This is the 7th chevron (haemal arch) of the tail of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus neotype, FSAC-KK 11888.
At the level of Ca7, the neural spine is incomplete. However, the estimated dorsoventral depth, including the chevron, is about 80 cm, whereas the transverse breadth is about 40 cm.
A total of nineteen chevrons are preserved for the tail of FSAC-KK 11888. Except for a small and gradual reduction of the haemal canal, distal chevrons are as elongate as those located more proximally, though they do become more slender, paralleling the gradual decrease in size of the centra. Each chevron mainly articulates with the more proximal centrum of the vertebral pair, although contact with the distal element was likely present.
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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