Ca24 - Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype

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24th caudal vertebra of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype, FSAC-KK 11888.

This vertebra shows very thin and fragile prezygapophyses. At the transition point (caudally to Ca19), the prezygapophyses cease any overlap with the preceding centrum and show a conspicuous decrease in size. Also, in the mid-distal caudals (Ca24–32), the haemal canal is reduced to one-third of the haemal arch. The transverse diameter of the chevrons becomes gradually smaller, matching the decrease in size and width of the related centra.

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.