Spinosaur skull grooves suggest salt-gland ducts. What follows?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Recurring salt stress
Open-ocean migration — Open-ocean migration is too large a leap. A salt gland helps with dissolved salts, but it does not prove route, distance, or open-sea behavior. The safer inference is repeated salty or brackish exposure, like finding a drainage system rather than a travel diary.
Recurring salt stress ✓ — Recurring salt stress is the strongest inference if the duct reading is right. A gland-and-duct system makes sense when salt keeps entering through food or water, so the interpretation points to a repeated chemical problem. It supports brackish use without proving a fully marine dinosaur.
Stronger bite muscles — Stronger bite muscles point to a different kind of skull story. A duct trace is more like plumbing than a power upgrade. One bony clue can show where a vanished soft organ drained, but it cannot automatically tell you how hard the animal bit.
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