New CT scans have pointed out that the strange-looking Nigersaurus taqueti, first discovered half a century ago in Sahara, had a mouth that worked like a vacuum cleaner, hundreds of tiny teeth and nearly translucent skull bones. The plant eater had more than 50 columns of teeth, all lined up tightly along the front edge of its squared-off jaw.

The Nigersaurus was not able to lift its head above its back, according to research by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno, a paleontologist and professor at the University of Chicago. Sereno gave the dinosaur its name back in 1999.

"The vertebrae are so paper-thin that it is difficult to imagine them coping with the stresses of everyday use — but we know they did it, and they did it well," Jeffrey Wilson, assistant professor at the University of Michigan and an expedition team member, said in a statement.

Apparently, the Nigersaurus taqueti had a backbone consisting of more air than bone, which meant it had a very light head. The orientation of canals in the organ that helps keep balance, as unveiled by the CT scan, disclosed the habitual low pose of the head. Lawrence M. Witmer of Ohio University performed the CT scans and their interpretation.

The dinosaur's name is derived from that of Philippe Taquet, who first brought to light this unusual animal in 1976 after the first fossils were found in the 1950s. "Among dinosaurs, the Nigersaurus sets the Guinness record for tooth replacement," Sereno said.

"One of the stunning things about this animal is how fragile the skull is," Sereno told National Geographic News. "Some of the bones are so thin you can shine a light through them." "It is just outlandish to think that an animal which weighs nearly as much as an elephant had a skull that was featherweight," he said.

The scientists' work is to be published next week in PloS ONE, the online journal of the Public Library of Science. The Nigersaurus reached about 15 meters (50 feet) in length and lived about 119-99 million years ago.