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Re: [Re: Platyhystrix and dinosaur humps/sails]

Okay, thanks for clearing that up.

I was wondering whether possible female specimens of high-spined dinos have been found, too. Ouranosaurus had a distinctive skull, and unless males had that "proto-crest" or whatever you'd call it as well as a sail, I don't think any candidates are known. Spinosaurus and Baryonyx differ in their teeth and other subtle things like that, and while I don't know that much about Suchomimius, the impression I get is that it too differs in small but important ways (BTW, how long are its spines? Would it have a ridge like Acrocanthosaurus and such, or the hump/sail of Spinosaurus and Ouranosaurus?)

        -M. Nalasco

From: "Stephen Priestley" <sn2192@uniserve.com>
Reply-To: <stephen_priestley@sunshine.net>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: [Re: Platyhystrix and dinosaur humps/sails]
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 15:57:03 -0800

Mary Nalasco said:
> seperate genera), someone made mention of perhaps Dimetrodon being the
male
> of one species and Sphenacodon being the female of it. The person who
said
> it sounded somewhat doubtful about it, and I was wondering if anyone
could
> shed some more light on it?

That was me but I fear that my wording may have sabotaged my meaning. Sorry
for the confusion. I was not trying to put this forward as a serious
suggestion.

Both Dimetrodon and Sphenacodon are large, advanced form sphenacodontines
and that, not sexual dimorphism, is why they resemble each other.
Dimetrodon is found in Oklahoma and Texas, while Sphenacodon is only found
in New Mexico (albeit, along with a single specimen of Dimetrodon). In any
case, there were other advanced sphenacodontines with sails (Ctenospondylus
and Secodontosaurus, for example) who have no sail-less cousins who could
be mistaken for "females".

So, my question is, are there dinosaurs with exaggerated neural spines
which have "relatives" whose distinquishing features might be attributed
solely to sexual dimorphism?

Regards, Stephen Priestley 

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