Cow of the Mesozoic - The Weird Dinosaur

A strange-looking dinosaur with rows of tiny teeth crammed into the very front of its jaws and fragile air-filled bones may have been the "cow of the Mesozoic," and far more common than better-known dinosaurs, scientists said Thursday.

Its shovel-shaped jaws and tightly packed teeth -- up to 10 rows of teeth -- allowed Nigersaurus taqueti to vacuum through ferns and other ground cover, a team led by Paul Sereno at the University of Chicago reported.

The researchers used a combination of computer modeling, X-rays and good old-fashioned digging to build a model of an elephant-sized animal that lived 110 million years ago in what is now the Sahara desert in Niger.

Remains of the Nigersaurus taqueti went on display Thursday at the headquarters of the National Geographic Society, where they will remain until March. via Reuters & AP