Re: Regarding Spinosaurus

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/8/02 2:32:05 AM EST, Dinogeorge@aol.com writes:

<< No, it's not. Becklespinax is, for the theropod with the three tall-spined 
 vertebrae. Altispinax is based on a tooth. >>


Forgot to mention that the confusion set in when Huene (1923) >referred< the 
vertebrae to the tooth taxon Megalosaurus dunkeri and simultaneously renamed 
the genus Altispinax. He neglected to give Altispinax a type species, but 
this was dutifully supplied by Kuhn in 1939 as Altispinax (formerly 
Megalosaurus) dunkeri. The invalidity of this reassignment was later pointed 
out by Steel (1970) and maybe others. Since the tall-spined Wealden vertebrae 
are clearly not Megalosaurus, and they cannot be referred to the tooth genus 
Altispinax (regrettably named after the vertebrae), they require a new genus 
and species. Greg Paul supplied the species Acrocanthosaurus altispinax in 
PDW in 1988, and I supplied the genus Becklespinax in MM #2 in 1991. The 
vertebrae don't resemble any of the dorsals of Acrocanthosaurus except in 
having tall neural spines.