16th caudal vertebra of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype, FSAC-KK 11888.
Beginning with Ca15, the neural spines of Spinosaurus are strongly expanded transversely (a unique feature among theropods). This expansion is contributed to both by the body of the neural arch/spine, and by lateral expansions of the spinodiapophyseal laminae, which are most evident in Ca16.
Also, beginning from Ca16, less than 30 cm before the transition point, the zygapophyseal facets become almost vertical, facilitating transverse excursions of the tail.
The specimen is housed in the palaeontological collections of the Université Hassan II, Aïn Chock, Casablanca, Morocco.
Reference: Ibrahim N. et al. (2020). Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur. Nature, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2190-3.
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