Re: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus holotype

["Mickey Mortimer" <Mickey_Mortimer111@msn.com>]

Eric Hall wrote-

> I am new to the DML but have been reading from the archives for some time.
I have been fascinated by
> Mickey Mortimer's posts on Spinosaurus, in particular the mind-boggling
size estimates.  But what I don't
> understand is why we believe the holotype specimen is a subadult.  What is
it about a skeleton that would > lead one to make the assumption that it was
not fully grown, even on a specimen as large as that one was?

The dorsal neural arches are not fused to the centra.  I don't see why
people ignore Spinosaurus' size, or claim it's uncertain that it was larger
than Tyrannosaurus.  Dorsal central length is one of the best indicators of
total length, and Spinosaurus' were HUGE.

Mickey Mortimer