, this theory came under fire when several examinations of the Bulbsnout’s skull showed that the knob was solid bone, rather than being hollow as one would expect for a resonating chamber. More recent studies show that the skull is very resistant to side to side impacts, leading some to believe that the knob is used as a club when hunting prey and when battling other Bulbsnots.
Vocalizations[]
Like most other spinosaurs, the Bulbsnout lacks a syrinx, and therefore is mostly silent, it is known to make loud hisses during territorial disputes, and they will also make deep grunting sounds sometimes.
Trivia[]
- Contrary to popular belief, LAR-15's missing lower jaw is thought to have been lost during fossilisation, not during the fight that killed him/her.