Ernst Stromer

German paleontologist

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July 19, 2026

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Ernst Stromer was a German paleontologist who lived from 1871 to 1952. He is primarily known for his work on dinosaurs discovered in North Africa.

Stromer named and described Spinosaurus in 1915, based on fossils found in Egypt. This dinosaur, meaning "spined reptile," was characterized by a distinctive sail-like back formed by tall vertebral spines. Stromer also described Carcharodontosaurus, a massive predatory dinosaur from North Africa, meaning "shark-toothed lizard." The original fossils for both of these dinosaurs were tragically destroyed during World War II in a bombing raid on Munich.12

Despite the loss of the original specimens, Stromer's detailed descriptions allowed paleontologists to identify these dinosaurs from later discoveries in North Africa.12

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Spinosaurus
…was named by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915 on the basis of the discovery of a partial skeleton from Bahariya Oasis in western Egypt by his assistant Richard Markgraf. These fossils were destroyed in April 1944 when British aircraft inadvertently bombed the museum in Munich in which they were…
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…was named by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915 on the basis of the discovery of a partial skeleton from Bahariya Oasis in western Egypt by his assistant Richard Markgraf. These fossils were destroyed in April 1944 when British aircraft inadvertently bombed the museum in Munich in which they were…
Read More