Ca31- Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype

3D Model

31st caudal vertebra of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype, FSAC-KK 11888.

At the level of Ca31, the dorsoventral depth of the tail appears to have been slightly lower than at the level of Ca23 because the spine shows greater curvature, bending to the right (although this is likely due to diagenetic deformation). The transverse breadth of the centrum is six cm.

Spinosaurus is unique among theropod dinosaurs in that the spinodiapophyseal laminae are the most developed laminae, starting from Ca11. They are the only spinal laminae present from Ca19 to Ca31.

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.